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Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is no stranger to celebrating at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. On Sunday, he is the favorite to win his third straight Cup race at the half-mile track, says Benny Parsons of NBCSports.com.

If there's any track at which Jeff Gordon has to be favored, it's Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, which hosts this Sunday's Nextel Cup race. The four-time Cup champion will start his third straight race at Martinsville on the pole and he'll be looking for his third straight win at the half-mile oval. In his career, Gordon has five Cup wins and 16 top-10 finishes in 22 starts at one of the toughest short tracks around.

WORKING IN
GORDON'S FAVOR
Gordon's five wins at Martinsville are second among active Cup drivers with only Rusty Wallace  having more trips (6) to Victory Lane at NASCAR's oldest and smallest track.

Gordon has momentum.

He's coming off his best finish of 2004, a third-place result on April 4 at Texas Motor Speedway and he grabbed the Martinsville pole with a lap clocked at 93.502 mph.

In sweeping the two races a year ago at Martinsville, Gordon's domination could be seen in his combined laps led, 503, which was almost twice as many as the next highest driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who led for 256 laps.

Gordon knows just how to best get around this short track and he knows what he wants in the feel of the car in the critical stage of the race.

There are many drivers who may run good for the first 100 laps at Martinsville only to never be heard from after that -- but Gordon isn't one them.

He has staying power at this oval.

The track changes during the race and Gordon knows how to adjust to those changes so as to keep his car in contention to win.

DRIVERS TO WATCH
In his last four races at Martinsville, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has not finished out of the top five.

Over that stretch no driver has a better record at this short track.

Junior struggled at Martinsville until two years ago, when he posted finishes of fifth and fourth.

Last year he came home third in the spring and fourth in the fall.

The team of the No. 8 Chevrolet seems to have hit on the package necessary for success at Martinsville and a trip to Victory Lane could be their reward.

Tony  Stewart's car has been fast and competitive this season, but it just seems like the 2002 Cup champion hasn't been in position to win at the end of races.

That could change at Martinsville, where Stewart has six top-10 finishes in 10 Cup starts.

Stewart led in both the Martinsville spring and fall races a year ago, finishing sixth and third respectively.

Jimmie Johnson, a teammate of Jeff Gordon's at Hendrick Motorsports, could win this race.

Johnson performs well on all types of tracks and he turned in a pair of top-10 results at Martinsville last season, including a runner-up finish in the fall race.

Throw out Kurt Busch's Martinsville results of last year (finishes of 28th and 39th).

They are not indicative of his strength at this short track, where he led for 36 laps last fall before an engine problem placed him near the back of the pack.

Two years ago Busch won the fall event at Martinsville and he warrants a close watch whenever he races at this half-mile oval.

Rusty Wallace has 21 top-10 finishes in 40 Cup races at Martinsville and in recent weeks he's had the solid results that point towards him being ready to end a winless streak that stretches back to 2001.

My darkhorse is Jeff Burton, who has placed in the top 10 in 12 of his last 14 races at Martinsville.

If there's anybody that needs a victory on Sunday it's Burton, who is without a sponsor after next month.

KEYS TO SUCCESS AT MARTINSVILLE
This .526-mile track is the shortest on the Winston Cup circuit.

It's probably as hard on equipment as any track run by NASCAR's top series.

The brakes take an especially tough beating because of the short turns off the long straightaways, forcing constant accelerating and braking.

After about 75 laps, a car's brakes are going to start fading.

The straightaways are asphalt while the turns are concrete and they are bumpy -- so it's hard on the gear ratio when a driver jumps back on the throttle.

Also, a driver must be careful not to turn the engine too many RPMs since he will risk mechanical failure.

The bottom is the line to run as I think the car that wins the race will do so by staying low, but the grip on the outside groove has improved enough that it can be used for passing -- something that was not always the case at Martinsville.

Besides having equipment hold up, running a smart and patient race is what's needed to win at Martinsville.