Martinsville Speedway, for all its small size, creates giant problems for crew chiefs. Track position, normally the 800-pound gorilla in the Cup Series, is amplified by the fact that passing on the .526-mile paperclip is more difficult than at other places.

Steve Boyer, crew chief for the No. 96 Toyota driven this week by Ken Schrader, says that while track position is important, there are a couple of other primary concerns for his team.

“

The most important thing, anytime you go to Martinsville, is that your car has to stop. It has to stop for all 500 laps.

”

-- STEVE BOYER

"The most important thing, anytime you go to Martinsville, is that your car has to stop," Boyer said. "It has to stop for all 500 laps. It's a combination of making sure that you have enough cooling for the brakes and making sure the driver takes care of the brakes through the first couple hundred laps and doesn't burn them off too much.

"That's primary concern No. 1. As far as handling characteristics, you want a car that will turn fairly decent through the center, but also has good forward bite coming off the corner, where you normally have the opportunity to pass people, or get passed or give other people the opportunity to pass you if you get loose and spin the tires coming off. If you're having trouble, that will hurt you more than being tight in the center. If you have to give up a little in the center to make sure you're good off, that's what you do."

The new car, making its fourth start at Martinsville, has a higher center of gravity than the old cars, and even those were hard to get handling well.

"It's fairly hard, a little harder than the old car because the center of gravity is higher," Boyer said. "You lose some of the grip from the left front tire that you used to have. We've had this car at Martinsville, this will be the fourth time, so everyone has a chance to get their setups better."

Engines are in for a long day anytime they go to Martinsville. It's hard on the gas off the corner and all the way down the straights, then off the gas and hard on the brakes through the next corner. Boyer said the increased rpm of the engines are hard on the engine.

"You run such a high gear you end up running a lot of rpms, especially at the end of the straightaway,' he said. "A lot of guys use a rev limiter, especially in qualifying so you don't overdrive the corners, but also to make sure you don't get too high on rpm. It can hurt the engine if you get on the limiter and stay on it for an extended period of time. If it's just a driver aid, then it's not a big deal." (Continued)