Average Practice Speeds: Martinsville – Goody’s Fast Relief 500

Similar to a couple of weeks ago in Phoenix, the Cup cars only had practice time on Friday with two sessions (both of them being one-and-a-half hours long). Qualifying will be held on Saturday morning and then the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 is set to start around 1:00 pm eastern time on Sunday. Weather shouldn’t be a factor this weekend. The familiar faces were up front on Friday and I expect the same on Sunday. If any driver didn’t make a ten-lap run in either practice session, I would suggest avoiding them this weekend.

Be sure to check after qualifying for my post-qualifying predictions for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500. Also, follow me on Twitter – @FanNASCARPredic — you can ask me for advice if you’d like!

Important Practice Notes: Jeff Gordon said that his car this weekend was the best he’s ever had at Martinsville “this early,” which was during the first practice session. Other than that, nothing major happened.

In the first practice session, the five fastest drivers were:
1. Jeff Gordon – 93.899 mph
2. Kyle Busch – 93.804 mph
3. Denny Hamlin – 94.077 mph
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 93.798 mph
5. Ryan Newman – 96.376 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

In terms of ten-lap average, the top five for first practice were:
1. Jeff Gordon – 94.148 mph
2. Jimmie Johnson – 93.899 mph
3. Kyle Busch – 93.757 mph
4. Greg Biffle – 93.731 mph
5. Brian Vickers – 93.712 mph
Click here for the complete ten-lap average chart for practice one.

In “Happy Hour”, the fast five were:
1. Jeff Gordon – 97.028 mph
2. Kurt Busch – 95.937 mph
3. Brad Keselowski – 95.728 mph
4. Ryan Newman – 95.550 mph
5. David Stremme – 95.463 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

When it came to ten-lap average, the best for Happy Hour were:
1. Kevin Harvick – 94.535 mph
2. Jeff Gordon – 94.496 mph
3. Clint Bowyer – 94.494 mph
4. Martin Truex, Jr. – 94.315 mph
5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 94.301 mph
Click here for the complete ten-lap average chart for Happy Hour.

 Average Practice Speeds:

Average practice speeds are calculated by taking the average speed of each driver in each practice and multiplying it by the number of laps ran. When you do this for each practice and add the  totals together, and then divide by the total number of laps ran, you get an average of their practice speed, instead of just the one lap statistic you see when you look at practice sheets. I have found over the years that this is much more accurate as to whether or not someone has a car that is good for one lap or one that can consistently be fast. These numbers, however, can be skewed if a team puts new tires on frequently or rarely changes the tires.

Go-or-Go-Homer’s Average Practice Speeds: