Recipe for success at Martinsville: Beating and banging

By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — NASCAR’s top drivers expect some beating and banging to be on the menu when they race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night. The track is the smallest in NASCAR’s top series at 0.526 miles and has a history of offering physical racing. That might be even more evident with the new Next Gen cars, which drivers say mostly sustains less damage from in-race contact. Last fall, Alex Bowman had already been eliminated from championship contention when he spun contender Denny Hamlin from the lead and then won in overtime in the penultimate race of the season.