Information By: TAYLOR SMITH / TEAM PENSKE – MARTINSVILLE, VA
Cook Out 400 Qualifying
Martinsville, Va. – April 6, 2024
NASCAR TRACKS – MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY – NASCAR 101
When Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano line up for the green flag at the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, it will mark a significant milestone for Roger Penske – 6,000 starts as a team owner. The astonishing achievement includes starts across 18 different racing series around the world, dating back to 1966, with 109 different drivers piloting Penske-prepared vehicles.
In preparation for the occasion, the trio of Team Penske drivers took to the 0.526-mile Virginia track Saturday afternoon for practice and qualifying. Logano led the way and will start sixth, with Blaney ninth and Cindric 14th.
- Joey Logano, driver, No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – 6th
- Ryan Blaney, driver, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang – 9th
- Austin Cindric, driver, No. 2 Menards/Libman Ford Mustang – 14th
HEAR FROM BLANEY: “Pretty solid day for our Advance Auto Parts team. We have a good place to start from tomorrow; the biggest thing will be trying to keep up with track as the day goes on. We’ll see where we’re at by the end of 400 laps.”
MIC’D UP: Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney return to the NASCAR on FOX broadcast booth as a guest analysts for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
RETURNING TO MARTINSVILLE: Team Penske owns 10 Martinsville victories, with the most recent triumph being recorded by Ryan Blaney in the fall race last season, a win that catapulted him into the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway a week later.
When it comes to average finishes, Martinsville stands as Blaney’s best track as the driver of the No. 12 has an average finish of 9.0 through 16 starts at the Virginia track. Additionally, Blaney has finished inside the top 11 in his last 10 starts at Martinsville.
Joey Logano enters Sunday’s race with a streak of nine straight top-10 finishes, including runner-up results in this event each of the past two years.
RACE DAY: The NASCAR Cup Series takes on 400 laps of racing from Martinsville on Sunday afternoon with coverage of the Cook Out 400 beginning at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.