The 2015 STP 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on March 29, 2015, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the paperclip shaped short track, it was the sixth race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race while Brad Keselowski finished runner-up. Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan rounded out the top five.
Joey Logano won the pole for the race and led 91 laps on his way to a third-place finish. Kevin Harvick led the most laps – leading 154 – on his way to an eighth-place finish, ending an eight consecutive race streak of finishing first or second. The race had 31 lead changes among 13 different drivers, as well as 16 caution flag periods for 112 laps.
Hamlin's 25th career victory was his fifth win at Martinsville Speedway and the eighth at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. The win moved Hamlin up to eighth in the points standings, which were still headed by Harvick; he left Martinsville with a 24-point lead over Logano. Despite being the winning manufacturer, Toyota still trailed Chevrolet by 37 points in the manufacturers' standings, in third place.
The STP 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the cable/satellite Fox Sports 1 network for the American television audience – the first scheduled points race to air on the channel. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
This race marked the Cup Series debut of 2020 Series Champion Chase Elliott.
Report
Background
Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.
Kevin Harvick entered Martinsville with a 28-point lead over Joey Logano following his eighth consecutive top-two finish, while Martin Truex Jr. entered 33 points back in third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 61 points back in fourth, a point ahead of Brad Keselowski in fifth.
Changes to the track Following the lead of other tracks in the wake of Kyle Busch's wreck in the previous month's Xfinity Series Alert Today Florida 300 at Daytona International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell announced that tire barrier packs would be installed at the end of the backstretch inside wall prior to the entrance of pit road, for "the continued safety of the drivers and our fans".
Tire reduction For the race weekend at Martinsville, NASCAR reduced the number of tire sets that Sprint Cup teams were allotted, from eleven to ten. Martinsville was the first of several races in 2015 to have a reduction in tire sets, as a cost-cutting measure, with tire sets costing teams up to two thousand dollars.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25 Chase Elliott (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30 Ron Hornaday Jr. The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brett Moffitt (R) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing FordOfficial entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional
First practice Ryan Newman was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.355 and a speed of . Chase Elliott, making his first ever Sprint Cup Series start, was 29th with a time of 19.656 and a speed of . Elliott told reporters that the Sprint Cup Series "is a different world" and that "we're happy to be here". Late in the session, Austin Dillon's car went up in smoke, due to a fluid leak.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 31 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 19.355 97.835 2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19.386 97.679 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.389 97.664Official first practice results
Qualifying
Joey Logano won the pole with a time of 19.232 and a speed of . Logano explained to reporters that he joked with his crew chief Todd Gordon about how many laps he could cover in the final session of qualifying; he stated that he "ran six and I told Todd I can't hold my breath any more than that so that's the fastest I can go", Ryan Newman joined Logano on the front row, but lamented the fact that he was not closer to Logano, stating that he "could have been just a tick quicker and gotten that pole", while also looking towards the race and the importance of pit stops during it.
Jimmie Johnson was also "excited" about his Hendrick Motorsports car, while qualifying fifth on the grid. He also elaborated that the car had "been real fast" and that "to have the car here starting in the top five with this much speed on Friday is awesome". Matt Kenseth qualified eighth, describing his first run as "okay", before further explaining that his car's "balance was pretty good and we were a little loose", and that "we just could never really get it any better on older tires". Chase Elliott qualified 27th on speed, and thus, ensured his place in the field for his maiden Sprint Cup Series start; he described the result as "definitely a big relief for us" and that he and his team were "excited for Sunday". Kurt Busch, the defending race winner, qualified just in front of Elliott, in 26th position. He described his car as "tight on corner exit" and that "it was like the rear end was planted too well". Brendan Gaughan and Ron Hornaday Jr. failed to qualify for the race.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 19.345 19.395 19.232 2 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.935 19.337 19.258 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 19.408 19.426 19.313 4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.453 19.369 19.399 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.377 19.384 19.405 6 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 19.484 19.362 19.428 7 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.446 19.389 19.429 8 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.332 19.419 19.443 9 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.411 19.418 19.465 10 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19.424 19.381 19.469 11 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.444 19.428 19.486 12 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 19.447 19.394 19.514 13 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.458 19.444 — 14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.464 19.461 — 15 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.443 19.468 — 16 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 19.454 19.468 — 17 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 19.487 19.470 — 18 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 19.476 19.474 — 19 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.480 19.477 — 20 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.484 19.562 — 21 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 19.473 19.564 — 22 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.515 19.570 — 23 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 19.436 19.611 — 24 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 19.459 0.000 — 25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 19.525 — — 26 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 19.533 — — 27 25 Chase Elliott (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.538 — — 28 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 19.542 — — 29 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.589 — — 30 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 19.599 — — 31 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 19.601 — — 32 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 19.624 — — 33 55 Brett Moffitt (R) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 19.652 — — 34 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 19.664 — — 35 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.672 — — 36 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 19.673 — — 37 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.713 — — 38 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 19.720 — — 39 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 19.744 — — 40 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 19.788 — — 41 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 19.871 — — 42 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 19.890 — — 43 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 20.025 — —Did not qualify 44 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 19.801 — — 45 30 Ron Hornaday Jr. The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 19.850 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 19.499 and a speed of . Thirty minutes into the session, Jimmie Johnson started reporting that his car was having engine issues, but upon further inspection, it turned out to be a minor electrical issue. When he went back out, Johnson reported that there were "no issues".
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.499 97.113 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 19.524 96.988 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.545 96.884Official second practice results
Final practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.502 and a speed of . Greg Biffle made contact with the wall exiting turn 4 20 minutes into the session, causing cosmetic damage to his car; he returned to the track after minor repairs.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 19.502 97.098 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 19.560 96.810 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.577 96.726Official final practice results
Prior to the race