Martinsville: Stacy Compton preview

FAST FACTS:          
Stacy Compton      
Virginia 500

* Double Duty  --   Stacy Compton will pull double duty at different racetracks this weekend, as the Busch Series and Winston Cup schedules differ for the first time this season.  Compton will practice and qualify the Team Conseco Pontiac on Friday, then run the first Happy Hour session on Saturday morning before catching a plane for his Busch Series race in Nashville.

* WANTED, Driver -- Must Have Experience  --   Team Conseco will have ample talent available to shake down the car in the final 45-minutes of Happy Hour on Saturday morning in Martinsville.  NASCAR veteran Darrell Waltrip will abandon his seat behind the microphone for FOX Sports to take the seat behind the wheel of the Team Conseco Pontiac for the final session while Compton hustles off to Nashville to compete in the Busch Series event.  Waltrip, who has 11 wins and 8 poles on the track, will be wired up for broadcast during the double duty, which will consist of a few final runs in preparation for Compton's return to Martinsville on Sunday.

* Dear Miss Diane  --   During Stacy's pre-race visit to the suites at Texas Motor Speedway, he encountered a young fan who was worried about skipping school to attend the rain-delayed Monday event.  Compton swung into action, writing the elementary school teacher a note: "Dear Miss Diane,  Thank you for excusing Keaton from school on Monday.  We learned all about physics today at Texas Motor Speedway."   Best Wishes -- Stacy Compton.

* Where it all began  --   Martinsville was the launching pad for Stacy Compton's NASCAR career.  In 1996, Team Conseco's wheelman leveraged everything he owned to bring his band of late model racers to Martinsville for a shot at the big time.  Compton qualified 9th in the 36-car field, and ran strong until brake failure sent him home in 33rd position with $9,065.00 in his pocket.

ACCORDING TO COMPTON                                
Martinsville Memories      

What Am I Doing Here??  --   "The deal came together so fast.  One day we were talking about what it would take to run the Winston Cup race at Martinsville, and the next day we were actually doing it.  I was so caught up in what were doing that I didn't have time to be nervous -- until qualifying.  I was sitting on the grid waiting for our turn and I looked through the windshield at that black rear bumper with "Goodwrench" written on it and said to myself, 'Wait a minute!  What in the world am I doing here?'  Dale qualified and I went out and ran the same time -- it was a big day.  I just remember Mike Wallace coming up to me, poking me in the chest and saying, 'You don't know me and I don't know you, but you don't have a clue what you just did.' "

ACCORDING TO HILLMAN                              
Get Out Front, and Stay There

Texas-Sized Momentum --   "We know we had a top-10 car in Texas and that's a big shot in the arm for this team.  Our goal is to keep building on that momentum and Martinsville is a track that's been good to Stacy in the past.  Track position is key here -- we've got to get out front and run there all day.  If you get back where they're beating and banging, that's where the trouble starts; and if you cut a tire or bash in the radiator and have to come to pit road under green, that's about it for the day."

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