TV: FOX, 1:00 p.m. EDT

Laps: 500
Track length: .526 miles
Race length: 263 miles

Qualifying record: Tony Stewart, 95.371 mph, 2000
Race record: Rusty Wallace, 81.410 mph, 1996

DRIVERS TO WATCH

John Andretti -- A track he does fairly well; drove to victory in 1997, his first on a short track in the Winston Cup; in the two races last year he was consistent, missing top 10 finishes in 14th and 13th, respectively; top finish of the year was second in the Food City 500 at Bristol, TN, and also had a sixth place result at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 in Darlington.

Johnny Benson -- Continued his solid runs this season and nearly recorded his first career Winston Cup at Texas last Sunday; was overtaken by eventual winner Dale Jarrett with six laps remaining; settled for third place after Steve Park also snuck by him late; the best finish of the year moved him up to third in the standings, 110 points behind Jarrett; placed 16th and 19th, respectively, in events at Martinsville last year.

Jeff Burton -- Still could not shake off the season slump with another disappointing finish (19th in Texas); his highest finish was 18th at Darlington; hoping this would be the track to turn his season around; lost a close race to good friend John Andretti in 1999; winner of the fall race in 1997; runner-up to Mark Martin last spring and was third in the NAPA AutoCare 500 in October.

Kurt Busch -- The Winston Cup rookie recorded his first top five finish in Texas with a fourth-place after starting 16th; early in the race he avoided Michael Waltrip's accident but brought the car to the pits for adjustments; left pit road in 38th position, which makes the run and result that more impressive.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Appeared on his way to the checkered flag at Texas (led 107 laps), the track of his first Winston Cup victory, but a late pit stop for new tires dropped him to an eighth place finish; in his first two races at NASCAR's shortest and slowest track, he finished no better than 26th last year.

Jeff Gordon -- His fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway is almost like a victory considering his past performances there; that was his fifth top-five finish of the year in seven races, including victory at Las Vegas; victorious at Martinsville in this race in 1997 and fall events of 1996 and 1999; was third and fourth the last two years in the spring race and finished fifth last October; trails Dale Jarrett by 75 points in the Winston Cup standings.

Bobby Hamilton -- His victory at this speedway in 1998 was the third of his career and one of the most dominating performances of that season; led eight times for 378 of the 500-lap race; has three top-10s in seven races and is seventh in the points standings.

Dale Jarrett -- New sponsor UPS must be very happy with its association with the 1999 Winston Cup champion; became the first two-time winner of the season by overtaking Johnny Benson with six laps remaining at the Harrah's 500 at Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday; extended his lead atop the standings to 75 points over Jeff Gordon; still winless at Martinsville Speedway in 28 appearances, despite having had a fifth place in this race and sixth in the October race last year; best finish was third in 1998.

Bobby Labonte -- The 2000 Winston Cup champion is desperate to get back on the right track after not finishing for the third time in seven races this season at Texas despite starting second; the team finds itself mired in 25th place and needs to recover from the slump; has not been the most consistent at the 1/2-mile track; in eight spring starts at Martinsville he has an average finish of 15th; last year was 12th in this race and 10th in October.

Terry Labonte -- In 45 races at Martinsville, he has posted 25 top-10 finishes; best efforts were two straight runners-up in 1996; has two top 10s in seven races this season, fifth in Atlanta and sixth at Bristol, Tennessee.

Sterling Marlin -- Dropped couple of spots in the series points standings after a 34th place at Texas; third-place finish in Las Vegas and fifth at Darlington are top results, with two other top-10s in the books.

Mark Martin -- Slow start this year with a pair of top-10s in seven races, including ninth at Texas last week; won spring race at Martinsville last year but tested at the track to make sure the team brings the right car and set up; in 30 races at Martinsville Speedway, he won two races (1992), started from the pole three times and finished in the top five 10 races.

Steve Park -- Led several times in the Harrah's 500 at Texas, but fell short of his second win this season; snuck by Johnny Benson late to claim second place; his fifth top-10 finish of the year and the second race he ends up runner-up to Dale Jarrett; won the Dura Lube 400 at North Carolina Speedway.

Tony Stewart -- Rather disappointing results in the first seven races, with just one top 10, that a fourth at the Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham; this could be one track he may be able to post a better finish; won the NAPA AutoCare 500 last October at the track and finished sixth in the spring race.

Rusty Wallace -- Owned this track between 1994 and 1996 when he won five of seven races; last year started from the pole and managed a 10th place finish after a spin in the closing stages; leads all active drivers with six wins at the small Virginia oval (Richard Petty is all-time winner with 15); was last driver to win both Martinsville races in same year, doing so in 1994; not a bad start this year with top-12 finishes in six of seven races with third-place at the Daytona 500 a best result; tied with Jeff Gordon for eighth on the all-time win list (53); won at least one race in 15 consecutive seasons.