Ryan Newman seldom finishes out of the top 10 at Martinsville.

Ryan Newman showed his mastery of the high banks of Daytona Sunday evening. He isn’t too bad on the low banks of Martinsville Speedway, either.

Newman, who claimed the 50th running of the Daytona 500 Sunday, hasn’t won on Martinsville’s difficult half-mile in a dozen starts, but he’s been solid. He’s had five top-five finishes in those 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts and has finished out of the top 15 only twice, making him a legitimate favorite coming into the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 on March 30.

He also has a Martinsville pole victory to his credit and held the track’s qualifying record for a couple of years.

 “We’ve had some really good Martinsville finishes,” Newman said a year ago. “To win at Martinsville, though, you have to be patient. The brake pedal is as important as the gas pedal. You constantly have to remind yourself that the race is 500 laps and to be patient.”

That patience put Newman in a position to pick up his first Martinsville victory in the SUBWAY 500 last fall.

With nine laps to go, he forced his way by Jeff Gordon for second place and set his sights on leader Jimmy Johnson. He was putting pressure on Johnson when Bobby Labonte and Casey Mears got together to bring out a record 20th caution and a green-white-checkered finish.

Newman got a great jump on Johnson on the restart, but never got to pull off the pass. David Ragan spun in the first turn and the race finished under caution.

 “I still wish we had that last lap back,” Newman said, referring to the last-lap caution that took away any chance for a final pass. “I got inside of  him  and then the white and yellow came out.

“I know I would have a shot at (Johnson). I had my nose at his left rear tire at the start-finish line getting the white flag. I think he struggled a little more on restarts. I thought mine was really good on restarts. But it just never happened.”

Tickets for both the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 on Sunday, March 30, and the Kroger 250, on Saturday, March 29, are on sale and can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Ticket prices for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 range from $42 to $77. 

Tickets for the Kroger 250 are $37 in advance, $42 on race day. Kroger 250 tickets for children ages 6 to 12 are $5.

The Goody’s Cool Orange 500 weekend kicks off on March 28 with Carilion Pole Day with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying.

Martinsville Speedway’s ticket office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Expanded ticket office hours are now in place, with the office also open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.