Some final thoughts before the Martinsville race

To be honest, most of my thoughts have been on baseball these days. Last week, I saw two good high school matchups: Cleveland vs. Birmingham and Valencia vs. Hart. Plus I went to the Coliseum game between the Dodgers and the Red Sox and will be going to Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
It's hard to ignore baseball at this time of year.
It's also hard to ignore Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
The drivers for Hendrick have won eight of the past 10 Cup races at Martinsville. Jimmie Johnson has won the past three, including the two last year with NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
Surprisingly, Dale Earnhardt Jr., the newest Hendrick Motorsports driver, has yet to win a race at Martinsville. Neither has Casey Mears, but that could be said about every track but one.
If ever there was a track suited for Hendrick Motorsports, Martinsville fits that mold. And no team needs a win more than Hendrick.
No Hendrick driver has won a race yet this year. Jeff Gordon and Johnson are outside the top 12 in the Sprint Cup Series standings. Earnhardt Jr. has been the most consistent driver so far this year for Hendrick, fifth in the Cup standings, but even he says Gordon and Johnson are the drivers to beat at Martinsville.
“Well, I think it’s going to be tough," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "They’re running good. We’re running good. They’ve always run really good and won races here. We seem to be able to run in the top five quite often. I do like the track."
And I like going to Dodger games. But I know now why the Dodgers moved out of the Coliseum and into their own park. As much fun as the game was, it was hardly worth the aggravation of getting in and out of downtown to watch it.
Those who were there know what I'm talking about.