ThatsRacin.com: Martinsville Speedway

DW's back at full song, and he was after '87 race

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:59 EDT

TV ratings also off for Martinsville Cup race

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 11:04 EDT

HAMPTON, Ga. - Last Sunday?s Nextel Cup race at Martinsville, Va., received a 3.7 national rating on ABC, down 10 percent from last year's race, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Each of the six Chase for the Nextel Cup races this season have shown ratings decline from 2006.

Last year's Martinsville race received a 4.1 rating on NBC. Sunday's broadcast was interrupted on the West Coast by local affiliate coverage of the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Last Saturday?s Truck series race on Speed Channel was up 17 percent over 2006 and received a 0.6 rating.

| How the top 12 fared at Martinsville Speedway

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:30 EDT

Noting NASCAR's Chase as we put Martinsville Speedway in the rearview mirror and look toward the next one:

1st – Jeff Gordon (6,055 points) There is only one more car of tomorrow race this season, and points leader Jeff Gordon isn’t unhappy about that.

“I am still not a fan of this car,” Gordon said. “You put me back in 26th with one of the best cars and it’s everything I can do to pass the 25th-place car. To me, that is a problem.”

2nd – Jimmie Johnson (53 back) Jimmie Johnson knew he was going to get everything he could handle from Ryan Newman. “He has been working hard to get back to victory lane, so I knew he wasn’t going to cut me and slack,” Johnson said.

3rd – Clint Bowyer (115 back) Clint Bowyer’s ninth-place finish was his career best at Martinsville, but he still fell 38 points further behind in the Chase standings.

4th Tony Stewart (249 back) Tony Stewart worked his way up from his No. 34 starting spot into the top five, but when Kyle Petty wrecked on Lap 466, Petty stopped right in Stewart’s path. Stewart wound up 13th.

5th – Carl Edwards (285 back) Carl Edwards had a nice save late, keeping his car out of the wall in turns 3 and 4 when he got up in the marbles. He also had switch batteries at one point, but still finished 11th.

“That’s one of the longest ones I’ve ever had,” he said. “The thing was overheating and I didn’t have my fan on in there.”

6th – Kyle Busch (290 back)

Kyle Busch made a last-ditch effort to snatch a victory, taking the high line around the track on the green-white-checkered restart. He ended up fourth – his fourth top-five finish of the Chase thus far. He also led 106 laps.

“If we didn’t have two wrecks (in the Chase) I think we’d be right there challenging for this thing,” Busch said.

7th – Kevin Harvick (369 back)

Kevin Harvick avoided flat tires this week and finished 10th. Harvick had three flats last week at Charlotte.

8th – Denny Hamlin (374 back) Denny Hamlin rebounded from a disappointing run at Charlotte to finish sixth, his second top-10 finish in the past three races. He is 86 points outside the top five.

9th – Jeff Burton (409 back)

Burton was edged by Carl Edwards for the 11th-place position following a post-race review of film. Burton led the race at one point but got set back when NASCAR called him for a commitment-line violation.

10th – Kurt Busch (420 back)

Kurt Busch complained early that he had lost a cylinder then got caught up in an accident in Turn 1 on Lap 167. He ended up 31st, five laps down.

11th – Martin Truex Jr. (447 back)

Martin Truex Jr. ran in the top 10 much of the day before being caught up in three accidents, including consecutive ones on Laps 466 and 477. He finished 19th.

12th – Matt Kenseth (462 back)

A late-race two-tire pit call by crew chief Robbie Reiser helped Kenseth finish fifth, his first top-five finish of the Chase.

| Johnson shares ride up with Montoya

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:22 EDT

Riding the old racing elevator after a Martinsville Sunday:

UP – Jimmie Johnson Gets a third-straight win at Martinsville and picks up 15 points on Jeff Gordon in the Chase.

DOWN – Tony Stewart

A 13th-place finish wasn’t what he needed to stay in the Chase. He’s 249 points back now and all but done.

UP – Juan Pablo Montoya He completed all 1,006 laps in the two Martinsville races this year. That might be the most impressive thing about his rookie season.

| Hello?! The fat lady was singing

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:19 EDT

Some observations on Sunday's race from David Poole of The Charlotte Observer and ThatsRacin.com:

There were a few people rabble-rousing after the race, trying to drum up controversy about whether NASCAR should keep trying until it gets a green-white-checkered. That’s ridiculous. You can’t keep piling laps onto the end of a race.

The first race Rick Hendrick came to with his father was at Martinsville, but three years ago on this weekend 10 people, including Hendrick’s son, Ricky, and brother, John, died in the crash of a Hendrick team plane on the way here. “It’s hard to come up here,” Hendrick said. “But it’s better to be here than to be at home. ... As soon as I walk in here and get with the guys, they are my family, too. I am with people who care about us. We can’t undo what was done. ... We miss all of those folks.”

Surely nobody believes that Jeff Gordon can just coast to the championship from here. Early in Sunday’s race, he had a loose lug nut on a pit stop and had to come back in. When he got back on track, he was 33rd. Had that on his last pit stop, what would that have done to the title race? One mistake, literally, still is all it takes.

| Some of Sunday's big moments

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:44 EDT

Some of the turning points in Sunday's Subway 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway:

LAP 176 Jeff Gordon’s crew misses a lug nut, forcing him to return to pit road and dropping him back into traffic – and into potential peril until he can get back that track position.

LAP 457 Johnson gets the lead from Gordon, powering to the inside to inch ahead at the line before clearing the No. 24 and completing the pass just before a caution comes out.

LAP 466

Tony Stewart, trying to battle his way to a good finish, finds Kyle Petty’s wrecked Dodge right in his path through turns 3 and 4. It wasn’t a disaster – Stewart finished 13th – but it surely wasn’t what Stewart needed to stay in contention.

LAP 493

Ryan Newman moves up to battle Gordon for second place. Their cars bump as Newman begins to make the pass and make contact once again the next time around as the No. 12 Dodge clears Gordon’s Chevrolet.

LAP 505

As the cars complete the next-to-last lap, Newman gets his bumper alongside the rear wheels of Johnson’s car as a potential side-by-side battle for victory shaped up. But the 21st caution brought an end to that.

| Junior blows another engine

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:44 EDT

Short takes from the Martinsville race weekend:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s engine gave up on the green-white-checkered restart and he finished 23rd. “We think we broke a valve spring early in the race,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It was on seven cylinders.”

Peter Sospenzo, crew chief for driver Robby Gordon, was transported to Martinsville Memorial Hospital prior to the start of Sunday’s race for treatment of stroke-like symptoms, NASCAR officials said. Sospenzo was being held overnight.

Edwards and Kenseth face off in post-race flap near tunnel at Martinsville Speedway

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:53 EDT

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Roush Fenway Racing drivers Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth got into a heated verbal exchange while both were leaving Martinsville Speedway on Sunday night.

Kenseth was about to be interviewed by Speed Channel reporter Bob Dillner in the area of Turn 4 near the access tunnel when Edwards came up to Kenseth to complain about an on-track incident in the race.

The two exchanged words and Edwards appeared to raise his hand as if to strike Kenseth, but pulled away. Part of the incident was captured by Speed’s cameras and shown on the network’s post-race programming, “NASCAR Victory Lane” and “Speed Report.”

Officials with Edwards and Kenseth’s teams could not be reached late Sunday for comment.

| The full list, from first to worst in the driver standings

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:13 EDT

Updated NASCAR Nextel Cup driver standings, from first to that last guy:

Pos	Driver	BPts	Points	Ldr	Nxt	Starts	Pole	Wins	T5s	T10	DNFs	Money Won	PPos	G/L
1	Jeff Gordon	145	6055	0	0	32	7	6	20	26	1	$6,531,278	1	0
2	Jimmie Johnson	110	6002	-53	-53	32	3	7	17	20	4	$6,455,627	2	0
3	Clint Bowyer	70	5940	-115	-62	32	2	1	5	16	0	$3,831,569	3	0
4	Tony Stewart	120	5806	-249	-134	32	0	3	10	22	4	$5,835,282	4	0
5	Carl Edwards	60	5767	-288	-39	32	0	3	9	13	3	$4,062,237	5	0
6	Kyle Busch	90	5765	-290	-2	32	0	1	10	18	2	$4,188,318	6	0
7	Kevin Harvick	55	5686	-369	-79	32	0	1	4	13	0	$6,934,224	8	1
8	Denny Hamlin	90	5681	-374	-5	32	1	1	11	17	1	$4,441,589	9	1
9	Jeff Burton	35	5649	-406	-32	32	0	1	8	14	3	$5,430,829	10	1
10	Kurt Busch	115	5635	-420	-14	32	1	2	5	11	3	$4,598,389	7	-3
11	Martin Truex Jr.	70	5608	-447	-27	32	0	1	6	11	3	$4,349,926	11	0
12	Matt Kenseth	95	5593	-462	-15	32	0	1	9	18	4	$5,409,415	12	0
13	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	90	3626	-2429	-1967	32	1	0	7	12	6	$4,725,781	13	0
14	Ryan Newman	80	3560	-2495	-66	32	5	0	5	13	8	$4,475,634	15	1
15	Greg Biffle	30	3531	-2524	-29	32	0	1	4	10	4	$3,905,330	16	1
16	Casey Mears	45	3508	-2547	-23	32	1	1	5	10	2	$3,774,150	14	-2
17	Bobby Labonte	35	3159	-2896	-349	32	0	0	0	3	3	$4,111,637	17	0
18	Jamie McMurray	25	3113	-2942	-46	32	1	1	3	8	3	$3,402,082	19	1
19	Kasey Kahne	30	3103	-2952	0	32	2	0	1	7	5	$4,623,005	20	0
20	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	3103	-2952	-10	32	0	1	3	6	4	$4,348,708	21	2
21	J.J. Yeley	15	3095	-2960	-8	32	1	0	1	3	5	$3,887,283	18	-3
22	David Ragan #	5	2929	-3126	-166	32	0	0	2	2	3	$4,245,249	22	0
23	Reed Sorenson	30	2859	-3196	-70	32	1	0	2	5	5	$3,595,452	23	0
24	David Stremme	10	2844	-3211	-15	32	0	0	0	3	5	$2,860,333	24	0
25	Elliott Sadler	40	2761	-3294	-83	32	0	0	0	2	1	$3,554,682	26	1
26	Mark Martin	30	2727	-3328	-34	21	0	0	5	10	1	$3,820,467	25	-1
27	Jeff Green	20	2704	-3351	-23	32	0	0	0	3	4	$3,390,406	28	1
28	David Gilliland	5	2662	-3393	-42	32	1	0	1	2	4	$3,907,597	29	1
29	Robby Gordon	35	2628	-3427	-34	30	0	0	1	2	2	$2,703,029	27	-2
30	Tony Raines	10	2595	-3460	-33	30	0	0	0	1	3	$2,925,822	31	1
31	Johnny Sauter	15	2568	-3487	-27	31	0	0	1	2	2	$2,816,839	30	-1
32	Dave Blaney	35	2430	-3625	-138	29	1	0	1	4	8	$3,186,601	32	0
33	Ricky Rudd	5	2229	-3826	-201	27	0	0	0	1	6	$3,239,268	33	0
34	Paul Menard #	10	2181	-3874	-48	26	0	0	0	0	3	$2,111,324	34	0
35	Kyle Petty	35	2009	-4046	-172	25	0	0	1	1	4	$2,488,617	36	1
36	Joe Nemechek	5	1955	-4100	-54	25	0	0	0	1	6	$2,155,842	35	-1
37	Scott Riggs	0	1935	-4120	-20	25	0	0	0	1	5	$2,455,266	37	0
38	David Reutimann #	10	1756	-4299	-179	24	0	0	0	0	8	$2,185,431	39	1
39	Brian Vickers	35	1700	-4355	-56	19	0	0	1	4	4	$1,775,001	38	-1
40	Sterling Marlin	15	1600	-4455	-100	19	0	0	0	0	4	$1,928,740	40	0
41	Dale Jarrett	0	1317	-4738	-283	21	0	0	0	0	7	$1,853,232	41	0
42	Bill Elliott	20	1275	-4780	-42	16	0	0	0	0	2	$1,656,784	42	0
43	Kenny Wallace	10	1066	-4989	-209	15	0	0	0	0	3	$1,411,828	43	0
44	Michael Waltrip	15	1019	-5036	-47	13	1	0	0	2	3	$1,342,501	46	2
45	AJ Allmendinger #	0	999	-5056	-20	15	0	0	0	0	1	$1,125,607	44	-1
46	Ward Burton	5	939	-5116	-60	16	0	0	0	0	8	$1,279,722	47	1
47	Ken Schrader	10	932	-5123	-7	13	0	0	0	0	4	$1,519,346	45	-2
48	Jeremy Mayfield	15	855	-5200	-77	13	0	0	0	0	3	$1,031,994	48	0
49	John Andretti	5	853	-5202	-2	14	0	0	0	0	8	$1,112,025	49	0
50	Regan Smith	5	516	-5539	-337	7	0	0	0	0	0	$648,051	50	0
51	Boris Said	5	510	-5545	-6	5	0	0	0	1	0	$671,083	51	0
52	Mike Bliss	0	325	-5730	-185	4	0	0	0	0	1	$399,667	52	0
53	Ron Fellows	5	283	-5772	-42	2	0	0	1	1	0	$215,875	53	0
54	Aric Almirola	0	272	-5783	-11	5	0	0	0	0	3	$418,255	56	2
55	P J Jones	0	267	-5788	-5	3	0	0	0	0	0	$237,816	54	-1
BPts - Bonus Points, -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, PPos = Previous Position, G/L = Points standing gain/loss
Pos	Driver	BPts	Points	Ldr	Nxt	Starts	Pole	Wins	T5s	T10	DNFs	Money Won	PPos	G/L
56	Mike Wallace	0	266	-5789	-1	2	0	0	1	1	0	$724,066	55	-1
57	Terry Labonte	0	204	-5851	-62	3	0	0	0	0	1	$307,469	57	0
58	Chad McCumbee	0	128	-5927	-76	2	0	0	0	0	0	$151,308	58	0
59	Chad Chaffin	0	125	-5930	-3	2	0	0	0	0	0	$149,450	59	0
60	Patrick Carpentier	5	102	-5953	-23	1	0	0	0	0	0	$72,850	60	0
61	Jacques Villeneuve	0	100	-5955	-2	1	0	0	0	0	0	$73,325	61	0
62	Kevin Lepage	0	95	-5960	-5	2	0	0	0	0	1	$187,107	62	0
63	Butch Leitzinger	0	79	-5976	-16	1	0	0	0	0	0	$69,800	63	0
64	Jon Wood	0	76	-5979	-3	1	0	0	0	0	0	$131,933	64	0
65	Johnny Benson	0	70	-5985	-6	1	0	0	0	0	0	$64,875	65	0
66	Scott Wimmer	0	70	-5985	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$139,450	66	0
67	Marc Goossens	0	55	-6000	-15	1	0	0	0	0	0	$68,760	67	0
68	Robby Gordon	0				1	0	0	0	0	0	$60,200	79	-20
69	Derrike Cope	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$20,008	75	7
70	Frank Kimmel	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$19,958	87	18
71	Eric McClure	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$19,833	89	19
72	Kirk Shelmerdine	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$19,808	95	24
73	Mike Skinner	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$19,733	98	26
74	Stanton Barrett	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$19,350	72	-1
75	Brandon Whitt	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$19,275	99	25
76	James Hylton	0				0	0	0	0	0	0	$19,200	86	11
BPts - Bonus Points, -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, PPos = Previous Position, G/L = Points standing gain/loss

Gordon gets passed, gets mad, but gets a chance to talk about it

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:09 EDT

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The tussle between Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon started on track but ended on pit road.

And there it will remain, both say.

Newman got up alongside of Gordon on Lap 493 of Sunday’s Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway and two fender-banging moves later passed him for second place on Lap 494. Newman was mounting a challenge for the lead when a caution on the final lap left him with a second-place finish. Gordon ended up third.

Since both finished in the top five, they had to stop their respective cars on pit road for post-race media obligations. After exiting his No. 24 Chevrolet, Gordon made his way over to Newman, who was awaiting a TV interview in front of his car.

“You know why I’m mad,” Gordon said as he approached. He asked Newman if he believed he gave Gordon enough room on the track.

“I know you’re mad, but I want you to know I didn’t do it to you on purpose,” Newman replied. “I gave you the little love tap. You made me drive up (in the gravel) on purpose.”

Said Gordon, “If I made you mad, you’d do the same thing.”

Newman answered, “I know. I know. We’re good. I appreciate you coming over.”

Gordon is in a tight race with race-winner and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for the Nextel Cup Series championship and every point is critical. Gordon was trying not only to get the victory but maintain some breathing space in the points race between himself and Johnson.

“My car wasn’t fast enough to be in second place at the time and (Newman) got in the back of me. We went down into the next corner and I gave him room on the inside and he just slammed right into me,” Gordon said.

“I didn’t know why at the time. I was just mad at the time. I ran into the back of him and got into him when the caution came out.

“It’s all good. Ryan and I have been racing good for the past several years and you understand that things like that happen in the heat of the battle in the last laps of the race. It’s important to talk about them.”

Newman agreed.

“We were angry with each other, but that’s just because we’re both trying to win,” Newman said. “He came over, we talked, everything’s good and we’re on to Atlanta.”

Sunday was the second consecutive week Newman – who missed qualifying for the Chase for the Nextel Cup – has found himself in position to get the victory and end his 77-race winless streak.

“We had a decent car all day and it was better out front when I was able to maneuver around the lapped traffic,” Newman said. “It’s when you do some beating and banging and don’t get turned around doing it.”

Green, white, yellow and over

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:06 EDT

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – While Ryan Newman did stick his nose into it Sunday, the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway still provided further evidence that the 2007 Nextel Cup season is all about Jimmie Johnson vs. Jeff Gordon.

Johnson won this round, picking up a third-straight Martinsville victory by passing Gordon and leading the final 50 laps through a passel of subsequent restarts.

But Gordon, who wound up third Sunday, still has the upper hand in a bigger picture that’s now more than ever focused on the teammates who top the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.

Johnson, who won for the seventh time this year and the 30th time in his career, trimmed 15 points off Gordon’s lead to move to within 53 points. But with Clint Bowyer finishing ninth to fall 115 points behind, and with Tony Stewart’s 13th-place finish leaving him a likely insurmountable 249 back, this year’s title is all but assuredly now a Hendrick Motorsports intramural squabble.

Gordon had won the two previous races, passing Johnson with a last-lap move at Talladega and then winning at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which had been Johnson’s domain in recent years.

“I hate that Jeff won,” Johnson admitted, “but that’s only because I want to beat him. I think it’s healthy for us to have that without hating each other. Our relationship on the track is as intense as anything there is out there – without the hatred.”

What brief flare-up of hatred there was Sunday was between Gordon and Newman, whose battle for second supplanted an anticipated reprise of the Johnson-Gordon bump-off that distinguished the season’s first race here.

Gordon had failed to take the lead back from Johnson on one of five restarts that followed Johnson’s pass for the lead. But with 10 laps to go, Gordon was instead trying to keep Newman from taking second.

That didn’t work out, either.

“He was faster than me and he basically told me that with his front bumper,” Gordon said. “I couldn’t afford to let him hit me any harder or he might have wrecked me. ... I gave him a lot of room ... and all of a sudden I felt him slam into me. I was pretty upset about that and I showed him under the caution.”

Newman said he was only trying to do what he hasn’t been able to do since September 2005, and that’s win a race.

“I have to prove my worthiness, just like they do,” he said. “ ... In my opinion, I am a championship driver, and just because I had some bad luck this year doesn’t mean I should change the way I race guys that are going for the Cup.”

Clear of Gordon, Newman got one last chance to break what’s now a 77-race winless streak when the 20th caution – one that broke a record for a Martinsville race – set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Johnson didn’t get away on the restart and Newman was right there as they ran down the backstretch.

“I went into Turn 3 and got in there too deep,” Johnson said. “I left the door open.”

Newman pushed the nose of his car up to Johnson’s bumper off Turn 4. But David Ragan had spun behind the leaders, and his Ford sat across the track in Turn 1. NASCAR waited to throw the 21st yellow, hoping Ragan could pull off in time to permit what might have been a heck of finish.

No such luck.

Johnson rolled home safely, as NASCAR’s rules allow only one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish.

As Johnson did his celebratory burnout, Gordon and Newman conducted a brief face-to-face review of their perspectives and seemed to part on decent terms.

Gordon then went over to the post-race celebration to congratulate Johnson.

“He’s Mr. Martinsville, if you ask me,” Gordon said. “There were very few times today when I felt we were better than him.”

Johnson deflected the new sobriquet. “How many races did Richard Petty win here, 15?” he asked. “He’s Mr. Martinsville.”

Johnson also said he was impressed that Gordon came to congratulate him after the victory.

“The past two races when he beat me, my lip was dragging the ground so badly I couldn’t even make it over to victory lane to congratulate him,” Johnson said.

Things might be civil between the teammates and friends, but Johnson warned against thinking their competition in the final four races of this year’s Chase won’t be spirited.

“There’s no one we want to beat more than the 24,” he said of Gordon’s team. “They make us step up every week, and I feel we do the same for them. ... I have respect for what everybody out there does, and when it comes ... to Jeff, I have even more.”

“But being a competitor, I don’t want to lose a race. And I don’t want to lose the championship.”

Game on.

Three things to watch in Sunday's race

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:42 EDT

Three things to watch in Sunday's Subway 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway:

1. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, first and second in the championship standings, have won seven of the past nine races at Martinsville and both have finished in the top 10 in each of those races. Will that success continue in what has been a topsy-turvy Chase?

2. Martinsville is nowhere near as fast as Talladega, but it can be every bit as tricky and treacherous. A wreck can block just about the entire track and lead to a big pileup, ruining a good run just like a “big one” at Talladega can.

3. Tony Stewart ran into bad luck at Charlotte on a pit road that’s a whole lot wider and less crowded that the tight quarters on pit lane here at Martinsville. Avoiding trouble there is as important and dodging it on the track, too.

| How they start

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:26 EDT

Today's Lineup

Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Speed
1.	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	94.974
2.	1	M. Truex Jr.	Chevy	94.737
3.	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	94.685
4.	48	J. Johnson	Chevy	94.619
5.	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	94.585
6.	5	Kyle Busch	Chevy	94.562
7.	8	D. Earnhrdt Jr.	Chevy	94.557
8.	18	J.J. Yeley	Chevy	94.496
9.	26	J. McMurray	Ford	94.444
10.	96	Tony Raines	Chevy	94.369
11.	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	94.359
12.	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	94.340
13.	70	Johnny Sauter	Chevy	94.284
14.	19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	94.223
15.	49	John Andretti	Dodge	94.204
16.	43	B. Labonte	Dodge	94.148
17.	22	Dave Blaney	Toyota	94.115
18.	31	Jeff Burton	Chevy	94.087
19.	00	D. Reutimann	Toyota	94.083
20.	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	94.069
21.	07	Clint Bowyer	Chevy	94.031
Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Speed
22.	25	Casey Mears	Chevy	93.975
23.	88	Ricky Rudd	Ford	93.975
24.	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	93.882
25.	84	A. Allmndingr	Toyota	93.859
26.	42	J.P. Montoya	Dodge	93.826
27.	01	Aric Almirola	Chevy	93.817
28.	41	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	93.817
29.	55	M. Waltrip	Toyota	93.817
30.	11	Denny Hamlin	Chevy	93.812
31.	66	Jeff Green	Chevy	93.719
32.	10	Scott Riggs	Dodge	93.715
33.	44	Dale Jarrett	Toyota	93.627
34.	20	Tony Stewart	Chevy	93.553
35.	15	Paul Menard	Chevy	93.451
36.	4	Ward Burton	Chevy	93.414
37.	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	93.354
38.	40	D. Stremme	Dodge	92.988
39.	7	Robby Gordon	Ford	92.869
40.	38	David Gilliland	Ford	92.801
41.	6	David Ragan	Ford	ownpts
42.	45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	ownpts
43.	21	Bill Elliott	Ford	champion

Race Day at Martinsville

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:23 EDT

Practice Update

Points leaders still showing muscle

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, not surprisingly, were in the top five in both of Saturday's practices. Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray led the early session, and Tony Raines and McMurray had the fastest laps in the final practice. Clint Bowyer, third behind Gordon and Johnson in the standings, was in the top 10 in both sessions. So was Robby Gordon, who's also flying back and forth to Texas Motor Speedway to compete in Championship Off Road Racing events there this weekend.

Observer Picks

Jimmie Johnson: Not going to make Gordon's drive for a possible fifth championship a walk in the park.

Jim Utter

Jeff Gordon: Returns the bump and picks up a third straight victory.

News and Notes

Subway 500

WHERE: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

WHEN: 1:30 p.m. Sunday

WEATHER: Sunny, temperature in the upper 70s

TV: Coverage begins at 1 p.m. on ABC

RADIO: Motor Racing Network

RACE DISTANCE: 500 laps (263 miles)

TRACK LENGTH: .526 miles

Sunday's Lineup

Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Speed
1.	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	94.974
2.	1	M. Truex Jr.	Chevy	94.737
3.	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	94.685
4.	48	J. Johnson	Chevy	94.619
5.	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	94.585
6.	5	Kyle Busch	Chevy	94.562
7.	8	D. Earnhrdt Jr.	Chevy	94.557
8.	18	J.J. Yeley	Chevy	94.496
9.	26	J. McMurray	Ford	94.444
10.	96	Tony Raines	Chevy	94.369
11.	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	94.359
12.	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	94.340
13.	70	Johnny Sauter	Chevy	94.284
14.	19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	94.223
15.	49	John Andretti	Dodge	94.204
16.	43	B. Labonte	Dodge	94.148
17.	22	Dave Blaney	Toyota	94.115
18.	31	Jeff Burton	Chevy	94.087
19.	00	D. Reutimann	Toyota	94.083
20.	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	94.069
21.	07	Clint Bowyer	Chevy	94.031
Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Speed
22.	25	Casey Mears	Chevy	93.975
23.	88	Ricky Rudd	Ford	93.975
24.	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	93.882
25.	84	A. Allmndingr	Toyota	93.859
26.	42	J.P. Montoya	Dodge	93.826
27.	01	Aric Almirola	Chevy	93.817
28.	41	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	93.817
29.	55	M. Waltrip	Toyota	93.817
30.	11	Denny Hamlin	Chevy	93.812
31.	66	Jeff Green	Chevy	93.719
32.	10	Scott Riggs	Dodge	93.715
33.	44	Dale Jarrett	Toyota	93.627
34.	20	Tony Stewart	Chevy	93.553
35.	15	Paul Menard	Chevy	93.451
36.	4	Ward Burton	Chevy	93.414
37.	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	93.354
38.	40	D. Stremme	Dodge	92.988
39.	7	Robby Gordon	Ford	92.869
40.	38	David Gilliland	Ford	92.801
41.	6	David Ragan	Ford	ownpts
42.	45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	ownpts
43.	21	Bill Elliott	Ford	champion

Scot working to learn language and more

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:40 EDT

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – As the latest of the open-wheel racers to make the move to NASCAR, Dario Franchitti is finding himself learning a completely different language.

“That is one of the things to learn – describing what the car is doing in terms that the guys can understand,” Franchitti said at Martinsville Speedway, where he made his NASCAR debut Saturday in the Kroger 200 Craftsman Truck Series race.

Franchitti, who won this year’s Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship, qualified 30th in the morning, and finished 33rd in the afternoon.

“I’ve been lucky to work with (crew chief) Brian Pattie the whole time so far and we can start to build up that communication,” Franchitti said. “There are definitely times I’ll say the car is doing something and he’ll look at me kinda funny. Then I have to describe it further and he’ll understand what I mean. It’s all part of that process.

“There are different words for almost everything, so it will take awhile.”

Other open-wheel drivers now racing stock cars and trucks include Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya, a rookie in the Nextel Cup Series. Sam Hornish Jr., another former IndyCar champion, tried but failed to make Sunday’s Nextel Cup race.

Montoya’s presence has made it easier on Franchitti, he said.

“One of the things he said to me last week was ‘You’re going to have to learn to slow everything down. Stock cars are a lot heavier,”’ Franchitti said.

“He was right. That is something I keep in my head all the time.”

Villeneuve started 27th in the truck race, and finished 32nd.