This week, NASCAR descended upon the shortest track on the circuit, the Martinsville Speedway. Set at only 0.526-miles in length, this “paper clip” of a speedway is well known to tear up sheet metal and have tempers just as short.
With the 2010 Chase for the Cup now entering the last five races, it seemed appropriate that it would start with a short track. With the points close, especially between the top four in the standings, it was going to be an afternoon full of beaten fenders, rubber marks, and aggressive actions. Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin had the honor of bringing the 43-car field to the green flag under beautiful blue skies in the Tums Fast Relief 500.
Hamlin kept the lead for the first 10 laps, but soon fell victim to the first lead change as Marcos Ambrose took advantage of the inside lane. At that point, Hamlin began falling like a rock as the handling of his Toyota Camry went south. Crew chief Mike Ford told him to remain calm as it was early in the race, and they were going to fix it.
Ambrose hell the spot as the race went under it’s first caution flag came out for Travis Kvapil blowing a tire. On the ensuing round of pit stops, it was Ryan Newman gaining the top spot and bringing the field to the restart.
That lead would last until lap 83 when Virginia native Jeff Burton decided to make a run at the front. He would end up holding the lead through the race’s second and third caution flags for Elliott Sadler stopping on the track and Ambrose having a wreck in the second turn. However, Burton soon found a challenge in the form of his teammate as Kevin Harvick was ready to make a challenge. Harvick had the lead for a lap, but Burton would not go away and kept the lead as the race went under yellow three more times in a matter of 30 laps.
That would be the theme through the middle of the race as it would be caution after caution through lap 232.
At the same time, yet another contender for victory came to the front, and this time it was a familiar name to Martinsville fans at the lead. On lap 229, Jeff Gordon came to the front and held the spot through two cautions. One for Mark Martin and A.J. Allmendinger getting together on the front stretch, and the other for David Reutimann hitting the inside wall of turn 4 following contact from Brad Keselowski.
But then, the fans got on their feet as someone that has not seen the lead much the last few years got to the front. With many fans wearing green, white and blue, the Martinsville faction of “Junior Nation” rose up as Dale Earnhardt Jr. found the lead on lap 285, and would hold it for 63 of the next 65 laps.
The fans were on their feet and cheered on the No. 88 car, and Junior himself seemed to be in a good spot to get a strong finish.
After the race’s 11th caution for J.J. Yeley spinning out, Junior lost the lead to Harvick on pit road. But, with his team bringing on a sub-12 second pit stop, he would find his way back to the front on the restart. Junior held the lead until lap 377 when he was passed by Harvick.
He would hold the lead until lap 286 when the caution flew again, but this one was huge for the entire field. Coming into turn 3, Gordon just barely got into Kurt Busch, nudging him up and allowing him to pass. The move looked innocent as he couldn’t slow up in time or Busch didn’t know he was underneath.
However, when the cars exited turn 4, there was nothing unintentional about what happened. Busch got right into the corner of the No. 24 car, and spun him out right in front of the flag stand. The black and silver Chevrolet of Gordon had damage to the rear, but more importantly it meant he was not going to victory lane.
The wreck resulted in major repairs, and meant all the effort the team made to get to the front had ended. Gordon would finish 20th when the checkered flag flew.
Harvick got the lead again on lap 394, and held it as the race went through its 15th, and ultimately final, caution for when Tony Raines spun out in the fourth turn.
Harvick had the top spot, but with no cautions to aid him in slowing the field after lap 402, it was going to be a tough task to hold off the field. The problem soon became that the car he was trying to hold off was one that early on had the lead, only to fall back very quickly.
That challenge came from Hamlin, who battled his way back to the front and then when it came to crunch time, the No. 11 car found it’s way to the lead. Hamlin would take over the lead on lap 471, and at that point found himself in the best place. Despite a late charge from Martin, who seemed to drive a car meant to be used on a dirt track rather than in NASCAR, Hamlin’s early prediction of victory became a reality.
Out of the final corner, the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota would take the checkered flag, winning the Tums Fast Relief 500.
The win meant another 10 bonus points for Hamlin. Combine that with the fact that points leader Jimmie Johnson, who battled for a fifth-place finish yet did not lead one lap, and the Chase standings are now closer than they have ever been with four races remaining. Heading into next week, Johnson holds his points lead now by six points, compared to the 41-point margin he had entering the day.
However come next week, that could all change for either driver. Next week is the real wild card of the Chase. NASCAR will be going from it’s shortest track to it’s biggest, and the restrictor plates are coming along.
It’s going to be tight racing, and every corner could mean calamity if one driver makes the wrong move. The next stop in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup is the Talladega Superspeedway.
Coverage of next Sunday’s Amp Energy Juice 500 will begin at 12 Noon ET on ESPN2 with NASCAR Countdown. An hour later, flag-to-flag coverage moves over to ESPN.
RESULTS: 1-Hamlin 2-Martin 3-Harvick 4-Kyle Busch 5-Johnson 6-Logano 7-Earnhardt Jr. 8-Edwards 9-Burton 10-Keselowski
NOTABLE FINISHES: 14-Kahne 15-Kenseth 16-Kurt Busch 20-J. Gordon 24-Stewart 33-Biffle 38-Bowyer
CAUTIONS: 15 for 90 laps. Lap 49-53 (No. 38 accident-FS), 112-116 (No. 19 stopped on track), 121-126 (No. 47 accident-T2), 133-137 (No. 19, 26, 47 accident-BS), 171-177 (No. 56 stopped on track), 186-190 (No. 77, 78, 82 accident-T1), 194-200 (No. 33 accident-T3), 211-214 (No. 9, 98 accident-T3), 227-232 (No. 5, 43 accident-FS), 235-246 (No. 00, 12 accident-T4), 289-293 (No. 81 stopped on track), 350-356 (No. 16 accident-T2), 360-363 (No. 38, 77 accident-T2), 386-393 (No. 2, 24 accident-FS), 399-402 (No. 34 accident-T4).
LEAD CHANGES: 24 among 12 drivers. Hamlin 1-10, Ambrose 11-50, Mears 51, Newman 52-82, Burton 83-111, Reutimann 112, Burton 113-126, Newman 127, Burton 128-171, Harvick 172, Burton 173-214, Harvick 215-222, Burton 223-227, Harvick 228, J. Gordon 229-284, Earnhardt Jr. 285-289, Stewart 290, R. Gordon 291, Earnhardt Jr. 292-350, Harvick 351 ,Earnhardt Jr. 352-377, Harvick 378-386, Schrader 387-393, Harvick 394-470, Hamlin 471-500.
TIME OF RACE: 3 Hrs, 40 Mins, 20 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 71.619 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.318 Seconds
Chase for the Sprint Cup: 1. Johnson, 5998 points; 2. Hamlin, -6; 3. Harvick, -62; 4. Kyle Busch, -172; 5. J. Gordon, -203; 6. Edwards, -213; 7. Stewart, -236; 8. Burton, -246; 9. Kurt Busch, -277; 10. Kenseth, -293; 11. Biffle, -316; 12. Bowyer, -406.