Sunday, October 21 Martinsville Speedway Martinsville, Virginia

Jimmie Johnson (48) leads Ryan Newman (12) to the checkered flag to win the Subway 500.

Johnson’s Third-Straight Martinsville Victory Tightens Chase Standings

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 21, 2007) - Jimmie Johnson might have his teammate Jeff Gordon's number at Martinsville Speedway.

He beat him again here Sunday. It was almost a repeat of this year's first race here when Johnson held Gordon off at the finish, but Ryan Newman passed Gordon a few laps from the finish to take second place.

After grousing over his team radio about Newman's pass, Gordon ended up third, barely edging one of his other Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Busch in a green, white, checkered finish that ended a record day of cautions for this tough old track.

A record 20 caution periods for accidents slowed the field for one-fourth the race distance but Johnson and Gordon were the class of the field most of the day.

Johnson and Gordon finished one-two in a fender-rubbing finish this spring at Martinsville. At several points during the race Sunday, Rick Hendrick's stable of cars ran one-two-three. Hendrick-prepared cars have won eight of the last 10 Martinsville races.

Matt Kenseth finished fifth. Denny Hamlin was sixth and Greg Biffle seventh. Juan Pablo Montoya was eighth and led the race for several laps. Clint Bowyer was ninth and Kevin Harvick 10th.

Gordon battled back from the rear of the field after having to make an extra pit stop for a loose lug nut. His third-place finish kept him atop the point standings in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. His point total of 6,055 is 53 ahead of Johnson, 115 ahead of Bowyer and 249 ahead of Tony Stewart.

Gordon took off from the pole position like he owned Martinsville and had begun lapping cars when Robbie Gordon blew a right front tire and hit the wall in Turn 1 on Lap 44.

When the race resumed after pit stops on Lap 49, Gordon was still in front. His No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet sailed around like it was glued to the half-mile oval.

Johnson moved past Harvick on the 62nd lap for second spot. Johnny Sauter spun on Lap 66 to bring the caution out again.

Dale Jarrett clipped David Gilliland in Turn 1 on Lap 81, causing another caution. Both cars spun but neither made contact with the wall.

On the Lap 87 restart, the Hendrick cars were running 1-2-3: Gordon, Johnson and Kyle Busch.

Another caution slowed the field on Lap 91. Kasey Kahne spun, as did Scott Riggs, David Ragan and Aric Almirola. Once the dust settled on the spinning cars, Riggs restarted his car and clipped Reed Sorensen, turning him around. Gordon remained the leader on the restart.

Johnson passed Gordon for the lead on Lap 108. A few laps later, Almirola's car started smoking and a caution flew when he stopped on the backstretch with flames erupting from the engine compartment. The fire was quickly extinguished

Dale Earnhardt Jr. told his crew that his engine was misfiring shortly after 100 laps. He was running in 24th position, though, and not a factor in the race at that time.

Once pit stops were completed and the race restarted on Lap 126, Burton was in front with Jeff Green second and Montoya third. Those drivers did not pit along with Johnson, Gordon, Harvick and others.

Kurt Busch cut a right front and smacked the wall on Lap 166 bringing out another caution. This time, Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Bowyer did not pit as others did and Kyle Busch was the leader on the restart at Lap 172. Montoya came back on the track first among the cars that pitted and was in fifth position.

Gordon had to pit a second time for that loose lug nut and dropped to 33rd in the running order. The cars had barely gotten back up to speed when Michael Waltrip spun in Turn 3, prompting another caution period.

Busch continued to lead before a debris caution slowed the field on the 225th lap.

This time, Montoya was the leader followed by the determined Earnhardt, who had nursed his car into second place. Stewart was in third and Truex fourth. Gordon skipped this pit stop to gain track position and was fifth.

Earnhardt tapped Montoya out of the way to take the lead on Lap 229. Stewart and Truex slipped past while Montoya lost ground while keeping his car from spinning. Earnhardt ended up nursing a sick engine to a 23rd-place finish, continuing his streak of engine problems.

Complete race results and point standings in the Event Stats section below...

Checkered Flag Fast Facts

• Jimmie Johnson won the Subway 500, his 30th victory in 215 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
• This is his seventh victory and 20th top-10 finish in 2007.
• This is his fourth victory and 11th top-10 finish in 12 races at Martinsville Speedway. He became the first driver to win three straight at Martinsville since Rusty Wallace (both races 1994 and spring 1995). Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty and Fred Lorenzen (four) also won three consecutive Martinsville races.
• Ryan Newman (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 12 races at Martinsville.
• Jeff Gordon (third) posted his 24th top-10 finish in 30 races at Martinsville and his 26th of the season.
• Juan Pablo Montoya (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Seven of the Chase drivers posted top-10 finishes: Johnson, Gordon, Kyle Busch (fourth), Matt Kenseth (fifth), Denny Hamlin (sixth), Clint Bowyer (ninth) and Kevin Harvick (10th).
• Jeff Gordon leads the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by a margin of 53 points over Jimmie Johnson.
• With four races remaining, all 12 of the Chase drivers are still mathematically eligible for the Championship.

Broadcast Times*

Qualifying: Friday, October 19 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 4:30 p.m./AT)

Final Practice: Saturday, October 20 (ESPN2 at 8 p.m./AT - same day delay)

RaceDay: Sunday, October 21 (SPEED at 10:30 a.m./AT)

Countdown to Green: Sunday, October 21 (ABC at 2 p.m./AT)

Race: Sunday, October 21 (ABC at 2:30 p.m./AT)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Entry List

Qualifying Results

Starting Lineup


For the seventh time this year, and 63rd of his NASCAR career, Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole Award and will lead the field to the green flag for Sunday's Subway 500...

Qualifying Notes

• Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole for the Subway 500 with a lap of 19.938 seconds, 94.974 mph.
• This is his 63rd Bud Pole in 505 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races.
• This is his seventh Bud Pole and 19th top-10 start in 2007.
• This is Jeff Gordon’s sixth Bud Pole 21st top-10 start in 30 races at Martinsville Speedway.
• Martin Truex Jr. posted the second-fastest qualifying time with a lap of 19.988 seconds, 94.737 mph.
• This is Truex’s 13th top-10 start of 2007 and his first better than 15th in four Martinsville races. He tied his career-best start set at Chicago and second Loudon.
• Kevin Harvick (third) posted his 10th top-10 start this season and his fifth top-10 start in 13 Martinsville races. This is his first start better than fifth here.
• Jimmie Johnson (fourth) posted his series-leading 22nd top-10 start of 2007.
• Five of the 12 Chase drivers qualified in the top 10: Gordon, Truex, Harvick, Johnson, Kyle Busch (sixth)
• John Andretti (15th) was the fastest of the drivers required to make the field on time.
• David Reutimann (19th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
• Drivers that failed to qualify include Sam Hornish Jr., Joe Nemechek, Brian Vickers, Jeremy Mayfield and Kevin Lepage.

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Subway 500
The Place: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.
The Date: Sunday, Oct. 21
Radio: MRN; SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Channel 128
The Track: .526-mile oval
The Distance: 263 miles, 500 laps
The Purse: $4,872,371
2006 Polesitter: Kurt Busch
2006 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Pre-Race On-Track Schedule (ET): Friday—Practice, noon-1:30 p.m. Qualifying, 3:45 p.m.; Saturday—Practice, 10-10:50 a.m. and 12:50-1:50 p.m.
Season To-Date Results & Point Standings: click here

Track Map



Keys to Winning...

• Denny Hamlin: “Martinsville is definitely a race track where you have to roll the center really well and use little to no brake at all at that race track.”
• Crew chief Chad Knaus (for Jimmie Johnson): “Because it is a 500-lap race, it is very difficult, so you have to have a lot of patience and keep a little reserve for the end of the race.”
• Crew chief Steve Letarte (for Jeff Gordon): “When you catch a lapped car and he wants to run the bottom or protect the bottom, you have to have a car that can move up. It’s basic short-track racing, it has to roll or have good drive-off.”
• Jimmie Johnson: “As a driver, the discipline that you need in the braking zone and getting through the center of the turns is very, very important there.”

Green Flag Notes...

• Sunday’s Subway 500 at venerable Martinsville Speedway marks the sixth of 10 events in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup – time and opportunity that shrink by the day. And with urgency palpable, is this the week that third-place Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet) and fourth-place Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet) make their lunge at the leaders?
  
  A quick reset: Four-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) leads the Chase standings with Hendrick Motorsports teammate – and reigning series champion – Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) second, 68 points behind. Follow with Bowyer, 78 points out, and Stewart, 198 out, and the call to action is apparent. This week’s setting is key – Martinsville’s .526-mile surface confounds even the smoothest drivers with its tight turns, an unforgiving flatness and historic quirks (those interior concrete curbs). Though Gordon and Johnson lead all active drivers with seven and three wins there, respectively, a weeding-out – or jumbling up – could occur.
  
  Bowyer may have the most daunting catch-up task despite his 10-point cushion over Stewart. The first-year Chase participant and second-year driver has an average finish of 18.7 in three career series starts at Martinsville. He finished 11th in April. “It’s so small that if something happens in front of you, there’s just no getting around it,” Bowyer said of Martinsville. “We finished 11th at Martinsville in the spring and we need to get more out of it this time. We knew we’d have to pick up our program and finish better at all these race tracks and I think we can go there this weekend and do better than we’ve done in the past.”
  
  Stewart also could be poised for a major gain. He excels at Martinsville, where he’s won twice along with six top fives, 10 top 10s and three poles. He also boasts the top pre-race Driver Rating for Martinsville, according to NASCAR Loop Data statistics – 125.5. Stewart also owns the top Average Running Position (4.382), Fastest Laps (277) and Laps Led (829).
  
  Here’s more inspiration for both Bowyer and Stewart, courtesy of Johnson, who’s made Chase comebacks a personal trademark:
  • Trailing the leader by 146 points after five races in ’06, Johnson rebounded to win his first series title;
  • In ’04, Johnson trailed the leader by 227 points after five races and finished second in the final standings by only eight points to eventual champion Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge).
  • In ’05, Johnson was tied for the lead with Stewart after five Chase races; Stewart went on to capture his second series title.
• Jeff Gordon, The Martinsville Master … Currently out front in his quest for a fifth series title, Jeff Gordon’s Martinsville statistics bode well – and likely awe – as he approaches Sunday’s Subway 500. Gordon leads all active drivers with seven Martinsville wins. He also has five poles, 17 top fives and 23 top 10s there, plus a second-best (behind Tony Stewart) pre-race Driver Rating of 123.8. More facts in Gordon’s favor: He’s won two straight, at Talladega Superspeedway two weeks ago and last Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He and Jimmie Johnson each have a series-high six victories this season. Gordon also leads the series with six poles, 19 top fives and 25 top 10s in ’07.
• And Johnson’s Not Far Behind … Yes, Gordon dominates Martinsville statistics. But Johnson, who trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammate by 68 points in the current Chase standings, has mastered Martinsville, too. He owns three victories there, and ranks third in pre-race Driver Rating – 117.2 – according to NASCAR Loop Data statistics. Along with three wins, Johnson has one pole, seven top fives and 10 top 10s at Martinsville. He’s also eyeing the ’07 series sweep, having won the April event there.
• Take A Picture … In April, Johnson and Gordon battled door-to-door to the finish at Martinsville, with Johnson prevailing by 0.065 seconds – the season’s fourth closest finish to date. Given the two drivers’ similar statistics at the half-mile track, it’s not unrealistic to expect a repeat. And there is this: Gordon and Johnson have finished one-two on three other occasions this season. In March, Johnson won at Las Vegas, with Gordon finishing second. Gordon swept both Talladega events this year, with Johnson as the runner-up. Gordon’s last Martinsville victory came during his ’05 season sweep there.
• Double-Duty Drivers … Three drivers, all Chase participants – Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer – will compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, the Kroger 200. Bowyer will drive for Kevin Harvick Inc., while Busch and Hamlin will drive Billy Ballew Motorsports trucks – perhaps a harbinger of ’08, when Busch joins Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing.
• Montoya Maintaining Rookie Points Lead...No change in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, where Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge) continues to lead David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Ford). Montoya finished 37th last week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway while Ragan finished 40th. The margin between them remains 15 points (226-211).
• A Virginian’s Fond Farewell...Sunday’s Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway should mark the final NASCAR NEXTEL Cup appearance by Chesapeake native Ricky Rudd in his home state. Rudd, who returned last week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway after missing the last six races with a left shoulder injury, has said he will retire following the ‘07 season. Rudd, 51, suffered a separated shoulder in a Sept. 2 accident at California Speedway. He’d been sidelined until last weekend, when he returned to finish 11th at LMS.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.