Jimmy Johnson drove the Lowes Chevy Impala to victory lane as the checkered flag and the caution flag waved at the same time. This is the third time in a row that Jimmy Johnson has won at Martinsville. The day saw a record number of cautions and The Lowes team was happy to see the last one. Lap number 496 of 500 saw caution number twenty when Bobby LaBonte and Casey Mears got together on the back stretch. This was the formula for another green white checker finish, something that Jimmy Johnson said was not one of his strong points. Well he didn’t have to worry about it because as soon as the green flag flew, Davis Ragan spun bringing out the race ending caution flag for the last time. Ryan Newman came in second and I am happy to see the pole sitter, Jeff Gordon come in third instead of first. I was just getting tired of hearing about him week end and week out. The rest of the top ten were Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.


THE RACE AFTER THE RACE?

ESPN covered the race on T.V. broadcasting it on ABC in a joint venture that I am growing fond of. They covered another race today that was really interesting and humorous. A couple of weeks at the Talladega race they video taped some of the drivers as they hauled butt out of the Talladega Super-speedway and on to the airport runway just outside of turn two. It was a little video commentated By the ESPN crew of Rusty Wallace, Brent Musburger and veteran crew chief Andy Petree. It was not only pretty neat to see how the drivers get from the track to the plane but the ESPN crew added some comedy to it also. I think Matt Kenseth won that race. The Talladega Super-speedway Airstrip becomes the busiest airport in the state of Alabama two Sundays a year with more than 400 takeoffs and landings on those two Sunday’s. Anyway it was a neat thing to watch. I love anything behind the scenes in Nascar.

I’M NOT CRAZY ABOUT MARTINSVILLE

I don’t know what it is about any races at Martinsville Speedway? To me it is just a really boring race untill the last 100 laps. Hell I went out in the back yard for an hour and painted a lawn chair. About the last 75 laps were the best as the team’s strategies were taking shape. Maybe the races there are a bit too long? Maybe it’s the fact that the speed isn’t as high as a 1.5 mile or bigger track? I don’t know, its just a little boring to me. If Martinsville wasn’t shaped like a paperclip and was a bit more like Richmond I would probably like it more. Don’t get me wrong now, its a great place to race and I wouldn’t want to see it go away, I just don’t think that it needs to be in the chase is all. Does anybody else feel this way? Or am I alone in this aspect? I know one thing though, the teams of Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson have got The Martinsville Speedway flat figured out. They have dominated there for the past few years. Maybe it has something to do with the plane crash where Friends and family died on their way to Martinsville a few years ago. Whatever it is, They are doing something right.

THE FINISHING ORDER
FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 4 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 190/5 506 Running
2 12 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 170/0 506 Running
3 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 175/10 506 Running
4 6 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 165/5 506 Running
5 24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford R+L Carriers 155/0 506 Running
6 30 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Freight 150/0 506 Running
7 37 16 Greg Biffle Ford Dish Network 146/0 506 Running
8 26 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Texaco / Havoline 147/5 506 Running
9 21 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 138/0 506 Running
10 3 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 134/0 506 Running
11 20 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 130/0 506 Running
12 18 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 132/5 506 Running
13 34 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 124/0 506 Running
14 10 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 121/0 506 Running
15 5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 118/0 506 Running
16 32 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Valvoline / Stanley Tools 115/0 506 Running
17 19 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Dominos.com 112/0 506 Running
18 29 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 109/0 506 Running
19 2 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 106/0 506 Running
20 22 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 103/0 506 Running
21 42 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 100/0 506 Running
22 16 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Goody’s Headache Powders 97/0 506 Running
23 7 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 99/5 506 Running
24 35 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet Pittsburgh Paints / Menards 91/0 505 Running
25 40 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s 88/0 505 Running
26 41 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA 85/0 505 Running
27 23 88 Ricky Rudd Ford Combos 82/0 504 Running
28 31 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Haas Automation 84/5 503 Running
29 13 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 76/0 503 Running
30 33 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 73/0 503 Running
31 11 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 70/0 501 Running
32 9 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 67/0 500 Running
33 15 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 64/0 492 Running
34 43 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie 61/0 483 Running
35 25 84 A.J. Allmendinger * Toyota Red Bull 58/0 474 Running
36 17 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 55/0 439 Running
37 38 40 David Stremme Dodge Target House 52/0 410 Out of Race
38 36 4 Ward Burton Chevrolet Lucas / ITT Night Vision / State Water Heaters 49/0 406 Running
39 39 7 Robby Gordon Ford MAC Tools 46/0 390 Running
40 14 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 43/0 371 Running
41 28 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target / Breast Cancer Awareness 40/0 259 Out of Race
42 8 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 37/0 258 Out of Race
43 27 01 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 34/0 111 Out of Race

And the chase points look like this after Martinsville

RANK +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND STARTS POLES WINS TOP 5 TOP 10
1 — Jeff Gordon 6055 Leader 32 7 6 20 26
2 — Jimmie Johnson 6002 -53 32 3 7 17 20
3 — Clint Bowyer 5940 -115 32 2 1 5 16
4 — Tony Stewart 5806 -249 32 0 3 10 22
5 — Carl Edwards 5767 -288 32 0 3 9 13
6 — Kyle Busch 5765 -290 32 0 1 10 18
7 +1 Kevin Harvick 5686 -369 32 0 1 4 13
8 +1 Denny Hamlin 5681 -374 32 1 1 11 17
9 +1 Jeff Burton 5649 -406 32 0 1 8 14
10 -3 Kurt Busch 5635 -420 32 1 2 5 11
11 — Martin Truex Jr. 5608 -447 32 0 1 6 11
12 — Matt Kenseth 5593 -462 32 0 1 9 18

I don’t want to be the bearer of the bad news but I think you can officially call Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards out of the running for the Nextel Cup. 249 points is a lot to make up. With the way that the two top Hendrick teams are running, it just doesn’t add up to Tony Stewart catching up. I’m not a statistic type of person but I will take a stab at this, Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson are going to have to have a couple of D.N.F.’s and Tony is going to have to win at least two races to pass either of the top two chase contenders. Carl Edwards is close to being 300 points out of the lead. It just ain’t happening folks.

NEXT WEEK ITS THE PEP BOYS 500

The Atlanta Motor Speedway is the site for next Sunday’s running of the Pep Boys 500. Atlanta is a very fast 1.5 mile track that carries a lot of speed off the corners. Next Sunday will see us witnessing speeds over 190 MPH heading into the corners. If your car is not dialed in at Atlanta you will see drivers going by you as you do all you can to stay out of the fence. Television coverage begins Friday at 7 P.M. eastern time with Bud Pole Qualifying on ESPN2. Race coverage is on ABC at 1 P.M. eastern time Sunday. I look forward to Atlanta as it is always exciting and the speeds are so high. It’s always a great race and has had the potential for some really close finishes. I’ll be back after qualifying to let you know how they will take the green. Stay safe out there.