Hendrick Motorsports Dominates Martinsville
Jonathan Monfiletto
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Sports
Hendrick Motorsports teammates dominated the Subway 500 at Martinsville Raceway, with Jimmie Johnson capturing the victory and Jeff Gordon hanging on to the championship lead.
Three teammates combined to lead 421 of 500 laps and swept three of the first four positions. While Johnson led 147 laps en route to the win, Gordon led 168 and Kyle Busch led 106 as the two grabbed third and fourth. Casey Mears, the fourth Hendrick driver, finished 20th and was never really a factor in Sunday's race.
With the win, Johnson closed to within 53 points of Gordon with just four races left in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. It appears that the Hendrick duo remains as the only drivers in contention for this year's championship, as the other 10 drivers in the Chase are over 100 points out of the lead.
Though the half-mile Martinsville track is known for bumping and banging that leads to wrecked racecars and problems for title contenders, a majority of the Chase drivers managed to stay out of trouble with contenders taking 10 of the top 15 spots.
Besides the Hendrick powerhouse, the contenders were Matt Kenseth (5th), Denny Hamlin (6th), Clint Bowyer (9th), Kevin Harvick (10th), Carl Edwards (11th), Jeff Burton (12th), and Tony Stewart (13th).
Ryan Newman led a group of non-Chase drivers in the top 15 with a runner-up finish behind Johnson. Greg Biffle and Juan Montoya, who leads Rookie of the Year standings, finished seventh and eighth while Tony Raines and Kasey Kahne finished 14th and 15th.
Martin Truex Jr. had run in the top 10 for most of the day before a couple of spins late in the race relegated him to a 19th-place finish. Kurt Busch suffered a cut tire and lost five laps while his crew repaired the damage, ending up 31st in the running order.
Bowyer sits third in points behind the Hendrick teammates, 110 points out of the lead. Stewart is fourth, 244 points out, while Edwards and Kyle Busch are in fifth and sixth, tied at 280 points behind.
Three teammates combined to lead 421 of 500 laps and swept three of the first four positions. While Johnson led 147 laps en route to the win, Gordon led 168 and Kyle Busch led 106 as the two grabbed third and fourth. Casey Mears, the fourth Hendrick driver, finished 20th and was never really a factor in Sunday's race.
With the win, Johnson closed to within 53 points of Gordon with just four races left in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. It appears that the Hendrick duo remains as the only drivers in contention for this year's championship, as the other 10 drivers in the Chase are over 100 points out of the lead.
Though the half-mile Martinsville track is known for bumping and banging that leads to wrecked racecars and problems for title contenders, a majority of the Chase drivers managed to stay out of trouble with contenders taking 10 of the top 15 spots.
Besides the Hendrick powerhouse, the contenders were Matt Kenseth (5th), Denny Hamlin (6th), Clint Bowyer (9th), Kevin Harvick (10th), Carl Edwards (11th), Jeff Burton (12th), and Tony Stewart (13th).
Ryan Newman led a group of non-Chase drivers in the top 15 with a runner-up finish behind Johnson. Greg Biffle and Juan Montoya, who leads Rookie of the Year standings, finished seventh and eighth while Tony Raines and Kasey Kahne finished 14th and 15th.
Martin Truex Jr. had run in the top 10 for most of the day before a couple of spins late in the race relegated him to a 19th-place finish. Kurt Busch suffered a cut tire and lost five laps while his crew repaired the damage, ending up 31st in the running order.
Bowyer sits third in points behind the Hendrick teammates, 110 points out of the lead. Stewart is fourth, 244 points out, while Edwards and Kyle Busch are in fifth and sixth, tied at 280 points behind.
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