Jimmie Johnson Eases the Pain of Martinsville
Written by John Davison · October 22, 2006
Jimmie Johnson held off Denny Hamlin’s challenge to return to an emotional Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway Sunday. Two years ago, Johnson scored his first win at the oldest track in NEXTEL Cup racing on the day an airplane crash took the lives of ten Hendrick relatives and employes. Bobby Labonte gave Petty Enterprises a third place, the team’s best finish in five years, followed by Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon in fifth.
Martinsville’s fireworks started in the fourth turn of the first lap when Kyle Petty spun on the outside, causing a typical short track bottleneck behind him. Martin Truex’ car received the worst of the deal as he ran into the back of Reed Sorenson’s Dodge and smashed his radiator. Later on, it was discovered that Jeff Burton’s car had suffered a pair of broken hood pins in hitting the back of Joe Nemechek’s car. At the drop of the green flag, Jeff Gordon grabbed the lead from pole-sitter Kurt Busch on the first lap and after the restart, marched out to a lead of over two seconds before catching traffic and allowing Denny Hamlin to close on him.
Burton’s hood pin ills pointed out the fact that he has yet to receive one of the ‘lucky dog’ passes back onto the lead lap this year. If he gets called into the pits for repairs, this may be his first free pass.
The next caution flew when Ryan Newman spun Casey Mears on the track, sending the entire field down pit road. Gordon won the race off Martinsville’s nearly full-track pit road, followed by Tony Raines, Dale Earnhardt, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. The bump was actually precipitated by earlier contact between the two, earning them both a restart at the back of the pack and an admonishment from NASCAR that their driving was being watched especially closely for the rest of the race.
Jeff Burton’s crew applied a large tape bandage to the No. 31 car instead of taking time to repair or replace the hood hold-down pins.
Burton’s tape job may have closed off too much area on the nose of the car, as he reported that the engine temperatures were rising. He eased off the throttle and started looking for clean air to keep the engine cool. He eventually lost a lap to the leaders as Gordon moved inside him and shouldered his way by.
After 145 laps, Jeff Gordon ceded the lead to fellow Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson for a single round, allowing Johnson to earn the five bonus points for leading a lap, then Johnson moved high and allowed teammate Gordon back to the point. Johnson reported to his team that he was actually being held back by about a tenth of a second a lap by Gordon, but was laying back and saving the car for later in the 500-lap race. Then, on lap 153, Johnson moved low and around Gordon into the lead, with a gap of just under four tenths of a second on the first lap.
David Stremme caused the third caution with a spin in Turn Four on lap 155 after Jamie McMurray clipped him in the left-rear corner. Johnson kept the lead off pit road, followed by Gordon, Stewart, Earnhardt and Hamlin. Ken Schrader, in seventh was the first non-Chevy runner, following Tony Raines and ahead of Joe Nemechek for a few laps until Nemechek got around him for position.
Michael Waltrip spun just after the 200-lap point to bring out the fourth caution of the race, Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt, Stewart and Hamlin heading Elliott Sadler, who took advantage of a two-tire stop to gain several positions.
Jeff Burton’s woes continued after this stop as he reported that the engine was shutting down on the straights. Burton’s only DNF this season was at Michigan after an engine failure. He pulled off the track and into the garage on lap 221 while running in 34th on the field, three laps down.
Ward Burton spun in Turn Two for the fifth caution of the race after David Gilliland clipped the inside curb and bounced off into the older of the Burton brothers. Burton’s car stayed off the outside wall. Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt, Stewart and Hamlin still held the lead five spots but Tony Raines had passed Sadler for sixth.
Lap 232 brought out another caution with a ‘Martinsville Big One’ in the third turn, involving Harvick, Jarrett, Sorenson, Kvapil, Robby Gordon, Mike Skinner and others as a slip ten cars in front of Sorenson caused him to slow and the rest of the field scattered.
Ryan Newman got the Lucky Dog pass as the restart flew with twelve laps to the mid-race mark, Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt, Stewart and Hamlin still holding the top five positions. Jeff Burton got out of his car in the garage and walked away, apparently his race down. But Tony Raines lost a left-rear tire and Travis Kvapil spun into the outside wall on lap 242 for the seventh caution of the race. Johnson stopped for four tires but Gordon stayed on the track. Burton described the problem as something in the valve train. At the time of the caution, he was placed in 40th position but two cars are still running behind him so he might finish as low as 42nd, only Kevin Lepage behind him.
Jeff Gordon led the restart, tailed by Denny Hamlin, Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch and Joe Nemechek when the green came out on lap 249.
Eleven laps beyond mid-race saw the third driver take the lead as Denny Hamlin moved around Jeff Gordon into first. Matt Kenseth spun on lap 280, after Clint Bowyer clipped Kenseth and sent him spinning. This series of pit stops was a mirror image of the last ones, as Johnson and Earnhardt regained the top two spots, staying on the track while most of the current leaders pitted.
The restart had Johnson ahead of Earnhardt, Kurt Busch third and the rest of the field. Busch passed Earnhardt for second, moving out to a second gap over Earnhardt and a similar gap behind Johnson.
Ken Schrader’s day, after starting well with a top ten grid position, ended on the wall after David Ragan tapped him while Schrader was running in the top ten. Schrader spun and smashed the rear of the car while Dale Jarrett spun trying to avoid Ragan.
Kurt Busch ran in the lead at the restart, followed by Johnson, Earnhardt, Hamlin, Gordon and Kyle Busch. Kasey Kahne and Kyle Petty, followed by Elliott Sadler joined Kurt Busch as the only non-Chevies in the top ten, with Tony Stewart the tenth-place runner.
Still another caution came out on lap 347 when Mike Skinner spun and slapped the inside wall with the No. 72 Chevy. Kurt Busch led approaching the restart, then Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt, Hamlin and Jeff Gordon filled out the top five spots. The green flag flew once again on lap 353, only 147 laps from the finish. Busch slipped, Johnson taking the lead and Earnhardt working to the inside, passing Busch for second and locking him out into the outside lane where he fell back to fourth just before David Ragan spun with a cut left rear tire, bringing out one more yellow flag. Ragan’s flat resulted from contact with Elliott Sadler’s No. 19 Dodge.
Johnson took the green flag, ahead of Earnhardt, Hamlin, Busch and Gordon. Kyle Busch ran sixth ahead of Kahne, Stewart, Petty and Sadler but Kurt Busch spun on the front straight and into the inside wall, trying to cut inside Scott Riggs’ Dodge. Riggs had slipped high and tried to come back down the track, making contact with Busch.
Jeff Gordon made a pit stop for fuel and four tires with air pressure adjustments. The team double-checked a lug nut on the right side of the No. 24 Chevy, a move that really did no damage to their standing, as the only car on pit road.
Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Chevrolet has developed a severe tire rub on the left front, a result of contact with another car. Earlier in the race, the car lost a fender brace in a collision, making the fender even more susceptible to damage from minor contact.
Jamie McMurray spun without hitting the wall after Bobby Labonte nosed into the rear bumper of the No. 26 Ford, bringing about caution No. 13 for the race. Johnson, Hamlin, Earnhardt and the rest of the leaders all pitted for tires, air pressure adjustments and fuel.
Bobby Labonte took the option of staying on the track and led at the restart, with Casey Mears second, Jeff Gordon third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Elliott Sadler fifth. The four fresh tires Jimmie Johnson took on showed their edge as he closed to second in under 20 laps. In clear traffic, Johnson cut the margin by nearly three-tenths of a second each lap, finally getting around Labonte on lap 446.
Only seconds after this pass, Kyle Busch and David Ragan (again!) tangle in the fourth turn, Busch and Ragan actually did not touch, Busch drove high and hit the wall when Ragan spun in mid-turn.
Green flag racing resumed with lap 454, 25 cars on the lead lap, with Johnson leading Labonte, Mears, Hamlin and Jeff Gordon in the top five. David Ragan started receiving black flags at the restart, apparently for his restart lineup.
Casey Mears spun on lap 460, in the fourth turn, didn’t hit the wall, but only after David Gilliland tapped him from behind as Denny Hamlin pushed Gilliland through the turn.
Johnson, Labonte, Hamlin, Gordon and Mears headed the field to the green flag with 32 laps to run. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr battled side by side but Clint Bowyer spun in Turn Three and but another halt to the procedure, only three cautions short of the record for Martinsville.
During this caution, Mark Martin, after reporting that his engine had lost all coolant, pitted for the crew to use a pressurized system to refill the radiator. The green flag came back out with 24 laps remaining in the race, flying over Johnson, Labonte, Hamlin, Gordon and Mears but Dale Earnhardt Jr spun in Turn Four immediately to cause another restart. Video replays showed that Earnhardt had ‘hopped’ the rear wheels entering the turns and had the car unsettled. He will make the restart somewhere around the 24th or 25th position, probably too far back for his four fresh tires to help.
18 laps remain at the drop of the green flag, Labonte seven tenths of a second behind Johnson, with Denny Hamlin taking second from Labonte after two race laps. Jeff Gordon ran fourth and Casey Mears, pushed hard by Tony Stewart, fifth.
Kenny Wallace’s spin in Turn Two brought out the yellow flag for the 18th time as McMurray got into the rear of Wallace’s car. Headed to the next restart with about five laps left to run, Pocono sweep winner Hamlin radioed his crew, saying “he’s mine,” and Dale Earnhardt Jr, running in 22nd, probably can’t gain enough spaces to gain in the ‘Chase’.
Tony Stewart moved wide around Mears for fifth, as Hamlin and Johnson raced side by side for the lead with Labonte right on Hamlin’s rear bumper. Hamlin tried to move low, bumping Johnson, but then dropped back slightly, as the white flag came out, Johnson ahead by nearly a half second. Johnson held on to win the race over Hamlin, Labonte third with Petty Enterprises best finish since 2001, Stewart fourth and Jeff Gordon fifth. Casey and Kasey (Mears and Kahne) ran next, then Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Petty put the second Petty Dodge into tenth.
The race results show Matt Kenseth unofficially leading points, at 5848, followed by Kevin Harvick, Johnson, Hamlin, Burton, Earnhardt, Martin, Kahne, Gordon and Kurt Busch as the Chase contenders.
Johnson’s sixth win in 2006 echoes the sad victory at Martinsville two years ago on the day that a Hendrick MotorSports airplane crashed near the track, killing all ten on board including team owner Rick Hendrick’s brother, his daughters Kimberley and Jennifer; Ricky Hendrick, Rick’s son; Randy Dorton, the team’s chief engine builder; the aircraft crew Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison; Scott Lathram, Tony Stewart’s helicopter pilot; team general manager Jeff Turner and DuPont executive Joe Jackson.
Unofficial Finish, Subway 500
Fin, St, Driver, Car, Status, Laps, Pts/Bonus
1, 9, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Running, 500, 190/10
2, 3, Denny Hamlin *, No. 11 FedEx Freight Chevrolet, Running, 500, 175/5
3, 30, Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge, Running, 500, 170/5
4, 5, Tony Stewart, No. 20 The Home Depot Chevrolet, Running, 500, 160/0
5, 2, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, Running, 500, 160/5
6, 19, Casey Mears, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, Running, 500, 150/0
7, 32, Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, Running, 500, 146/0
8, 8, Jeff Green, No. 66 Haas Automation/Best Buy Chevrolet, Running, 500, 142/0
9, 12, Kevin Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, Running, 500, 138/0
10, 14, Kyle Petty, No. 45 Wells Fargo Dodge, Running, 500, 134/0
11, 20, Matt Kenseth, No. 17 R+L Carriers Ford, Running, 500, 130/0
12, 27, Carl Edwards, No. 99 Office Depot Ford, Running, 500, 127/0
13, 4, Ryan Newman, No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge, Running, 500, 124/0
14, 11, Tony Raines, No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet, Running, 500, 121/0
15, 13, David Stremme *, No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse/Saloon Dodge, Running, 500, 118/0
16, 39, Dale Jarrett, No. 88 UPS Ford, Running, 500, 115/0
17, 21, Brian Vickers, No. 25 GMAC Chevrolet, Running, 500, 112/0
18, 15, Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet, Running, 500, 109/0
19, 24, Jamie McMurray, No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford, Running, 500, 106/0
20, 23, Joe Nemechek, No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, Running, 500, 103/0
21, 22, Sterling Marlin, No. 14 Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevrolet, Running, 500, 100/0
22, 7, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, Running, 500, 97/0
23, 37, Clint Bowyer *, No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, Running, 500, 94/0
24, 25, Mark Martin, No. 6 AAA Ford, Running, 500, 91/0
25, 41, David Ragan, No. 06 Roush Racing Ford, Running, 500, 88/0
26, 35, Ward Burton, No. 4 Lucas Oil Products Chevrolet, Running, 500, 85/0
27, 1, Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, Running, 496, 87/5
28, 29, David Gilliland, No. 38 M&M’s Ford, Running, 496, 79/0
29, 40, Kenny Wallace, No. 178 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, Running, 496, 76/0
30, 17, Scott Riggs, No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge, Running, 495, 73/0
31, 36, J.J. Yeley *, No. 18 Imitrex/GSK Chevrolet, Running, 494, 70/0
32, 38, Greg Biffle, No. 16 Subway/National Guard Ford, Running, 486, 67/0
33, 6, Dave Blaney, No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge, Running, 485, 64/0
34, 33, Michael Waltrip, No. 55 NAPA Auto Parts Dodge, Running, 472, 61/0
35, 16, Reed Sorenson *, No. 41 Target Dodge, Running, 460, 58/0
36, 18, Martin Truex Jr. *, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet, Running, 453, 55/0
37, 26, Robby Gordon, No. 7 Menards/MAPEI Chevrolet, Running, 416, 52/0
38, 34, Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, Out of Race, 412, 49/0
39, 43, Mike Skinner, No. 72 Dutch Quality Stone Chevrolet, Out of Race, 341, 46/0
40, 31, Travis Kvapil, No. 32 Tide-Downy Chevrolet, Out of Race, 332, 43/0
41, 10, Ken Schrader, No. 21 Little Debbie Ford, Out of Race, 331, 40/0
42, 28, Jeff Burton, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, Out of Race, 217, 37/0
43, 42, Kevin Lepage, No. 34 Oak Glove Co. Chevrolet, Out of Race, 209, 34/0
*: Rookie
Unofficial NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings, from Martinsville
Rank +/- Driver Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10
1 +1 Matt Kenseth 5848 Leader 32 0 4 14 19 2 +1 Kevin Harvick 5812 -36 32 1 4 12 17 3 +4 Jimmie Johnson 5807 -41 32 1 5 10 20 4 +2 Denny Hamlin* 5801 -47 32 3 2 6 16 5 -4 Jeff Burton 5800 -48 32 4 1 7 19 6 -1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5754 -94 32 0 1 9 14 7 -3 Mark Martin 5752 -96 32 0 0 7 14 8 -- Kasey Kahne 5749 -99 32 5 6 11 17 9 +1 Jeff Gordon 5707 -141 32 1 2 13 15 10 -1 Kyle Busch 5677 -171 32 1 1 9 17
^^Chase Contenders ^^
11 -- Tony Stewart 4108 -1740 32 0 3 13 17 12 -- Carl Edwards 3862 -1986 32 0 0 9 17 13 -- Greg Biffle 3616 -2232 32 2 1 6 13 14 -- Casey Mears 3537 -2311 32 0 0 2 7 15 -- Brian Vickers 3483 -2365 32 0 1 5 9 16 -- Kurt Busch 3456 -2392 32 6 1 7 10 17 +1 Ryan Newman 3402 -2446 32 2 0 2 7 18 -1 Clint Bowyer* 3387 -2461 32 0 0 3 9 19 +1 Scott Riggs 3204 -2644 31 2 0 1 7 20 +3 Bobby Labonte 3203 -2645 32 0 0 3 8 21 -2 Martin Truex Jr.* 3198 -2650 32 0 0 1 4 22 -- Jamie McMurray 3171 -2677 32 0 0 3 7 23 -2 Elliott Sadler 3145 -2703 32 1 0 1 7 24 -- Dale Jarrett 3116 -2732 32 0 0 1 4 25 -- Reed Sorenson* 3055 -2793 32 0 0 1 5 26 -- Dave Blaney 2904 -2944 32 0 0 1 2 27 +2 Jeff Green 2886 -2962 32 0 0 0 2 28 -1 Robby Gordon 2873 -2975 32 0 0 1 2 29 -1 J.J. Yeley* 2816 -3032 32 0 0 0 3 30 +1 Joe Nemechek 2773 -3075 32 0 0 0 1 31 -1 Ken Schrader 2754 -3094 32 0 0 0 2 32 -- Sterling Marlin 2591 -3257 32 0 0 0 1 33 -- Kyle Petty 2519 -3329 32 0 0 0 2 34 -- David Stremme* 2484 -3364 30 0 0 0 0 35 +1 Tony Raines 2239 -3609 25 0 0 0 1 36 -1 Michael Waltrip 2215 -3633 30 0 0 0 0 37 -- Travis Kvapil 2150 -3698 27 0 0 0 0 38 -- Scott Wimmer 1685 -4163 23 0 0 0 0 39 -- Jeremy Mayfield 1647 -4201 21 0 0 0 0 40 -- Kevin Lepage 1312 -4536 21 0 0 0 0 41 -- Terry Labonte 1223 -4625 16 0 0 1 1 42 -- Kenny Wallace 853 -4995 15 0 0 0 0 43 -- David Gilliland 776 -5072 11 1 0 0 0 44 -- Bill Elliott 567 -5281 7 0 0 0 0 45 -- Paul Menard 512 -5336 5 0 0 0 1 46 -- Chad Chaffin 495 -5353 9 0 0 0 0 47 -- Boris Said 415 -5433 4 1 0 1 2 48 -- Brent Sherman* 372 -5476 6 0 0 0 0 49 -- Mike Wallace 355 -5493 4 0 0 0 0 50 -- Stanton Barrett 343 -5505 7 0 0 0 0 51 -- Derrike Cope 317 -5531 9 0 0 0 0 52 -- Hermie Sadler 251 -5597 7 0 0 0 0 53 -- Scott Pruett 223 -5625 2 0 0 0 1 54 -- Todd Kluever 187 -5661 4 0 0 0 0 55 +1 Mike Skinner 184 -5664 4 0 0 0 0 56 -1 Kirk Shelmerdine 177 -5671 3 0 0 0 0 57 -- Mike Garvey 138 -5710 4 0 0 0 0 58 -- Mike Bliss 122 -5726 2 0 0 0 0 59 -- Jimmy Spencer 122 -5726 2 0 0 0 0 60 -- Ron Fellows 119 -5729 2 0 0 0 0 61 -- Todd Bodine 106 -5742 1 0 0 0 0 62 +13 David Ragan 88 -5760 2 0 0 0 0 63 -1 Brandon Ash 88 -5760 2 0 0 0 0 64 -- Ward Burton 85 -5763 1 0 0 0 0 65 -2 Chad Blount 74 -5774 2 0 0 0 0 66 -2 Morgan Shepherd 71 -5777 2 0 0 0 0 67 -2 Eric McClure 70 -5778 1 0 0 0 0 68 -2 Bill Lester 67 -5781 2 0 0 0 0 69 -2 P.J. Jones 55 -5793 1 0 0 0 0 70 -2 Brian Simo 40 -5808 1 0 0 0 0 71 -1 Ted Christopher 40 -5808 1 0 0 0 0 72 -3 Carl Long 40 -5808 1 0 0 0 0 73 -1 Marc Goossens 34 -5814 1 0 0 0 0 74 -3 Tom Hubert 34 -5814 1 0 0 0 0 75 -2 Johnny Sauter 0 -5848 1 0 0 0 0 76 -2 Stephen Leicht 0 -5848 1 0 0 0 0
*: Rookie
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