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Jeff Gordon punched his ticket to Homestead with a victory Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. The four-time Sprint Cup champion will go into the final race of his career with a chance to win his fifth championship. 

Gordon was put in the position to notch his ninth career win at the Virginia short track after the leader Joey Logano was taken out by Matt Kenseth. Logano led a race high 207 laps but finished 42 laps down in 37th place following the apparent retaliation between the pair earlier in the race. 

Nonetheless, Jeff Gordon admits his win is unbelievable.

"I keep going through these moments where I'm hearing you say it, and still it's not registering because I can't believe it," Gordon said. "I cannot believe it. This is turning into one of these just incredible storybook finishes to this year, to this career. Of all years, I mean, of all years, I cannot believe this. I'm so excited it's happening in this year. That was clutch. That was huge. Yeah, we had a few things that fell in our favor. But you got to be there and be ready for that moment when it comes, and we were."

Despite the dominant car not being in the field, Gordon still knew he had to go out and earn the victory. Gordon had to hold off a bevy of relentless competitors on the race's final restart; most notably, the race's runner up finisher Jamie McMurray.

"We still had to go battle," Gordon explained. "Jamie is real aggressive on those restarts. Kyle and some other guys there. We had to battle it out with them. Whew, man, it was tough."

Logano did not mince words when asked about Kenseth's attempt at retaliation.

 “I got wrecked," Logano said. "I don’t know. What am I supposed to say about it? His race was over and he tried so hard to catch us the first time and he took out half the field, and he was successful the second time so I give that to him. It’s kind of a coward move.  Actually, a really coward move for a race car driver to do that." 

McMurray isn't shocked at the stand for which Kenseth took.

"I'm a nice guy, the only guy I've ever been into it with is Matt (Kenseth)," McMurray explained. "We wrecked each other two, three times in 2004, 2005. Bristol, Loudon, we wrecked each other, yeah, at least two, three times. He's turned out to be one of my best friends. I would say growing up Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, those are guys you just did not mess with because you knew they would retaliate.  

"Matt Kenseth is in that same category. Matt races everyone fair and he races hard. I feel if he thinks that there could have been better decisions made, then so be it."

Denny Hamlin won the Spring race at Martinsville also battled for the lead late in the race. Hamlin, who spun earlier in the race and committed a speeding penalty on pit road, recovered to grab his 16th top ten finish in 20 career races at the track he considers to be his home.

The race's defending winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr, grabbed the fourth spot followed by Chase contender Kyle Busch in fifth place. Martin Truex, Jr, finished in sixth place with Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart rounding out the top ten.

Logano's teammate Brad Keselowski led 143 laps but  was caught up in a late race incident which involved Kenseth and Kurt Busch. Keselowski was forced to settle for a 32nd place finish.

“I got hit from behind and pushed me into the 20 and my right-front wheel hit Kenseth’s left-rear and it just broke the right-front suspension off the car," Keselowski said. "The car wouldn’t turn and just kept going straight until I couldn’t do anything and I started wrecking everybody.  I just didn’t have any steering wheel left.”

Kenseth, his crew chief Jason Ratcliffe and team owner Joe Gibbs were all summoned to the NASCAR Sprint Cup hauler following the race. 

The driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota wouldn't say whether the contact with Logano was intentional.

"The right front was dragging down there and probably should've went to the garage area and went into the corner there and, man, couldn't get it to turn and collected him," Kenseth said. "I know it's got to be disappointing for him, you know? It's a tough sport. Some days you're the bat, and some days you're the ball. I was the ball a few weeks ago, and I was the ball again today, so that part is never fun."

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 33
Unofficial Race Results for the 67Th Annual Goody's Headache Relief Shot 
500 - Sunday, November 1, 2015
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA - .526 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 500 Laps - 263 Miles - Purse: $5,202,126
Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    5    24    Jeff Gordon    AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet    500    47    4    128.6    $199,836    Running    3    35
2    4    1    Jamie McMurray    McDonald's Chevrolet    500    42        112.6    $158,301    Running        
3    10    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Ground Toyota    500    42    1    94.2    $131,335    Running    1    3
4    22    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Nationwide Chevrolet    500    40        97.2    $117,160    Running        
5    6    18    Kyle Busch    M&M's Crispy Toyota    500    39        103.3    $138,391    Running        
6    2    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet    500    39    1    103.4    $121,985    Running    1    27
7    7    31    Ryan Newman    WIX Filters Chevrolet    500    37        92.4    $124,615    Running        
8    12    4    Kevin Harvick    Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet    500    37    1    116.6    $146,715    Running    1    38
9    24    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    500    35        79.5    $104,790    Running        
10    13    14    Tony Stewart    Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet    500    34        80.5    $119,004    Running        
11    3    47    AJ Allmendinger    Kroger/Clorox Chevrolet    500    34    1    90.2    $133,298    Running    1    19
12    21    48    Jimmie Johnson    KOBALT TOOLS Chevrolet    500    32        98.4    $133,051    Running        
13    23    51    Justin Allgaier    Auto-Owners Insurance Chevrolet    500    31        70.4    $113,973    Running        
14    14    19    Carl Edwards    XFINITY Toyota    500    30        74.3    $88,865    Running        
15    26    27    Paul Menard    Moen/Menards Chevrolet    500    29        69.2    $97,065    Running        
16    8    43    Aric Almirola    Smithfield Ford    500    28        75.9    $125,201    Running        
17    19    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    500    27        76.0    $110,023    Running        
18    30    3    Austin Dillon    DOW Chevrolet    500    27    1    63.7    $124,176    Running    1    6
19    9    42    Kyle Larson    Target Plaid Chevrolet    500    25        77.2    $114,423    Running        
20    31    35    Cole Whitt    MDS Transportation Ford    500    24        58.8    $98,823    Running        
21    27    40    Landon Cassill(i)    Chevrolet    500    0        54.8    $85,815    Running        
22    41    7    Alex Bowman    Nikko RC/Toy State Chevrolet    499    22        52.5    $95,087    Running        
23    38    46    Michael Annett    PJ Fresh Chevrolet    498    21        48.8    $85,265    Running        
24    33    38    David Gilliland    Jerry Cook Hall of Fame Tribute Ford    498    20        55.0    $93,015    Running        
25    28    55    David Ragan    Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota    498    19        73.9    $111,954    Running        
26    25    16    Greg Biffle    Ford Performance Ford    497    18        55.0    $115,598    Running        
27    35    23    Jeb Burton #    Rocky Ridge/Estes Toyota    496    17        40.5    $85,365    Running        
28    20    9    Sam Hornish Jr.    Jacob Companies Ford    493    16        57.4    $107,560    Running        
29    39    26    JJ Yeley(i)    Maxim Toyota    492    0        35.4    $81,090    Running        
30    36    83    Matt DiBenedetto #    Cosmo Toyota    492    14        39.2    $82,515    Running        
31    32    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    491    13        41.5    $125,465    Running        
32    11    2    Brad Keselowski    Alliance Truck Parts Ford    490    13    1    104.7    $129,231    Running    4    143
33    43    33    Alex Kennedy #    Chevrolet    489    11        30.7    $80,665    Running        
34    15    41    Kurt Busch    Monster Energy Chevrolet    486    11    1    88.7    $98,615    Running    1    22
35    34    34    Brett Moffitt #    Dockside Logistics Ford    479    9        34.3    $80,565    Running        
36    42    62    Timmy Hill(i)    Acredale Vending Chevrolet    459    0        27.9    $80,515    Running        
37    1    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    458    9    2    112.0    $139,538    Running    9    207
38    18    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    443    6        80.2    $112,688    Parked        
39    29    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Zest Ford    423    5        39.9    $79,680    Running        
40    16    10    Danica Patrick    GoDaddy Chevrolet    391    4        49.8    $75,680    Accident        
41    40    32    Kyle Fowler    KeenParts.com/CorvetteParts.net Ford    373    3        27.8    $63,680    Brakes        
42    37    98    Ryan Preece    Vydox Plus/Champion Machinery Ford    365    2        37.2    $59,680    Running        
43    17    15    Clint Bowyer    Maxwell House Toyota    185    1        53.8    $90,338    Accident        
 Race Comments:    Jeff Gordon won the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500, his 93rd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and ninth at Martinsville Speedway. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 5 and No. 14 (backup car).
 Failed to Qualify:    N/A
 Time of Race:    03 Hrs, 46 Mins, 35 Secs.    Average Speed:    69.643 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.335 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    18 for 109 laps: Laps: 1-7 (Green/Yellow start [None]); 52-56 (Competition Caution [98]); 103-112 (#26 Spin in Turn 2 [None]); 114-119 (#10, 11, 15, 31, 42 and 43 Accident in Turn 3 [7]); 128-134 (#17 Accident in Turn 3 [27]); 137-141 (#9 and 98 Accident in Turn 3 [None]); 158-161 (#10 and 38 Accident in Turn 2 [None]); 172-179 (#3, 18, 19, 27, 47 Accident in Turn 2 [46]); 187-191 (#15, 42 and 55 Accident in Turn 3 [98]); 238-242 (#16 Spin in Turn 2 [46]); 282-286 (#16 Spin in Turn 2 [None]); 379-387 (No. 32 Accident inTurn 3 [31]); 419-425 (#10 and 38 Accident in Turn 4 [47]); 430-434 (#9, 23 and 38 Accident in Turn 4 [42]); 436-443 (2, 20, 22, 24, 41 Accident on the frontstretch [19]); 455-459 (#20 and 22 Accident in Turn 1 [12:46] [13]); 467-470 (#55 Spin in Turn 2 [43]); 495-498 (#9 Accident in Turn 1 [40]).
 Lead Changes:    21 among 9 drivers: J. Logano 1-8; M. Truex Jr. 9-35; J. Logano 36-43; J. Gordon 44-53; J. Logano 54-59; Kurt Busch 60-81; J. Logano 82-158; A. Dillon 159-164; J. Logano 165-198; K. Harvick 199-236; B. Keselowski 237-239; J. Logano 240-255; B. Keselowski 256-282; J. Logano 283-292; B. Keselowski 293-388; J. Logano 389-393; B. Keselowski 394-410; J. Logano 411-453; J. Gordon 454-456; D. Hamlin 457-459; A. Allmendinger 460-478; J. Gordon 479-500.
Top 16 Driver Points:     (1) J. Gordon 4,047;(2) Kyle Busch 4,039;(3) M. Truex Jr. 4,039;(4) K. Harvick 4,037;(5) C. Edwards 4,030;(6) B. Keselowski 4,013;(7) Kurt Busch 4,011;(8) J. Logano 4,009;(9) D. Hamlin 2,251;(10) R. Newman 2,231;(11) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,221;(12) J. Mcmurray 2,201;(13) M. Kenseth 2,197;(14) J. Johnson 2,193;(15) P. Menard 2,177;(16) C. Bowyer 2,124.
3M Lap Leader    : Kevin Harvick, #4 38 Laps    American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Jeff Gordon, #24 
Coors Light Pole Award    : Joey Logano, #22 98.548 mph    Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Joey Logano, #22 
Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : AJ Allmendinger, #47 6 positions    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Hendrick Engines, #24 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Jamie McMurray, #1     Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Denny Hamlin, #11 crew chief Dave Rogers, 0.151 seconds
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : AJ Allmendinger, #47     Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Jeb Burton, #23 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Nov. 8, 2015 - Texas Motor Speedway
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