CP MOTORSPORT - GORDON GRABS MONUMENTAL MARTINSVILLE WIN
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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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