| Subway 400 News: |
| Jimmie Johnson won the battle and gained a little ground in the points war Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.
Johnson claimed the SUBWAY 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Martinsville Sunday afternoon and in the process jumped four spots to fourth in The Chase For The NEXTEL Cup. It was Johnsons sixth victory in 2004, but his first win at Martinsville Speedway and his first short-track victory. He led twice for 67 laps, including the final 61. Jamie McMurray, who won the Kroger 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Saturday, finished second, followed by Ryan Newman and Sterling Marlin. McMurray, Newman and Marlin all drive Dodges. Chase For The NEXTEL Cup points leader Kurt Busch wound up fifth. It was McMurrays 20th top-10 finish of the season and ninth top-10 finish in the last 10 races. He led three times for 43 laps. It was a pretty good run for us, said McMurray. I messed up on pit road once and that cost us some time, but we gave it all we had and just came up a little bit short. Busch had the strongest car much of the day, keeping his car out front for a race-high 120 laps. He is the only driver to score top-10 finishes in the first six races in the Chase. He has finished sixth or better in all six races. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who entered the day second in points, struggled much of the afternoon and wound up 33rd, dropping to third in the points, 125 behind Busch. We saw Earnhardts trouble today, but we cant get too excited about anything because we still have four to go, said Busch. I was mostly out of control, said Earnhardt. We had a good car yesterday in practice. Just during the race it had been really tight and hadnt run good, hadnt turned good, didnt drive good. Jeremy Mayfield finished sixth in a Dodge, followed by another Dodge driver, Jeff Green. Kevin Harvick was eighth, Gordon ninth and Rusty Wallace 10th. Pole-sitter Newman led the first nine laps of the race and 43 on the day. |
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| In six weeks the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup will roll into Martinsville for the SUBWAY 500 and the only short-track stop in the Chase is being called pivotal in the 10-race shootout to determine the NEXTEL Cup champion.
The field for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup was pared to 10 drivers after Saturdays Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. The championship will be determined among Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jeremy Mayfield, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler and Tony Stewart over the next 10 races. The sixth stop in the Chase is the SUBWAY 500 on October 24 and Gordon should be happy to see the .526-mile oval. The four-time NEXTEL Cup champion has put together an incredible streak at Martinsville since his 1993 debut. He has five wins in 23 starts at Martinsville, including a clean sweep in 2003 when he won the pole and the race for both the Advance Auto Parts 500 and the SUBWAY 500. He has led 16 Martinsville races for 1,841 laps. And amazingly, hes been running at the end of every race hes started at Martinsville. Other drivers in the top 10 who have Martinsville victories include Stewart and Martin with two wins each and Busch with one. Martin has the most history at Martinsville. The veteran will be making his 38th Martinsville start in the SUBWAY 500. In addition to the two wins, he has 10 top fives and 20 top 10s and has led 10 races. Mayfield is the only driver in the top 10 who has not led a race at Martinsville. Mayfield, the winner of Saturdays Rock and Roll Chevy 400, does have a top five and four top 10 finishes to his credit at Martinsville. In addition to his two wins, Stewart holds Martinsvilles NEXTEL Cup qualifying record, 95.371 mph (19.855 seconds), a mark he set in the fall of 2000. Hes led a total of 346 laps in 11 starts at Martinsville. |