The irony is thick as the day closed on the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Consider… Talladega was just one week ago. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ran into some unfortunate luck in the final laps and was pushed out of contention for the CHASE and the Sprint Cup championship. During a pre-race presentation, Dale Jr. spoke of growing up with his father’s grandfather clock from Martinsville always in plain view.
With CHASE drivers pushing every limit, it was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who drove the #88 to Victory Lane to earn his own Martinsville grandfather clock.
Team mate Jeff Gordon also had a good day to take a lead in the CHASE. Ryan Newman, an underdog coming into the CHASE, is sitting in the 2nd slot. Oddly enough, it was Newman who visited Martinsville High School as the CHASE was announced and getting under way. Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin round out the top 5 in current Eliminator Round points.
The CHASE has been throwing drama at the tracks and the fans this season and Dale Jr.’s first win at Martinsville has added to it while shaking the grandstands at Martinsville to a post-race rumble. There is more on the way with 3 races to go…
Drop everything and go racing!