Which story would you like…?
The one on Dale Earnhardt, Jr. coming to Martinsville on top of the points, finishing mid-pack and dropping back to number 3…?
The one on Tony Stewart and Joey Logano where an angry Stewart went after Logano post race at Fontana but the temper fizzed by Martinsville…?
How about the one on Danica Patrick…? She qualified at 32, spun early, and still drove to 12th… You want that one…?
Maybe Denny Hamlin out of the #11 with back injuries and Mark Martin, filling in the seat, drives to a top ten finish…?
Or the one on Jimmie Johnson starting on the pole and winning his eighth grandfather clock…?
Did we mention VA Tech football coach Frank Beamer…?
OK – Fine…
Dale Jr. was up in the top 10 but the #88 faded late in the race. It didn’t help that Danica Patrick touched up on him and the #88 went for a ride in turns 3 and 4. Yes, she spun him. It wasn’t intentional but you can’t tell a Dale Jr. fan that and not have them look at you like you just smacked them with a GoDaddy hat. He finished mid-pack at the end and lost that number one points slot.
Stewart made it clear before the race that was two weeks ago. This is a new race. Stewart and Logano raced clean with no incident. Is it forgotten…? Probably not. For now, the sequel is still looking for another catalyst.
Danica Patrick. First time at Martinsville. Since Daytona she hasn’t really done anything special. At Martinsville, however, she started 32nd after less than stellar qualifying. In the early laps she was tapped and spun and fell to the tail of the pack. Even with this, she hung on and drove steady with good advice from the pit box. In the latter laps, racing Dale Jr. for a spot, the two cars touched and Dale Jr. went ’round and ’round for a ride. After that move, she was up on team owner Tony Stewart and got by him. At the end of the day she drove the GoDaddy #10 to a 12th place finish. Not bad… Not bad at all…
Mark Martin was tagged to ride the #11 for the injured Denny Hamlin. Qualifying was not good. He started 35th. In the pits at one stop the left front wheel was not torqued and rolled off as he left the pit stall. Even with this, and Denny Hamlin up in the box and all around the stall talking with the crew and Martin, the #11 got up near the front to finish in the 10th slot. Two things we see… One: Hamlin may get a better grasp of the entire race after spending time in the box with the crew, and two: Darian Grubb is going to be so very happy when Hamlin is back in the seat and out of his hair…
Jimmie Johnson won. He was on the pole. He raced with Gordon, Kenseth, Kyle Busch and others but was up front for the final laps. He now has 8 grandfather clocks for 8 wins at Martinsville. We can assume he knows what time it is.
Oh… Frank Beamer. The iconic VA Tech football coach was the honorary pace car driver. Wow!
Martinsville was the real story. It seems to always generate so much inside of 500 laps it is hard to grab one angle and run with it. The next visit is in the Fall with “The Chase” underway. What stories will come out of that one? Time will tell.