Martinsville II

Joe Gibbs Racing simply dominated much of today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway and as the race neared conclusion it appeared that three teams would earn a finish in the top ten and at least one would certainly have the opportunity over the final laps to race for the famed grandfather clock trophy.

Denny Hamlin would survive several on-track incidents to earn a solid fifth-place effort.

With qualifying rained out on Saturday the starting lineup was set based upon the current NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings. Hamlin would start the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota 11th and he quickly raced his way into the top ten, but an early accident would force him to check up and resulted in the need for four fresh tires. The early unscheduled stop would put him in the back of the field, but it did little to deter Hamlin, who drove his way back to the front and to the lead by lap 63. Hamlin, who is always considered a favorite at the famed short track known as the paper clip with four previous career victories, would once again prove strong while racing inside the top five most of the day. He would regain the lead again by lap 320 and lead a total of 58 laps on the day. The No. 11 Camry was in fourth when the race restarted with 81 laps remaining and Hamlin was able to remain in the top five despite a number of late cautions that resulted in several short runs. Hamlin, who had been the class of the field all day on the longer green flag runs, would not be able to gain ground on the leaders, but still managed to come home with a strong fifth-place effort.

Busch is now seventh in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings 53 points behind the leader Carl Edwards with three races remaining. Meanwhile Hamlin remained 11th and is 80 points off the pace.

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings
1. Carl Edwards 2273
2. Tony Stewart (-8)
3. Kevin Harvick (-21)
4. Brad Keselowski (-27)
5. Matt Kesenth (-36)
6. Jimmie Johnson (-43)
7. Kyle Busch (-57)
8. Kurt Busch. (-58)
9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (-73)
10. Jeff Gordon (-76)
11. Denny Hamlin (-80)
12. Ryan Newman (-89)

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Texas next week for eighth of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The race will begin on Sunday, November 6 at 3 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 2 PM ET. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 90 and the PRN Radio Network.