#48-Jimmie Johnson survived a six lap shootout (and a rear-bumper tatooing from Denny Hamlin) today to take the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway for his 5th win of 2006. Career victory #23 moves Johnson into a tie with Ricky Rudd for 25th on the all-time win list. This was JJ’s second victory at Martinsville (we all remember the first just two years ago), and was worth $191,886 from the over $4.8M in posted awards. This was also win #149 for Hendrick Motorsports.
#11-Denny Hamlin (2nd) had his best finish since he won at Pocono in July.
#43-Bobby Labonte (3rd) had his best finish since he was 3rd at New Hampshire in July of 2005. This was the best finish for the #43 car since John Andretti was runner-up at Bristol in March of 2001!
#45-Kyle Petty (10th) had his best finish since he was 8th at Atlanta in March. This was the first time since Bristol in April of 1999 that both Petty Enterprise cars scored a Top-10 in the same race!
#4-Ward Burton (26th) had his best finish since he was 19th at Lowe’s in October of 2004 (only four races).
#78-Kenny Wallace (29th) had his best finish since he was 25th at Richmond in May.
STREAKIN….Bobby Labonte has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is Bobby Labonte (+27), followed by Kasey Kahne (+25) and Dale Jarrett (+23). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Ken Schrader (-31), followed by Dave Blaney (-27) and Kurt Busch (-26).
In “Classic” Points today Denny Hamlin (9th to 4th) was the big gainer today, while six drivers in the Top-25 fell two spots. In “Chase” Points it can’t get much tighter. Jeff Burton’s troubles brought hope to a handful of drivers. Matt Kenseth is the new leader by 36 over Kevin Harvick while the Top-8 are separated by just 99 markers. Jimmie Johnson moved from 7th to 3rd while Burton fell all the way to 5th.(Stockcarfans.com)(10-22-2006)
