April 1, 2012
- Newman wins at Martinsville: #39-Ryan Newman won the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway for his 1st win of the year, his first at Martinsville, and 16th winof his career.
#22-Allmendinger finished 2nd (his career best finish) followed by #88-Earnhardt, Jr., #17-Kenseth, #56-Truex, Jr., #11-Hamlin, #14-Stewart, #43-Almirola, #2-Keselowski, and #15-Bowyer.
The race ended after a second green-white-checker attempt. #24-Gordon and #48-Johnson led the race on the first restart, but had stayed out on old tires. #15-Bowyer got a good jump on the start to move up along Gordon in turn one, pinching the cars together and setting off a spin by Gordon and Johnson. Gordon then ran out of gas before the final restart and finished 14th. Johnson finished 12th.
The pole sitter, #5-Kahne, didn’t lead a single lap and spent numerous laps behind the wall before falling out of the race with a blown engine. He finished 38th.
There were 7 cautions for 56 yellow flag laps. There were 19 lead changes among 10 drivers. The estimated attendence was 63,000, up from 60,000 in 2011.
See race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Martinsville Race Results page (pdf). (4-1-2012)
- 2012 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Martinsville, race 6 of 36]
1) #16-Greg Biffle [0 wins], 226
2) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [0 wins], 220, -6
3) #14-Tony Stewart [2 wins], 214, -12
4) #17-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 214, -12
5) #29-Kevin Harvick [0 wins], 214, -12
6) #56-Martin Truex Jr. [0 wins], 214, -12
7) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 210, -16
8) #39-Ryan Newman [1 win], 202, -24
9) #15-Clint Bowyer [0 wins], 192, -34
10) #48-Jimmie Johnson [0 wins], 189, -37
11) #99-Carl Edwards [0 wins], 179, -47
12) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win], 175, -51
(ties broken by 1sts, 2nds, 3rd, etc)
See drivers championship points standings on the Drivers Points Standings page (pdf).
and Owners Points on the Owners Points Standings page (pdf).(4-1-2012)
- Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Texas:
#83 moved back into the top 35, falling out was the #10 team by 1 point.
Rank) Car#-Driver/Team, owners pts, +/-
29) #36-Blaney/Baldwin, 97, +21
30) #93-Kvapil/BK Racing, 97, +21,
31) #38-Gilliland/Front Row, 96, +20
32) #5-Kahne/Hendrick, 93, +17
33) #32-Schrader/FAS Lane Racing, 92, +16
34) #33-Sadler/Childress, 80, +4
35) #83-Cassill/BK Racing, 77, -1 ahead of 36th
these teams / drivers will need to qualify by speed:
36) #10-Reutimann-Patrick/Baldwin, 76, -1 from the top 35
37) #30-Stremme/Inception, 63, -14
38) #49-Yeley/Robinson, 49, -28
39) #26-Wise/Front Row, 46, -31
40) #21-Bayne/Wood Brothers, 44, -33
41) #98-McDowell/Parsons, 44, -33
42) #87-Nemechek/NEMCO, 32, -45
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see the Owners Points Standings page (pdf).(4-1-2012)
- Race Fast Facts – Martinsville:
Ryan Newman won the 63rd Annual Goody’s Fast Relief 500, his 16th victory in 374 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2012.
This is his first victory and 11th top-10 finish in 21 races at Martinsville Speedway.
AJ Allmendinger (second) posted his second top-10 finish in ten races at Martinsville Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2012.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (third) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 25 races at Martinsville Speedway.
Greg Biffle leads the point standings by 6 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The race featured the fewest cautions (7) at Martinsville since Sept. 22, 1996 (7).(NASCAR Statistics)(4-1-2012)
- Teams will get test time at Pocono & Michigan: NASCAR has added two days to the Pocono Raceway weekend and one to the Michigan race weekend in June so all teams get a chance to tackle the repaved tracks. Both tracks have new surfaces since last year and Goodyear will conduct tire tests in the next month. NASCAR will have open test days the Wednesday and Thursday prior to the June 8-10 weekend at Pocono. It will have an open test day the Thursday prior to the June 15-17 weekend at Michigan, according to NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp. While that just might mean an extra few days on the road for most drivers and teams, it does throw a wrench into plans for the Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway. That charity race is scheduled for June 6, the same as the first day of the Pocono open test. Eldora officials are still hopeful they could run on that date, a Stewart spokesman said.(Sporting News)(4-1-2012)
- Kyle Petty to be honored: Paul Simon and Elvis Costello are among the luminaries who will perform at “A Celebration of Paul Newman’s Dream,” a fundraising event scheduled for April 2 at Avery Fisher Hall at New York City’s Lincoln Center. The benefit will raise money for the late acting legend’s Association of Hole in the Wall Camps charity, which runs a worldwide network of camps for children with serious illnesses including the NASCAR-themed camp in Randleman, NC, Victory Junction. The gala, will honor all camp founders and will be hosted by Newman’s widow, Joanne Woodward, also will feature appearances by Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon and Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as performances from country star Trisha Yearwood and crooner Josh Groban. In addition, campers from all of the Hole in the Wall Camps will take to the stage to perform alongside the entertainers. Victory Junction founder Kyle Petty and son Austin Petty will be in attendance to accept the honor on behalf of Victory Junction.(Victory Junction)(4-1-2012)
- Papa John’s Pizza party ticket package at Charlotte: Race fans who love pizza will get a double treat as Papa John’s is offering a VIP experience with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the Coca-Cola 600, on May 27, with the Papa John’s Pizza Party at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Papa John’s pizza boxes throughout the Carolinas and Virginia will include an offer for a pizza party race package for $99. With the package, up to 1,000 fans will get a frontstretch ticket for the May 27 Coca-Cola 600 and exclusive access to a VIP party that includes appearances by the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers. At the party, fans will also be treated to two slices of Papa John’s pizza, beverages and a goody bag with gifts from Papa John’s and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The promotion will run through late April or while supplies last. To get the ticket package for the Papa John’s Pizza Party at the Coca-Cola 600, order from Papa John’s or visit www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/papajohnsparty.(CMS)(4-1-2012)
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