Jeff Gordon wins at Martinsville / Logano and Kenseth clash

UNB! NETWORK STAFF REPORT

Jeff Gordon celebrating after winning the 2015 Goodys 500
at Martinsville Speedway. This was Gordon's first Sprint Cup Series
victory of this season.

Martinsville, VA--- It was a happy ending today at Martinsville Speedway, as Jeff Gordon would hold off a charging Jamie McMurray.

Gordon joked in victory lane and said "It was a joke, I'm coming back next year," referring to the fact that this is his final season in NASCAR.

"I knew that if we could get into this position, we could do something with it."

"All of our focus is on that Homestead car," Gordon also said.

Gordon's victory was one of two big storylines today.

With 47 laps to go, a rivalry that started a few weekends ago at Kansas would feud again, as Matt Kenseth would slam Joey Logano into the wall.

Kenseth, his crew chief, Jason Ratcliffe, and the team owner were told to go to NASCAR's hauler at the track after the race.

Logan would finish 37th, and Kenseth would finish 38th.

Finishing 2nd today was Jamie McMurray. 3rd would be Denny Hamlin, 4th would be Dale Earnhardt Jr., and finishing 5th would be Kyle Busch.

AJ Allmendinger, who was racing with a heavy heart after losing a member of his crew earlier this week, would finish 11th.

Final Results from NASCAR.COM

POS	CAR	DRIVER	MANUF	DELTA	LAPS	LAST LAP	BEST TIME	BEST SPEED	BEST LAP
1	24	Jeff Gordon		Leader	500	20.409	19.883	95.237	475
2	1	Jamie McMurray		0.336	500	20.524	19.873	95.285	447
3	11	Denny Hamlin		0.487	500	20.692	19.903	95.141	465
4	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.		0.111	500	20.986	19.839	95.448	448
5	18	Kyle Busch		0.327	500	20.774	19.905	95.132	16
6	78	Martin Truex Jr.		0.247	500	21.117	19.879	95.256	464
7	31	Ryan Newman		0.404	500	21.307	19.895	95.180	125
8	4	Kevin Harvick		0.310	500	21.426	19.776	95.752	183
9	5	Kasey Kahne		0.006	500	21.420	19.880	95.252	465
10	14	Tony Stewart		0.152	500	21.425	19.921	95.055	451
11	47	AJ Allmendinger		0.076	500	21.126	19.860	95.347	14
12	48	Jimmie Johnson		0.032	500	21.342	19.897	95.170	476
13	51	Justin Allgaier		0.227	500	21.114	20.040	94.491	449
14	19	Carl Edwards		0.040	500	21.575	20.006	94.652	465
15	27	Paul Menard		0.216	500	21.165	20.115	94.139	452
16	43	Aric Almirola		0.204	500	21.091	20.077	94.317	478
17	13	Casey Mears		0.015	500	21.748	19.871	95.295	17
18	3	Austin Dillon		0.165	500	21.662	20.096	94.228	465
19	42	Kyle Larson		0.181	500	21.668	19.930	95.013	14
20	35	Cole Whitt		0.187	500	21.341	20.285	93.350	16
21	40	Landon Cassill(i)		3.585	500	21.656	20.201	93.738	474
22	7	Alex Bowman		-	499	21.948	20.279	93.377	296
23	46	Michael Annett		-	498	21.274	20.202	93.733	473
24	38	David Gilliland		-	498	21.211	20.142	94.013	472
25	55	David Ragan		-	498	21.415	20.026	94.557	449
26	16	Greg Biffle		-	497	21.557	20.175	93.859	15
27	23	Jeb Burton #		-	496	21.770	20.373	92.947	18
28	9	Sam Hornish Jr.		-	493	21.697	20.076	94.322	18
29	26	JJ Yeley(i)		-	492	21.336	20.374	92.942	14
30	83	Matt DiBenedetto #		-	492	22.906	20.229	93.608	291
31	6	Trevor Bayne		-	491	21.633	20.185	93.812	447
32	2	Brad Keselowski		-	490	21.451	19.824	95.521	392
33	33	Alex Kennedy #		-	489	21.747	20.524	92.263	384
34	41	Kurt Busch		-	486	21.536	19.900	95.156	15
35	34	Brett Moffitt #		-	479	21.980	20.264	93.447	152
36	62	Timmy Hill(i)		-	459	21.348	20.508	92.335	14
37	22	Joey Logano		-	458	21.587	19.870	95.299	390
38	20	Matt Kenseth		-	443	21.911	19.909	95.113	252
39	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		-	423	23.017	20.169	93.887	65
40	10	Danica Patrick		-	391	1:3.657	20.084	94.284	17
41	32	Kyle Fowler		-	373	50.184	20.405	92.801	247
42	98	Ryan Preece		-	365	22.100	20.195	93.766	17
43	15	Clint Bowyer		-	185	40.416	19.880	95.252	18

SNAPSHOT: Martinsville

From NASCAR.com

Race Day Info:
What: 67th annual Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500.
Where: Martinsville Speedway, .526-mile oval in Martinsville, Virginia. | Learn more about the track
Green Flag Time: 1:15 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Forecast: Cloudy, high of 64 degrees, 60 percent chance of rain, according to the National Weather Service
National Anthem: N.C. State Marching Band, "The Power Sound of the South"
Grand Marshals: Richard Petty, seven-time NASCAR premier-series champion; Tom Harman, Circle K Southeast director of marketing.
Distance: 500 laps, 263 miles.
Pit Road Speed: 30 MPH. 
Caution Car Speed: 35 MPH.

On The Front Row:
1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (98.548 mph)
2. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet (98.487 MOH)

Fastest In Practice:
First Practice: Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (98.826 MPH)
Second Practice: Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (96.998 MPH)
Final Practice: Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (97.108 MPH)

Key Story Lines:
1. Four consecutive wins a rarity within Logano's reach
2. Plenty of incentive for Gordon, seeking ninth clock in Martinsville final
3. Martinsville adds SAFER barrier, making tight track even cozier
4. Ford to debut new-look NASCAR Fusion in 2016

Former Winners In The Field:
Jeff Gordon (8), Jimmie Johnson (8), Denny Hamlin (5), Tony Stewart (3), Kurt Busch (2), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Ryan Newman (1).

He Said It:
"I think about that one hot dog that I ate in an attempt to go faster in the spring. It didn’t work." -- Carl Edwards

Matt Crafton picks up trucks win in Martinsville

From ESPN.com

Matt Crafton rebounded from a poor showing at Talladega to take the
checkered flag in Martinsville.

Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Matt Crafton climbed back into the championship hunt by winning the Truck series race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.

The two-time defending series champion won for the fifth time this season to chip into the cushion of points leader Erik Jones. With three races remaining, Jones leads Tyler Reddick by three points and Crafton by 10.

"This feels very, very good," Crafton said. "It's been a trying last two months for us. But we finally got this thing back in Victory Lane."

Crafton had a poor race last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway to fall 23 points behind Jones. But Jones was involved in a late accident Saturday and finished 10th to allow Reddick and Crafton to tighten the standings.

Reddick finished fifth.

"We were in really good position at the end ... and I actually hit the curb and cost us a couple more spots," Reddick said. "It was as clean as Martinsville could get. It's a shame we got fifth, really, because I thought we could have finished third or second."

John Hunter Nemechek was second, followed by Cameron Hayley, Cole Custer and Reddick.

Timothy Peters was sixth, while Brandon Jones, Caleb Holman, Johnny Sauter and Jones rounded out the top 10.

The win was the second career victory at Martinsville for Crafton and 10th of his career. He credited his ThorSport Racing crew for giving him a strong enough Toyota to win.

"We weren't very good on the short runs," Crafton said. "But I never give up on these guys, and they kept fine-tuning it."Crafton had a poor race last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway to fall 23 points behind Jones. But Jones was involved in a late accident Saturday and finished 10th to allow Reddick and Crafton to tighten the standings.

Reddick finished fifth.

"We were in really good position at the end ... and I actually hit the curb and cost us a couple more spots," Reddick said. "It was as clean as Martinsville could get. It's a shame we got fifth, really, because I thought we could have finished third or second."

John Hunter Nemechek was second, followed by Cameron Hayley, Cole Custer and Reddick.

Timothy Peters was sixth, while Brandon Jones, Caleb Holman, Johnny Sauter and Jones rounded out the top 10.

The win was the second career victory at Martinsville for Crafton and 10th of his career. He credited his ThorSport Racing crew for giving him a strong enough Toyota to win.

"We weren't very good on the short runs," Crafton said. "But I never give up on these guys, and they kept fine-tuning it."

MARTINSVILLE: Today's Sprint Cup & Trucks Practice & Qualifying Notes

UNB! NETWORK PRACTICE & QUALIFYING REPORT

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES:

First Saturday practice for the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway is over.

After 55 scheduled minutes, top five, slowest and notes:

1.) Dale Earnhardt - 96.998 MPH
2.) Martin Truex Jr. - 96.879 MPH
3.) Ryan Newman - 96.874 MPH
4.) Joey Logano - 96.755 MPH
5.) Denny Hamlin - 96.731 MPH
Slowest: Timmy Hill - 94.041 MPH & Alex Kennedy - 93.654 MPH
Most Laps Run: Dale Earnhardt, 75 laps
Note: Tony Stewart will go to a backup car after hitting the wall.

Final practice for the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway is over. 

Top five, slowest:
1.) Jimmie Johnson - 97.108 MPH
2.) Kevin Harvick - 96.721 MPH
3.) Brad Keselowski - 96.721 MPH
4.) Paul Menard - 96.711 MPH
5.) Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 96.538 MPH
Slowest: Alex Kennedy - 94.109 MPH & Kyle Fowler - 94.073 MPH

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES:

Cole Custer won the pole for Saturday's Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway with a speed of 96.959 MPH. Cameron Hayley will start second, followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Hemric, Daniel Suarez, Gray Gaulding, Erik Jones, Tyler Young, and Ben Kennedy. Brandon Brown, Jim Weiler, Norm Benning and Charles Buchannan Jr. failed to qualify for the race.

MARTINSVILLE: Today's Sprint Cup & Trucks Practice & Qualifying Notes

UNB! NETWORK PRACTICE REPORT

Joey Logano's No. 22 car during a Sprint
Cup practice session at Martinsville on
October 30th, 2015.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Friday practice for the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway is over.

After 85 scheduled minutes, top five, slowest and notes:

1.) Joey Logano - 98.826 MPH

2.) Jeff Gordon - 98.364 MPH

3.) Brad Keselowski - 98.338 MPH

4.) Kevin Harvick - 98.328 MPH

5.) Casey Mears - 98.195 MPH

Slowest: Kyle Fowler - 95.161 MPH & Timmy Hill - 94.242 MPH

Most Laps Run: Kyle Larson, 48 laps

Best 10-Consecutive Lap Average: Kevin Harvick - lap 8-17 - 95.762 MPH

Note: Qualifying will be this afternoon at 4:20pm/et. It will be shown on tape-delay at 6:00pm/et on NBCSN. Live coverage will be provide online at NBC Sports Live Extra.

Top-5 From Round 1 Of Qualifying:
1.) Jamie McMurray - 98.599 MPH
2.) Clint Bowyer - 98.308 MPH
3.) Carl Edwards - 98.297 MPH
4.) Kevin Harvick - 98.145 MPH
5.) Joey Logano - 98.119 MPH

Top-5 From Round 2 Of Qualifying:
1.) Joey Logano - 98.800 MPH
2.) Kevin Harvick - 98.466 MPH
3.) Jeff Gordon - 98.420 MPH
4.) Martin Truex, Jr. - 98.415 MPH
5.) Jamie McMurray - 98.354 MPH

Joey Logano won the Coors Light pole for the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway with speed of 98.548 MPH for his 6th pole of 2015, 2nd at Martinsville and 14th of his career. Logano has won 2 races from the pole out of 13 previous poles. Martin Truex, Jr. is on the outside pole followed by AJ Allmendinger, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick. With only 43 cars entered, no one missed the race.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Timothy Peters was fastest during opening practice at Martinsville Speedway on Friday with a speed of 96.019 mph. Matt Crafton was second, followed by Cameron Hayley, Spencer Gallagher, Brandon Jones, Johnny Sauter, Daniel Hemric, Daniel Suarez, Ross Kenseth, and Cole Custer. 37 drivers are entered for Saturday's race and all practiced during the session.

Timothy Peters led the way during final practice for Saturday's Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway with a speed of 96.083mph. Cameron Hayley was second, followed by Tyler Young, Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer, Gray Gaulding, Erik Jones, Brandon Jones, Johnny Sauter, and John Hunter Nemechek. 36 drivers practiced during the session.

FANTASY NASCAR: Martinsville Truck Series Points/Tire Notes/Facts

UNB! NETWORK FANTASY REPORT

Standings Following Talladega:
1.) Erik Jones, 742
2.) Tyler Reddick, 724, -18
3.) Matt Crafton, 719, -23
4.) Johnny Sauter, 687, -55
5.) Timothy Peters, 642, -100
6.) Cameron Hayley, 622, -120
7.) Daniel Hemric, 612, -130
8.) John Wes Townley, 594, -148
9.) Ben Kennedy, 565, -177
10.) Spencer Gallagher, 559, -183

Tire Notes & Facts:

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Short Track Radials

Set Limits: Camping World Truck: 5 sets for the event

Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4588; Right-side -- D-4468

Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.44 in. (2,221 mm); Right-side -- 88.70 in. (2,253 mm)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front -- 10 psi; Left Rear -- 10 psi; Right Front -- 23 psi; Right Rear -- 22 psi

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Martinsville this weekend. This is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that these teams have run at this track since last October. This left-side tire code has been run at this track since April 2013. Martinsville is the only track where NASCAR teams are scheduled to run either of these two tire codes. As on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Martinsville.

Stroylines:

• 2015 Eldora runner-up Bobby Pierce, 18, will attempt to make his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start this weekend for MB Motorsports. At Eldora, he won the pole, and won  Heat race #1 to go along with his fantastic second-place finish to Christopher Bell.

• Ray Black Jr. will run a special Halloween paint scheme on the No. 07 Chevrolet on Saturday.

• Could this be the weekend Daniel Suarez notches his first NASCAR national series win? The Monterrey, Mexico native will pilot the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota in Saturday's Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. KBM has won the last four fall races at Martinsville with Darrell Wallace Jr. (twice) and Denny Hamlin (twice). In nine NCWTS start this season, Suarez has failed to place in the top 10 just once and has posted five top-10 finishes. He has finished runner-up twice (Dover and Texas) and placed fourth in his last series start at Chicagoland.

• Timothy Peters led 23 laps, including the final one, to win Saturday's fred's 250 at Talladega Superspeedway - his second consecutive victory at the 2.66-mile behemoth. Peters might be turning into a superspeedway ace now. Three of his nine career victories have come at Talladega (two) and Daytona. The No. 17 Red Horse Racing driver is also on fire with four top-five finishes in his last five races (first at Talladega, second at Las Vegas, fourth at New Hampshire, third at Chicagoland). He has moved from seventh to fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings since the beginning of the streak. This Saturday, the Danville, Virginia native heads to his home track - Martinsville Speedway - for the Kroger 200 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1). Martinsville is the site of Peters' first career victory. In 19 career starts at the famous short track, Peters boasts one win, six top fives and 12 top 10s.

Tony vs. Tony

If you haven't seen it already you may not want to see it because you'll never be able to unsee it. Go to Espn.com to see it if you want to. Tony Stewart had a Halloween party last night & invited Tony Gibson's family, Ken Gober (#14 Hauler driver) & his wife & of course the Zipadelli family (Greg & Nan) Tony Gibson was dressed as a middle finger (kinda appropriate as to how nascar is running things nowadays). Tony Stewart was dressed as Carmen Miranda. Miranda was a Latin American singer/dancer in the 1950's & I must say he wears the costume well. There's maybe 10 or more photos from him wearing it last night. The simple Twitter pic said "Yep I lost & Tony Stewart won. Hopefully he'll be able to channel that costume win to a race win come Sunday at Martinsville.

The Smooth Operator makes his return to NASCAR at Martinsville.

Official Press Release | Sent to us by Michael Kamp, RPM Services LLC

PHOTO: Bobby Pirece (No. 63 Chevy) races with Christopher Bell
(No. 54 Toyota) in the 2015 1-8--CAR-CASH Mud Summer Classic at
Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on July 22nd, 2015.

Bell will be making his first NASCAR non-dirt start this weekend
in the Truck Series' Kroger 250 at Martinsville.

Bobby Pierce impressed in his NASCAR debut at the sanction's only dirt race earlier this year at Eldora and now makes his long-awaited asphalt debut this saturday in the Kroger 250 for MB Motorsports.

"Bobby is a very talented young driver, that's for sure" says team owner Mike Mittler. "He's had a lot of laps around that place, but this is a new ballgame", referring to Martinsville's reputation as a track that few have mastered.

Led by champion crew chief, Rick Wren, Pierce has every tool available to make a successful transition.  After taking 2nd earlier this summer at Hickory Motor Speedway for JR Motorsports, insiders look for another eye-opening performance.

   Joined by teammate Brandon Hightower, also a young talent with a dominating dirt background, MB Motorsports fields 2 rookies at arguably THE most difficult venue to have a good showing. "All good" says Mittler with a confident smile.

While Pierce returns with sponsor RPM Services LLC, among other contengency sponsors,  Bobby debuts a new sponsor to NASCAR, Pixographs. A highly anticipated app designed for fans to instantly capture the excitement, autographed by their favorite personality, then immediately posted to their choice of social media."This app is a game changer for everything from sports to entertainment to family occasions" boasts RPM owner and app designer Mike Kamp. Hightower brings his charity work for St. Jude Children's Hospital and Operation:Second Chance to his debut.

All eyes will undoubtedly be watching this pair of incredibly talented rookies as they work for more treats than tricks this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The Kroger 250 can be seen on local Fox affiliates.

This Work Was Originally From:

Kevin Howdeshell 

STL Motorsport Magazine 

Kevin H. GSS