Hamlin wins a Martinsville stunner

Four tires with less than 10 laps remaining gave Denny Hamlin the grip he needed in a green-white-checkered finish as the front of the field was characterized by a lot of bumping and banging to open a lane for the hometown driver.
 
Our View From the second row, Matt Kenseth bumped Jeff Gordon to get him a lane high, Denny Hamlin bumped Ryan Newman to knock him out of the way and then the No. 11 knocked the 17 around.
 
After the smoke cleared, it was a Joe Gibbs Racing one-two finish as Hamlin led Joey Logano across the line. Gordon finished third, Newman was fourth and a surprising Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five.

Kenseth was the biggest loser. He finished 18th.

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Bill France Jr.: The Man Who Made Nascar

Montoya remains fast in Martinsville HH

Juan Montoya had the second and third quickest average times in Saturday's practice sessions with a speed of 94.323 mph during 43 laps in the morning (second best) and 94.342 during 36 laps in Happy Hour (third best).
 
Our View His biggest challenge is going to be overcoming his grid position of 22nd since the race will be started by owner points. He's experienced bad luck in the early races, but he's run much stronger than his position suggests. The bottom line is that he should be on most fantasy owners' rosters.
 
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Juan Pablo Montoya Restart

Earnhardt wins Martinsville HH

Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted the quickest average during Happy Hour at Martinsville with a speed of 94.453 mph during 67 laps. His fastest circuit of 95.675 mph was seventh best on that chart.

Our View Earnhardt was one of our dark horses at the beginning of the year and he is living up to projections. He's been consistent in 2010 and with a little luck, he could challenge teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon for the victory.

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The Complete Statistical History of Stock-Car Racing: Records, Streaks, Oddities, and Trivia

McMurray posts fastest lap in M'Ville HH

Jamie McMurray posted the fastest single lap in Happy Hour at Martinsville with a speed of 95.869 mph.

Our View His average speed was 94.232 mph during 90 laps, which was fifth best on the chart. Combined with his fast laps in the morning session, this makes him a strong dark horse contender for a top-five finish and he is probably not on your competition's radar screen.

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Bill France Jr.: The Man Who Made Nascar

R Gordon blows tranny late in Martinsville HH

Robby Gordon blew a transmission in the closing minutes of Happy Hour and will need to change it before the race.

Our View That will send him to the tail of the field, but he was starting there anyway. It's hard to imagine just how bad his luck has been all season and his bid to climb back into the top 35 in owner points has taken a huge hit.

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Teammates McMurray, Montoya win Martinsville P2

Jamie McMurray and Juan Montoya posted the two quickest speeds in Martinsville's practice over long runs: McMurray's speed was 94.440 mph during 41 laps; Montoya went 94.323 mph during 43 circuits.

Our View Montoya has been consistently fast all season and last week McMurray had one of his best runs on the short track of Bristol Motor Speedway, so both should be watched closely during Happy Hour.

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One of the best statistical books in print:

Martin posts fastest lap in Martinsville practice 2

Mark Martin posted the single fastest lap in Martinsville's Saturday morning practice session, with a speed of 96.010 mph. His average speed was not bad either with the fifth quickest speed of 94.108 mph during 59 laps.

Our View After last week's mistake at Bristol, Martin needs to make some fantasy amends. This track is tailor-made for Hendrick Motorsports drivers though, and Martin should be a favorite to earn a top-five.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Martinsville

It seems that Kevin Harvick inherited the Golden Horseshoe from Jimmie Johnson now that Mother Nature awarded him the pole. Starting position has not been nearly as critical at Martinsville in recent seasons though as we point out in this week's Yahoo! qualification story.

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Newman wins first Martinsville practice

Ryan Newman posted the fastest speed in the first qualification session, with a speed of 96.934 mph.

Our View Last fall after failing to crack the top-10 in qualification in five straight races, Newman earned his third Martinsville pole. The Rocketman is on his way to another strong qualification.

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Yahoo! Martinsville Preview

Bristol left a lot of cars battered and beaten, but drivers managed to keep their anger in check. Back-to-back short track races might put an end to that, however. Check out this week's Yahoo! Preview (.pdf).

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