JGR race report - Martinsville

Date: Oct. 22, 2006
Event: Subway 500 (Round 32 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports
JGR Finish: Denny Hamlin (2nd - Running, completed 500 of 500 laps); Tony Stewart (4th - Running, completed 500 of 500 laps); J.J. Yeley (31st - Running, completed 494 of 500 laps)

Denny Hamlin led the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) contingent at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway by finishing second in Sunday's Subway 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. For Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Chevrolet, it was his 16th top-10 finish this season.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, finished fourth, while J.J. Yeley, driver of the No. 18 IMITREX® (sumatriptan succinate) Chevrolet, finished 31st.

"An awesome day," said Stewart. "Compared to where we were yesterday this was as good as a victory for us. Zippy changed everything but the left rear spring on it and the steering wheel and the seat they got. Just a really good day for the Home Depot Monte Carlo. We had a friend of ours, Ted Johnson (the founder of the World of Outlaws), pass away yesterday. This top five is for him. It's kind of a tough for us emotionally but I'm really happy with the day. Anytime you can run in the top five at Martinsville is a good day."

Yeley endured a cut left rear tire on lap 90 after contact with the No. 38 car of David Gilliland. Yeley was forced to pit under green, ending any chance of a good finish.

"It was the strangest thing," said Yeley. "All of the sudden just before we were getting lapped there, the engine started to sputter of the corner.  It would carry all the way past the start finish line before it would take off.  It made it difficult to pass guys.  I'd get a run on them.  They'd pull away from me.  I'd catch back up again in the corner, but you have to be able to get underneath guys here.  So, we got lapped.  At that point it put us in a position to get beat up on.  I was on the outside.  The 38 car (David Gilliland) got into me a couple of times and I cut a left rear tire.  At that point we had to make a green flag stop.  I couldn't get down the back straightaway without causing a horrendous crash.  I lost so many laps, so at that point you're almost just riding around."

Hamlin continues to lead the trio of JGR drivers in the championship point standings, as he is the lone JGR representative in the Chase for the Championship. Hamlin gained two spots to climb to fourth in points and is now only 47 markers behind new series leader Matt Kenseth.

Stewart maintained his 11th-place point standing and holds a healthy 246-point lead over 12th-place Carl Edwards.

Yeley dropped one position to 29th in points and is 239 points outside the top-25.

Hall of Fame Racing, which gets its engines, cars and technical support from JGR, finished 14th with Tony Raines at the wheel of the No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet.

Jimmie Johnson scored his 23rd career Nextel Cup victory, his fifth this season and his second at Martinsville by winning the Subway 500.

Finishing a season-best third behind Johnson and Hamlin was former JGR driver Bobby Labonte. Stewart trailed Labonte, while Gordon, a seven-time winner at Martinsville, finished fifth.

Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Petty comprised the rest of the top-10.

With only four races remaining, the next event on the Nextel Cup schedule is the Oct. 29 Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race begins at 2:55 p.m. EST with live, high-definition coverage provided by NBC.