News and Media Releases

Top-Five Finishes In Richmond

12/09/2009

Martin Earns Number One Seed Going into the Chase for the Sprint Cup with Johnson Sitting Third and Gordon Seeded in the Sixth Position

Both Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin had solid runs in Saturday night's running of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway earning top-five finishes in the final race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup starts. Fellow Quaker State driver Jimmie Johnson also had a strong showing remaining in the top-10 for most of the race before falling behind in the closing laps of the 300-mile event.

Martin started the weekend out on a high note earning his sixth pole of the season. After leading the first three circuits the Quaker State driver settled into the top-five where he remained for the duration of the event before finishing fourth. With bonus points from his four wins throughout the first 26 races, Martin took over the top spot in the points earning the number one seed going into the Chase for the Championship.

Fellow HMS driver Jeff Gordon had a solid performance leading five times for 97 laps while remaining in the top-10 during the entire 400-lap race before finishing third. Jimmie Johnson's Chevrolet started out running well but the handling went away in the closing laps of the event causing him to fall out of the top-10 and finish 11th for the evening.

Quaker State teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spent some time in the top-10 as well before the handling of his No. 88 Chevrolet went away causing him to lose track position and finish 21st.

Three of the four Quaker State drivers berthed spots in the Chase with Martin in the points lead while Johnson ended up in the third position and Gordon in the sixth seed. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. remains in the 21st position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings with 10 races remaining in the season.
Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag first earning his second win of the season and was followed by Kurt Busch and Gordon. Following Martin in fourth was Kyle Busch rounding out the top-five.

Next up for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the first race of the 10-race Chase to the Sprint Cup. Live coverage of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will begin on Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on ABC with radio coverage started at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on PRN and Sirius-XM Satellite radio.