News and Media Releases

Fourth-Place Finish In Texas

09/11/2009

Veteran Driver Closes the Gap on Points Leader Jimmie Johnson after Three-Time Champ Finds Trouble

Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin capitalized on teammate Jimmie Johnson’s misfortune in Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.  Martin finished fourth and moved to within 73 points of Johnson with two races remaining in the season. Johnson finished 38th after a lap-three mishap that sent him to the garage for over 100 laps for repairs. Fellow HMS teammate Jeff Gordon finished 13th while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had a solid run spoiled after he ran out of gas in the closing laps.

Martin had a solid, consistent run spending most of the day racing in the top-10. He was able to make it to the end on fuel while many others ran out of gas finishing the 334-lap race in the fourth position, his 13th top-five finish of the season.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon had a strong car at the beginning of the race after starting from the pole but lost some track position after a problem on pit road. Gordon’s car went away in the middle of the event dropping him back to the 18th position, where he ran most of the day. However, the No. 24 team played the fuel strategy to their advantage and Gordon was able to muster a top-15 finish taking the checkered flag in the 13th spot.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. started in the top-10 and remained there for the entirety of the race until the very end. He quickly moved into the top-five and had a solid run going until he ran out of fuel in the closing laps costing him valuable track position. Junior lost several laps trying to get the car to pit road and ended up 25th for the day.

Fellow HMS teammate and point leader Jimmie Johnson was involved in a lap-three incident that heavily damaged the No. 48 Chevrolet after he made heavy contact with both the outside and inside retaining walls. Johnson pulled his machine behind the wall and the No. 48 crew worked diligently for over an hour to make repairs to get their driver back on track. The three-time champ was credited with a 38th-place finish for the day.

With his misfortune, Johnson’s lead shrank to just 73 markers over second-place Mark Martin. Gordon remains third in the standings just 112 points out of first with two races remaining in the season.

Flag-to-flag coverage of the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil at Phoenix International Raceway in Goodyear, Arizona will take the green flag Sunday, November 17 beginning at 2:30 p.m. (EDT) on ABC.  The race will also be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio beginning at 2:45 p.m. (EDT).