TUMS QuikPak 500
How the race was won
Johnson
This is an easy question to answer – Johnson won when he showed up to the track. Was it ever in doubt? He led 339 of 500 laps, relinquishing it only for pit stops and a few laps waiting for his car to come to him. This may have been the most dominating win of the season for any driver
Stories of the race
Domination at Martinsville: In five Chase races at Martinsville Speedway, Johnson has four wins and a third-place finish. Remarkable.
Brake issues: It seemed like just about every other lap either Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch or Tony Stewart were on pit road with a blown tire caused by heating up the brakes too much. This wasn't an issue with Goodyear. This was an issue with the driving.
Still winless
Gordon
Those calling for Steve Letarte's head got more fuel Sunday. Jeff Gordon looked like he had a winning car early on, but he and his crew couldn't keep up with the track. Gordon finished in the top five, but that's no consolation when you're still looking for your first win of the season.
DEI-Petty merger?
The hot rumor of the weekend was word that Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Petty Enterprises are talking about a merger. Not so sure exactly what that would do, at least in the short term. Neither team poses a threat to win on Sundays. So what would a merger do?
Grading the race
Fairly uneventful for a race at Martinsville. It didn't help that no one had anything for Jimmie Johnson, who strolled around the track unscathed and unchallenged most of the day. Grade: C+
From the source
Jimmie Johnson: "As long as I can stay scared and on my heels and worried about losing this thing, the better this team is going to be. If we start getting comfortable and complacent, we are going to stub our toes and make mistakes."
Greg Biffle: "We're gonna come and get them. We've got four more chances and we’re going to some of our best places, so they better be on their A game."
