Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 Winners and Losers

Winners

Denny Hamlin

Another solid Martinsville finish for the Virginia native. The day was a great boost for Hamlin's confidence and his standing in the points. After leading 296 laps and bringing home a second place finish at the end of the day, Hamlin climbed three spots in the points to fifth. He also showed great maturity and poise in the way he reacted post-race to the shove he received from race-winner Jimmie Johnson.

Rick Hendrick

Had to be a great weekend for Mr. Hendrick, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first win as a team owner and then not just win the race, but have all four of his teams place in the Top 10. Not to mention, after coming out and saying he has total confidence in Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his current crew chief Tony Eury Jr., that having that team bring home a solid eighth place finish must feel good.

A.J. Allemendinger

Making my winners list for the second week in a row is the driver on the rise who is making a solid case for a full ride this year and in the future. Ninth place on Sunday and carrying the banner for Richard Petty Motorsports have ascended A.J. up to 15th in driver points and a mere 34 points out of a position in the Chase for the Cup. Needless to say, having to qualify on time is the furthest thing from A.J.'s mind right now.

Paul Menard

25th may not sound like a great finish, but in the case of Menard, it was just what he needed. With the 71 of Gilliland limping home to a 36th place finish, Menard vaulted himself up three positions in the owner standings to 35th and the final locked-in position for Texas next week.

Stewart Haas Racing

Another repeat from Bristol, after having both cars bring home solid finishes at the Virginia paperclip with Tony Stewart threatening for a win and Ryan Newman coming home sixth. Both cars now are well within the Top 35 in owner points and can focus more time and energy on race setups. I look for them to be in Victory Lane very soon.

Losers

TRG Motorsports

Three points may not seem like a lot, but to David Gilliland and the 71 TRG Motorsports team, it may be the difference between life and death. Now outside of the Top 35 by three points and not locked in to the race at Texas, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gilliland leading a rain dance on pit road during qualifying if he doesn't have a qualifying set he has confidence in.

Phil Parsons

Your team has made five races this season and are being beat in the points by teams that have made less starts. How can you call yourself a team owner when you don't even attempt to finish a race? You owe Sterling Marlin a huge apology because, had your team not been there wasting space, he would not have been sent home after qualifying got rained out.

Think about it...you screwed Marlin and that '09 team who worked their butts off to have a competitive car because you wanted to start and park.

Sterling Marlin

You only lost this week because of what I just stated about Mr. Parsons. You had a great car on Thursday practice and I thought you had a chance to win, if not finish in the Top 10. If I were you, I would be paying Mr. Parsons a visit here soon and letting him know a thing or two about what it means to compete at the Sprint Cup level.

Matt Kenseth

Wrong place wrong time just explains how your day went when it came to getting the lucky dog. After going a lap down due to some confusion about the penalty handed down concerning one of your tires, you just couldn't seem to get the luck needed to get back on the lead lap. I know it is early in the season, but falling two spots in the points is never good.

Joey Logano

Hate to say this, but J.D. Gibbs and the boys on that 20 Home Depot team really need to light a fire under your butt if you're going to hold onto your spot in the Top 35. After a 32nd place finish at Martinsville, 23 points over 35th isn't that much of a cushion between you and the possibility of your first career DNQ.