NASCAR at Martinsville 2015 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction
An entire afternoon of mayhem at Martinsville Speedway led to 16 cautions and just 21 drivers still on the lead lap. Denny Hamlin was at the top of that lead lap when the checkered flag waved, securing his first win on the young season and his fifth at his hometown track.
On the shortest track in NASCAR, Hamlin attempted to have one of the most epic burnouts ever by making it the full half-mile around the track. NASCAR passed along a look before Hamlin was driving solely on his rims:
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The Chesterfield, Virginia, native won four races before 2010 but had not driven to Victory Lane at Martinsville since. Holding off Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, Hamlin was finally able to haul in his fifth grandfather clock after leading 91 laps.
He also made a bit of history with the win in terms of overall victories for a Virginia driver, per NASCAR Stats:
Jeff Gordon was up front and looking for his ninth win at Martinsville but was derailed on pit road during a late caution with 37 laps remaining. He was pacing the field heading into the pits but would have to go to the back of the cars on the lead lap after speeding during the stop.
Gordon put the blame firmly on himself following the penalty, per his official account:
Even with the penalty, Gordon still found his way back up to ninth, where he would finish on the afternoon. Coming off two straight top-10 finishes, a win would have secured a spot in the Chase during Gordon's final full-time season. Still, the solid comeback at the end of the race still keeps him in the hunt.
Hamlin was joined in the top five by fellow Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Matt Kenseth (fourth) and David Ragan (fifth), who was driving for injured Kyle Busch. Martin Truex Jr. secured his sixth straight top-10 finish with Danica Patrick and Kevin Harvick finishing behind him.
Here's a look at the results and up-to-date standings following the STP 500 in Martinsville. The full leaderboard can be found at NASCAR.com.
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 91 |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | 18 |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 108 |
| 4 | Matt Kenseth | 11 |
| 5 | David Ragan | 0 |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 23 |
| 7 | Danica Patrick | 0 |
| 8 | Kevin Harvick | 154 |
| 9 | Jeff Gordon | 21 |
| 10 | Jamie McMurray | 0 |
| 11 | Kasey Kahne | 29 |
| 12 | Aric Almirola | 0 |
| 13 | Clint Bowyer | 0 |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | 21 |
| 15 | Casey Mears | 0 |
| 16 | Regan Smith | 0 |
| 17 | Carl Edwards | 13 |
| 18 | Trevor Bayne | 0 |
| 19 | Greg Biffle | 0 |
| 20 | Tony Stewart | 8 |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 263 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 239 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 231 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | 206 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | 193 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | 180 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | Paul Menard | 173 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 172 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 172 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | 170 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Jimmie Johnson | 168 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | 168 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 | David Ragan | 163 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Casey Mears | 161 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Jamie McMurray | 154 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Jeff Gordon | 148 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Coming off his first win at Martinsville in the fall, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was hoping to take his second grandfather clock back to North Carolina. Starting in the 14th position, Earnhardt looked solid to start and had a fast car.
Things went horribly wrong for the No. 88 car after that point.
Junior suffered through a broken shifter for multiple laps before repairing it in the car during a caution. That seemed to hold up—for about 10 laps—before it broke again. That was nothing compared to what he would deal with shortly after when he collided with Paul Menard coming into a turn.
Having no chance to slow down on the short track, Earnhardt destroyed his entire front end and was forced to head to the garage. Gluck passed along comments from Junior following the accident:
Trying to get his car back on the track, Earnhardt was willing to do just about anything to earn some points back. The Hendrick driver even helped his own crew at one point in the pits, per Bob Pockrass of ESPN.com:
With the help of his crew and his own work on the car, Earnhardt was able to return to the track to avoid losing more positions and points. Though he was already well behind the lead lap, getting back out was critical for a driver who came into the day sitting at sixth in the standings.
The car had some slight modifications after the contact with Menard, as Fox Sports: NASCAR points out:
Earnhardt wasn't the only Hendrick driver struggling on Sunday. In fact, of the five Hendrick cars that made the start, just two finished on the lead lap. Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott also experienced troubles with Elliott having a not-so-memorable debut in his first Sprint Cup event.
The damage to Elliott's car was sustained early in the race after he tied up with another young driver in Brett Moffitt. The 19-year-old driver suffered a smashed hood that looked similar to the No. 88. NASCAR passed along a visual of the damage:
The No. 25 car lost power steering, had a damaged hood and fell off the lead lap early in the afternoon. It wasn't the start Elliott or Rick Hendrick wanted for the young driver. Luckily, he still has four more races before taking over the No. 24 machine for Gordon next season.
Elliott wasn't racing for points, but AJ Allmendinger needed another solid outing to stay in the Chase Grid. Coming into the day at 11th in points, Allmendinger saw his day come to an early end due to trouble with his car.
His No. 47 car was fuming on the track before heading into the garage. His car wasn't the only thing fuming, as Jay W. Pennell of Fox Sports notes:
The JTG Daugherty Racing team worked hard in the garage to get Allmendinger back on the track, but he would unfortunately fall to 43rd and lose critical points. The team's official Twitter account passed along news of his exit from the race:
Unfortunately, the single-car team dropped further down in points and will have to rebound after Easter. His last race at Texas saw Allmendinger finish 14th, which is where the Sprint Cup Series will head after next weekend.
Joey Logano and Johnson won the two races in Texas last season and will be looking for their second wins of the season after the holiday break. Johnson has the most wins at the track with four, so a Hendrick car might be driving into Victory Lane in the Lone Star State.
Kevin Harvick is still atop the standings, so every driver will simply be looking to finish ahead of the SHR driver at Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, including the speeds and the action, so the two-week wait will be an arduous one for NASCAR fans. But when the cars return, expect an all-out brawl in Texas.
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