Today's 2011 Goody's Fast Relief 500 also featured a reminder that even the short tracks can still be dangerous. Martin Truex's stuck throttle lead to one of the hardest hits of the season but fortunately all of the safety innovations did their jobs and Martin walked away unhurt.
Qualifying
Chevrolet swept the front row with Jamie McMurray picking up his first pole position of 2011. Ryan Newman started on the outside of row one.
Toyota drivers swept the rest of the top five as Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin rolled off 3rd - 5th.
Drop Of The Green
McMurray earned the pole and then had one of the fastest cars in Happy Hour. He picked up right where he left off when the green flag flew in today's race and lead the early going.
After 32 laps things got busy at the front. On lap 32 Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman caught McMurray and they both passed McMurray for the lead. Kahne lead one lap before Newman moved past to take the top spot. Newman's time at the front was short lived before Denny Hamlin took over at the front on lap 36.
Hamlin settled into the lead and things remained stable at the front until the first caution.
Storylines
Fans don't generally think of Martinsville as a place where hard hits happen. However, on lap 221 Martin Truex's throttle stuck and he shot up the track into Kasey Kahne and into the SAFER barrier.
This was a vicious hit but fortunately both drivers were able to walk away from thee incident. Before the safety revolution in 2001 Truex would likely not have been so lucky. The HANS device, seat improvements, chassis regulations and the SAFER barriers all made this brutal crash a non-event.
The only casualty? The wall itself. Truex hit hard enough to break the wall which brought out a twenty-five minute red flag while track crews made repairs.
Chasing The Checkers
Kyle Busch was out front when the green flag flew with 29 laps to go. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Montoya were close behind as the laps wound down.
With twenty laps to go Earnhardt got a run on the bottom. Kyle tried to close the door and they touched. Kyle went up the track to save it and Junior made the pass on the bottom as last week's winner, Kevin Harvick, moved up to third right on Kyle Busch's bumper.
Harvick cleared Kyle for second with thirteen to go and set his sights on Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kevin got under him with four laps to go and completed the pass. Earnhardt tried some of his father's tricks and put the bumper to him a couple of times. Harvick was quicker at the end and was able to get away to claim his second Sprint Cup win in a row while Earnhardt and Kyle Busch finished side-by-side for second.
Top Ten
- Kevin Harvick
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Kyle Busch
- Juan Montoya
- Jeff Gordon
- Matt Kenseth
- Jamie McMurray
- David Ragan
- Clint Bowyer
- Mark Martin
The Points
Carl Edwards finished way back in eighteenth and gave the point lead up to Kyle Busch. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin made their way into the top ten with strong runs today.
The Unofficial 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:
- Kyle Busch
- Carl Edwards -5
- Jimmie Johnson -12
- Kurt Busch -14
- Kevin Harvick -15
- Ryan Newman -16
- Juan Pablo Montoya -18
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -20
- Matt Kenseth -24
- Mark Martin -38
