"If we don't, he won't."Īdded Harvick crew chief Rodney Childers: "He just flat-out wrecked us. "Yeah, he won't win this championship," Harvick said about Kenseth. Even competition director Greg Zipadelli was working on the Chevrolet, which received significant repairs before Harvick returned to the race, down 40 laps. Harvick had to take his car to the garage, where crew members from all of SHR's teams worked furiously to repair the damage and get him back on the track. It made for a mixed day for Stewart-Haas Racing: Team co-owner Stewart scored his first top-five finish since March, but Harvick's championship chances took a huge hit. Harvick crashed just past the halfway point when he had contact with Kenseth following a restart.
FLATOUT MARTINSVILLE DRIVER
Other Chase driver results included: Denny Hamlin eighth, Carl Edwards 20th, Brad Keselowski 31st and Kevin Harvick 33rd. "If we had to do that 100 times over, we'd do the same thing," Stewart said. Earnhardt and Gordon pitted for fresh tires, and that one final stop was just enough for the successful finish. Running fifth, Stewart gambled and stayed on the track after the race was red-flagged with 10 laps left.
FLATOUT MARTINSVILLE DRIVERS
Chase drivers Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth were fifth and sixth. Gordon was the highest finishing Chase driver.Ĭhase driver Ryan Newman was third, and Stewart finished fourth. "Had that been somebody in the Chase, it would have been hard to swallow. "I will say that it makes me feel a little bit better about finishing second that it was second to somebody that's not in the Chase," Gordon said. But it was the win that he wanted: A victory would have earned him an automatic berth into the finale. Gordon, who is still in the Chase, settled for second in a 1-2 finish for Hendrick. No longer a participant in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, he had nothing on the line when he raced hard in the closing laps with teammate Jeff Gordon. It was Earnhardt's fourth win of the season and the first of his career at Martinsville, and came a week after he was eliminated from NASCAR's championship race. They're very hurt and it's a heavy heart that they carry all weekend, but they want to win the race." win this race on this challenging weekend for the company. I can't even imagine that loss that he went through, his family went through, the whole organization, all those people at one time," Earnhardt said. had to grieve with a rabid fan base watching his every move. He lost his father, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, in a fatal accident on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.Īll of NASCAR mourned for an entire season, on every anniversary and Earnhardt Jr. It was fitting that it was Earnhardt who carried the Hendrick banner on this difficult day.
The 10th anniversary sort of has you reflecting and remembering." "There's a genuine hug and there's a hug. "I could feel how important it was to him and his embrace when he hugged me," Earnhardt said.
His four drivers try desperately to win at Martinsville for Hendrick, for the organization, for those who died that October day. Lost on that day were Hendrick's son, brother, twin nieces, the team general manger, head engine builder, a key sponsor representative, two Hendrick pilots and a pilot for Tony Stewart. Martinsville was Hendrick's home track as a child growing up in Virginia, the place where Hendrick Motorsports had it first career victory.īut it was 10 years ago this weekend that an HMS plane on its way to the race crashed, killing all 10 on board. The team owner embraced the driver who delivered the win at the track that has caused so much heartbreak and joy. recognized the emotional impact his win at Martinsville Speedway had on Rick Hendrick when he met his boss in Victory Lane.
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