Joey Logano started the day from the pole position and led the way around the “Paperclip” through the early portion of the NASCAR race as he has done in a few races since winning the Daytona 500. However, just as in those other races, he faded back in the field after leading 108 of the 500 laps in the STP 500.
The Sprint Cup race had plenty of caution periods as drivers and teams had problems getting the handling and power of the cars balanced right for the changing track conditions. The yellow flag was issued a total of 16 times.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a gremlin ruin his day that has played havoc with the #88 Chevrolet before. The shifter in the car broke causing him to spend extra time on pit row getting it fixed and even did dome repair work on it himself on track rolling around under a caution period. Before he could rebound from the mechanical issue he was caught up in a wreck sending him to the garage for repairs. Dale Jr. ended the race in 36th place 47 laps down.
For a good portion of the race it looked as though Kevin Harvick would keep his streak of top two finishes alive as he led a race high 154 laps at Martinsville Speedway. However, as the STP 500 reached the final 100 laps Kevin found himself back in the field following the race’s final caution periods and pit stops.
The talk in the garage heading to the start of the STP 500 was that the #11 Toyota would be the car to beat Sunday afternoon. However, Denny Hamlin’s pit crew had a tire roll away from them during one a pit stop under one of the early caution periods. That sent the #11 Toyota to the back of the line for the restart of the race. If Denny was to prove the people in the garage area right, he would have to work his way through the field at a track that is very difficult to pass on.
Denny did ultimately prove the garage right as he was able to move up through the field and take the lead of the race. Over the final laps last week’s winner Brad Keselowski raced forward to challenge Denny. Brad even gave the #11 Toyota a little bump on the last lap in turn four trying to get a chance to race past for the win. Denny was able to keep his car heading straight and held on for the win, his fifth trip to Victory Lane in the Sprint Cup series at Martinsville.
Brad finished in second place with Joey Logano fighting back through the field to finish third. Matt Kenseth and David Ragan captured fourth and fifth places respectively. See the complete race results for the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway here.
Following the STP 500 at Martinsville, the top three in the point standings remain the same with Kevin Harvick at number one, Joey Logano number two and Martin Truex Jr. at number three. Brad Keselowski moves up a spot to fourth place with Kasey Kahne jumping three to land in the fifth place. See the complete NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings here.
Capturing the win at Martinsville puts Denny Hamlin on the Chase Grid with the “all but guaranteed a spot” in The Chase. He joins Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson who all also have a 2015 Sprint Cup win. Defending Sprint Cup Champion Kevin Harvick is the only driver who is pretty much locked on the Chase Grid with two 2015 wins already. See how the 2015 Chase Grid looks following the STP 500 at Martinsville here.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series will take Easter weekend off. The series will return to race Sunday, April 11th at Texas Motor Speedway for the Duck Commander 500.
By: Buck Stevens
