NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top Story News Schedule Race Update/Results Statistics Point Standings Starting Grid Race Preview Driver Info Team Info Track Info Season Chart All-Time Wins Odds Weather NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Tums Fast Relief 500 Preview From The Sports Network   DATE: Sunday, October 28th SITE: Martinsville Speedway (1947) -- Martinsville, Virginia TRACK: 0.526-mile oval - 800 feet (Frontstretch); 800 feet (Backstretch) CAPACITY: 61,000 (Grandstand Seating) ANNUAL: 64th TELEVISION: ESPN ANNOUNCERS: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio START TIME: 2 p.m. (ET) DEFENDING CHAMPION: Tony Stewart RUNNER-UP: Jimmie Johnson POLE WINNER: Carl Edwards (Finished 9th) LAPS: 500 MILES: 263 QUALIFYING RECORD: Tony Stewart, 2005 (98.083 m.p.h.) RACE RECORD: Jeff Gordon, 1996 (82.223 m.p.h.) TOTAL PURSE: $4,851,202 (2011 figures) PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $198,983; 2nd Place - $161,786; 3rd Place - $142,211 2011 Finish Finish Driver Start Finish Driver Start 1 Tony Stewart 4 6 Jeff Burton 23 2 Jimmie Johnson 7 7 Dale Earnhardt Jr 9 3 Jeff Gordon 10 8 Martin Truex Jr 24 4 Kevin Harvick 5 9 Carl Edwards 1 5 Denny Hamlin 11 10 Ryan Newman 12 2011 Tums Fast Relief 500 Facts and Figures AVERAGE SPEED: 68.648 m.p.h. TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 49 minutes, 52 seconds MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.170 second CAUTION FLAGS: 18 for 108 laps LEAD CHANGES: 23 among 12 drivers POLE WINNER: Carl Edwards (2011 Owner Points) Past Tums Fast Relief 500 Winners (car) and Speed 2011 -- Tony Stewart (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 68.648 m.p.h. 2010 -- Denny Hamlin (1st) -- Toyota -- 71.619 m.p.h. 2009 -- Denny Hamlin (17th) -- Toyota -- 73.633 m.p.h. 2008 -- Jimmie Johnson (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 75.931 m.p.h. 2007 -- Jimmie Johnson (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 66.608 m.p.h. 2006 -- Jimmie Johnson (9th) -- Chevrolet -- 70.446 m.p.h. 2005 -- Jeff Gordon (15th) -- Chevrolet -- 69.695 m.p.h. 2004 -- Jimmie Johnson (18th) -- Chevrolet -- 66.103 m.p.h. 2003 -- Jeff Gordon (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 67.658 m.p.h. 2002 -- Kurt Busch (36th) -- Ford -- 74.651 m.p.h. 2001 -- Ricky Craven (6th) -- Ford -- 75.750 m.p.h. 2000 -- Tony Stewart (1st) -- Pontiac -- 73.859 m.p.h. 1999 -- Jeff Gordon (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 72.347 m.p.h. 1998 -- Ricky Rudd (2nd) -- Ford -- 73.350 m.p.h. 1997 -- Jeff Burton (10th) -- Ford -- 73.072 m.p.h. 1996 -- Jeff Gordon (10th) -- Chevrolet -- 82.223 m.p.h. (race record) 1995 -- Dale Earnhardt (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 73.946 m.p.h. 1994 -- Rusty Wallace (7th) -- Ford -- 77.139 m.p.h. 1993 -- Ernie Irvan (1st) -- Ford -- 74.101 m.p.h.. 1992 -- Geoff Bodine (7th) -- Ford -- 75.424 m.p.h. 1991 -- Harry Gant (12th) -- Oldsmobile -- 74.535 m.p.h. 1990 -- Geoff Bodine (14th) -- Ford -- 76.386 m.p.h. 1989 -- Darrell Waltrip (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 76.571 m.p.h. 1988 -- Darrell Waltrip (20th) -- Chevrolet -- 74.988 m.p.h. 1987 -- Darrell Waltrip (14th) -- Chevrolet -- 76.410 m.p.h. 1986 -- Rusty Wallace (8th) -- Pontiac -- 73.191 m.p.h. 1985 -- Dale Earnhardt (11th) -- Chevrolet -- 70.694 m.p.h. 1984 -- Darrell Waltrip (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 75.532 m.p.h. 1983 -- Ricky Rudd (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 76.134 m.p.h. 1982 -- Darrell Waltrip (3rd) -- Buick -- 71.315 m.p.h. 1981 -- Darrell Waltrip (1st) -- Buick -- 70.089 m.p.h. 1980 -- Dale Earnhardt (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 69.654 m.p.h. 1979 -- Buddy Baker (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 75.119 m.p.h. 1978 -- Cale Yarborough (6th) -- Oldsmobile -- 79.336 m.p.h. 1977 -- Cale Yarborough (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 73.447 m.p.h. 1976 -- Cale Yarborough (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 75.370 m.p.h. 1975 -- Dave Marcis (7th) -- Dodge -- 75.800 m.p.h. 1974 -- Earl Ross (11th) -- Chevrolet -- 66.232 m.p.h. 1973 -- Richard Petty (6th) -- Dodge -- 68.831 m.p.h. 1972 -- Richard Petty (4th) -- Plymouth -- 69.989 m.p.h. 1971 -- Bobby Isaac (1st) -- Dodge -- 73.681 m.p.h. 1970 -- Richard Petty (4th) -- Plymouth -- 72.159 m.p.h. 1969 -- Richard Petty (6th) -- Ford -- 63.127 m.p.h. 1968 -- Richard Petty (6th) -- Plymouth -- 65.808 m.p.h. 1967 -- Richard Petty (5th) -- Plymouth -- 69.606 m.p.h. 1966 -- Fred Lorenzen (2nd) -- Ford -- 69.177 m.p.h. 1965 -- Junior Johnson (3rd) -- Ford -- 67.056 m.p.h. 1964 -- Fred Lorenzen (1st) -- Ford -- 67.320 m.p.h. 1963 -- Fred Lorenzen (2nd) -- Ford -- 67.486 m.p.h. 1962 -- Nelson Stacy (3rd) -- Ford -- 66.870 m.p.h. 1961 -- Joe Weatherly (4th) -- Pontiac -- 62.590 m.p.h. 1960 -- Rex White (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 60.440 m.p.h. 1959 -- Rex White (14th) -- Chevrolet -- 60.500 m.p.h. 1958 -- Fireball Roberts (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 63.970 m.p.h. 1957 -- Bob Welborn (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 63.030 m.p.h. 1956 -- Jack Smith (23rd) -- Dodge -- 61.140 m.p.h. 1955 -- Speedy Thompson (17th) -- Chrysler -- 59.600 m.p.h. 1954 -- Lee Petty (1st) -- Chrysler -- 44.547 m.p.h. 1953 -- Jim Paschal (n/a) -- Dodge -- 56.013 m.p.h. 1952 -- Herb Thomas (2nd) -- Hudson -- 47.556 m.p.h. 1951 -- Frank Mundy (3rd) -- Oldsmobile -- not available 1950 -- Herb Thomas (19th) -- Plymouth -- not available 1949 -- Red Byron (3rd) -- Oldsmobile -- not available NOTE: Formerly called Goody's 500 (1983-1995), Hanes 500 (1996-97), NAPA Autocare 500 (1998-2000), Old Dominion 500 (1956-1982, 2001-02), Subway 500 (2003-07). Past Tums Fast Relief 500 Pole Winners (Finish) 2011 -- None -- Weather 2010 -- Denny Hamlin -- 1st 2009 -- Ryan Newman -- 7th 2008 -- None -- Weather 2007 -- Jeff Gordon -- 3rd 2006 -- Kurt Busch -- 27th 2005 -- Tony Stewart -- 2nd 2004 -- Ryan Newman -- 3rd 2003 -- Jeff Gordon -- 1st 2002 -- Ryan Newman -- 15th 2001 -- Todd Bodine -- 12th 2000 -- Tony Stewart -- 1st 1999 -- Joe Nemechek -- 38th 1998 -- Ernie Irvan -- 8th 1997 -- Ward Burton -- 7th 1996 -- Bobby Hamilton -- 3rd 1995 -- None -- Weather 1994 -- Ted Musgrave -- 9th 1993 -- Ernie Irvan -- 1st 1992 -- Kyle Petty -- 4th 1991 -- Mark Martin -- 5th 1990 -- Mark Martin -- 3rd 1989 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 9th 1988 -- Rusty Wallace -- 3rd 1987 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 20th 1986 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 2nd 1985 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 24th 1984 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 28th 1983 -- Darrell Waltrip -- 3rd 1982 -- Ricky Rudd -- 2nd 1981 -- Darrell Waltrip -- 1st 1980 -- Buddy Baker -- 2nd 1979 -- Darrell Waltrip -- 11th 1978 -- Lennie Pond -- 5th 1977 -- Neil Bonnett -- 22nd 1976 -- Darrell Waltrip -- 2nd 1975 -- Cale Yarborough -- 19th 1974 -- Richard Petty -- 29th 1973 -- Cale Yarborough -- 2nd 1972 -- Bobby Allison -- 2nd 1971 -- Bobby Isaac -- 1st 1970 -- Bobby Allison -- 2nd 1969 -- David Pearson -- 2nd 1968 -- Cale Yarborough -- 2nd 1967 -- Cale Yarborough -- 28th 1966 -- Junior Johnson -- 14th 1965 -- Richard Petty -- 2nd 1964 -- Fred Lorenzen -- 1st 1963 -- Junior Johnson -- 21st 1962 -- Fireball Roberts -- 7th 1961 -- Fred Lorenzen -- 18th 1960 -- Glen Wood -- 25th 1959 -- Glen Wood -- 2nd 1958 -- Glen Wood -- 9th 1957 -- Eddie Pagan -- 19th 1956 -- Buck Baker -- 7th 1955 -- Gwyn Staley -- 7th 1954 -- Lee Petty -- Won 1953 -- Fonty Flock -- 4th 1952 -- Perk Brown -- 22nd 1951 -- Herb Thomas -- 18th 1950 -- Fonty Flock -- 4th 1949 -- Curtis Turner -- 9th Last Race Results RACE: Hollywood Casino 400 (October 21st) SITE: Kansas Speedway -- Kansas City, Kansas MILES: 400.5 LAPS: 267 WINNER: Matt Kenseth RUNNER-UP: Martin Truex Jr. THIRD: Paul Menard FOURTH: Kasey Kahne FIFTH: Tony Stewart POLE WINNER: Kasey Kahne (Finished 4th) TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 28 minutes, 48 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 115.086 m.p.h. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.495 second CAUTION FLAGS: 14 for 66 laps LEAD CHANGES: 16 among 10 drivers LAP LEADERS: K. Kahne - pole; M. Martin 1-6; A. Almirola 7-33; D. Gilliland 34; A. Almirola 35-73; T. Kvapil 74; J. Johnson 75-118; A. Almirola 119-121; C. Bowyer 122-123; J. Gordon 124; C. Bowyer 125-127; M. Kenseth 128-156; J. Gordon 157; M. Martin 158-211; P. Menard 212-217; K. Kahne 218; M. Kenseth 219-267. Tums Fast Relief 500 Entry List Car Driver, Hometown Car/Name 1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/McDonald's 2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Dodge/Miller Lite 5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/hendrickcars.com 9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Black & Decker 10 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing 11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Express 13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/Geico 14 * Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Mobil 1/Office Depot 15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy 16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M 17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/Roush Fenway Racing 18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's Halloween 19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/Plinker Tactical 20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/The Home Depot 22 Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) Dodge/Shell/Pennzoil 23 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Chevrolet/North Texas Pipe 24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Pepsi Max 26 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport 27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Zecol 29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Rheem 30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Inception Motorsports 31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Odyssey/EnerSys 32 Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO) Ford/TBA 33 To Be Announced Chevrolet/littlejoesautos.com 34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/Where's Waldo 36 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing 37 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/TBA 38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Long John Silver's 39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Quicken Loans 42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target 43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Gwaltney 47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Pine Sol 48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's 51 A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction 55 Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) Toyota/My Classic Garage 56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 78 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Furniture Row 83 Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) Toyota/Burger King 87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/AM FM Energy Wood&Pellet 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Diet Mt. Dew/Nat Guard 91 Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) Chevrolet/Plinker Tactical 93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King 95 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Ford/TBA 98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/Phil Parsons Racing 99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Geek Squad * - Defending champion Leading Contenders (Finish the last eight years) Driver 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Tony Stewart 3rd 15th 2nd 4th 13th 26th 9th 24th Won Jimmie Johnson 2nd Won 3rd Won Won Won 2nd 5th 2nd Jeff Gordon Won 9th Won 5th 3rd 4th 5th 20th 3rd Kevin Harvick 7th 8th 15th 9th 10th 7th 10th 3rd 4th Denny Hamlin --- --- 8th 2nd 6th 5th Won Won 5th Dale Earnhardt Jr 4th 33rd 18th 22nd 23rd 2nd 29th 7th 7th Martin Truex Jr --- --- --- 36th 19th 10th 28th 29th 8th Carl Edwards --- 24th 26th 12th 11th 3rd 20th 8th 9th Ryan Newman 5th 3rd 10th 13th 2nd 23rd 7th 30th 10th Greg Biffle 19th 17th 20th 32nd 7th 12th 25th 33rd 15th Brad Keselowski --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 10th 17th Clint Bowyer --- --- --- 23rd 9th 9th 19th 38th 19th Kasey Kahne --- 13th 17th 7th 15th 33rd 32nd 14th 25th Kyle Busch --- --- 9th 18th 4th 29th 4th 4th 27th Matt Kenseth 13th 16th 12th 11th 5th 8th 14th 15th 31st Mover of the Week Regan Smith - Started in the 39th position and finished 7th Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Tony Stewart Darkhorse - Kyle Busch Last Week's Pick to Win (Jimmie Johnson) - Finished 9th Last Week's Darkhorse (Ryan Newman) - Finished 30th NOTES: With only four races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, the big news this week is that Dale Earnhardt Jr has been cleared to race at Martinsville. Earnhardt Jr., who is NASCAR's most popular driver and one of the 12 competitors in this year's Chase, was forced to miss the last two races -- Charlotte and Kansas -- after being diagnosed with a concussion days after he was involved in a 25-car accident on the final lap of the Oct. 7 event at Talladega. He also sustained a concussion during a crash while participating in the Aug. 29 Goodyear tire test at Kansas, which had recently been repaved. Regan Smith had substituted for Earnhardt Jr., finishing 38th at Charlotte due to engine failure and then seventh at Kansas. As a result of missing the last two races, Earnhardt Jr. is last in the Chase rankings, 122 points behind leader Brad Keselowski. Keselowski maintained his lead with an eighth-place finish last week and owns a seven-point advantage over Jimmie Johnson. The five-time champion is winless in the Chase, but has posted five top-10s in the last six starts, including two runner-up finishes. Last year, Tony Stewart raced to victory, as he passed Johnson for the lead just after a restart with three laps remaining and then held off a fierce challenge from Johnson to claim his third Chase win in 2011. The 500-lap race at Martinsville turned out to be a slugfest, featuring a season-high 18 cautions -- all of them for accidents. Stewart, a three-time winner this season, has not won since early July. Back in 2010, Hamlin moved to within six points of eventual champion Jimmie Johnson in the Chase after winning the Tums Fast Relief 500. Hamlin started on the pole, but dealt with an ill-handling car early in the race. He fell back as far as 15th before his pit crew made proper adjustments on the car, which helped him get back into contention for the win. Hamlin grabbed the lead from Kevin Harvick with 30 laps remaining, and then held it for his third consecutive win at Martinsville. Hamlin and Johnson had dominated at Martinsville from the fall of 2006 through 2010, winning nine times and posting 18 top-10 finishes. Hamlin had won three straight starting in the fall of 2009, while Johnson won three in a row from the fall of 2006 and captured five in a six-race stretch through spring of 2009. How good has Johnson been at Martinsville? In 21 career starts, he has finished outside the top-10 just three times (2002, 2010, 2012). In fact, he has not finished outside the top-12 since 2002, his first start at Martinsville. In 2009, Hamlin grabbed the lead from Johnson with 139 laps remaining and then a lightning-fast pit stop under green late in the race allowed him to keep the top position. An incident involving then-rookie Scott Speed set up a green-white- checkered finish. On the final restart, Hamlin pulled away from Johnson and fended him off before the race concluded under caution when John Andretti spun around at the start/finish line. Johnson defeated Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2008 by less than a second for win number 39. It was another overwhelming performance, as he led seven times for a whopping 339 laps. Starting on the pole, Johnson led the final 35 laps to edge Earnhardt Jr by 0.708 of a second. Johnson became the first back-to-back winner of this race since Darrell Waltrip captured three straight in 1987-89, when he won in 2007. Johnson, who started fourth on the grid, led four times for 147 laps, as he defeated Ryan Newman under caution for his 30th career Sprint Cup title. Johnson survived a record number of cautions (21) en route to victory. When Kurt Busch won the 2002 fall race from the 36th starting position, it marked the furthest back a race winner had started. In 2005, Jeff Gordon reclaimed the lead on lap 360 of the 500-lap event and held off pole sitter Tony Stewart for his 73rd Sprint Cup Series title. Stewart led seven times for a total of 283 laps, but finished 0.235 of a second behind Gordon. Before 72,000 fans, Gordon led for 151 laps, as he captured one of four races that year. Not quite out of the Chase, Jeff Gordon, 8th on the points list, has enjoyed plenty of success at Martinsville with seven wins, seven all-time poles and 31 top-10 finishes in 39 starts. His average finish is 7.077 with 3,423 laps led. Three active drivers average a top-10 finish at Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson (5.7), Denny Hamlin (6.4) and Jeff Gordon (7.0). Martinsville Speedway is the last charter race track still on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. There have been many changes to the .526-mile facility since it hosted its first NASCAR premier series event in 1949. That first race at the dirt-surfaced speedway covered 200 laps with 15 cars in the field. Today's races at Martinsville cover 500 laps with 43 cars competing. A crowd of 10,000 attended that first race, while an estimated 64,000 were in attendance at the race last season. Red Byron won the initial race in 1949, pocketing $1,500 for the victory. There have been 127 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950. The pole sitter has captured 19 of those races, the last coming in 2010 when Hamlin raced to victory. The Chase for the Sprint Cup championship continues at Texas Motor Speedway for the November 4 running of the AAA Texas 500. Tony Stewart is the defending race winner. 10/23 18:23:34 ET As of October 23, 2012, at 06:23 PM ET