NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR: Winners And Losers From Martinsville

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Round of 8 got started as NASCAR made a visit to Martinsville. Take a look at a few winners and losers from the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.

The Round of 8 got off to an interesting start as NASCAR’s Cup Series went to Martinsville.

A few Chase drivers got into an early hole as both Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch had rough days. However, no one took a hit bigger than Carl Edwards, who blew a tire and hit the wall, resulting in a 36th-place finish.

As for the other five Chase drivers, Joey Logano had a solid day with an eighth-place finish while the other three Joe Gibbs Racing cars bunched up again and finished third, fourth and fifth. In the end, Jimmie Johnson held off the rest of the field and captured his fourth victory of the season–one that clinched his spot in the Championship 4.

It was an up-and-down day for Johnson as he took minor damage from Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola before facing a fuel scare during that confusing caution that came out with around 140 laps to go. But he ended up taking the lead on a restart against Hamlin and secured the victory.

Let’s dive in a little deeper and check out a few winners and losers from Sunday’s race.

Loser: Carl Edwards

As I stated earlier, the Round of 8 did not get off to a good start for Carl Edwards.

After a solid Chase through the first two rounds, he got into trouble at Martinsville. On Lap 356, Edwards, who had been running in the top-15 for the majority of the afternoon, cut a tire and slammed hard into the wall.

The accident sent the No. 19 car to the garage as Edwards would go on to finish 36th and 23 laps down. The result was a 32-point hole after the first race of the Round of 8.

After the accident, Edwards had this to say (via mrn.com)

“We had a really good race going and sometimes that’s just what happens in racing. I think we had a top-three car. I was having a lot of fun and now we just go to Texas and try to win there and Phoenix – we could win at either one of those race tracks.”

While it’s typical for any driver to talk about bouncing back after a disappointing day, Edwards is going to have a real shot the next two weekends. He’s won three times at Texas and led 124 laps earlier this season before an issue. At Phoenix, he’s won twice and was a couple of feet away from beating Kevin Harvick for the win.

He’ll definitely have a shot, but going into a must-win situation this early in a round is certainly not ideal.

Winner: Finishing Strong

Jeff Gordon entered his eighth and final race of the season as a fill-in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., but this time around, things were a little different.

Gordon had picked Martinsville as a track he wanted to run at before the Chase started, mainly because it’s his best track and the one were he captured his most recent win at.

After registering his first top-10 of the season at Dover back in the Round of 16, Gordon had another strong showing. He ran in the top-10 for most of the day and even broke into the top-5 at times. After looking just as smooth as he had in recent seasons at the track, Gordon brought home a sixth-place finish–his best of the season in what could’ve been the final race of his career.

However, you can never count Gordon out. We certainly thought Homestead last season was his final race–and so did he. He’s left the door open for another return and Jimmie Johnson doesn’t think he’s quite done yet.

But if it is the end for the four-time champion, he went out in a great way and capped off a truly incredible career.

Loser: Scoring

We thought NASCAR had issues scoring the All-Star race earlier in the year, but we saw a whole new level of struggling at Martinsville.

After Carl Edwards brought the caution out on Lap 356, things got confusing. Some cars were on pit road while some were still on the track. Kyle Busch came off pit road before race leader A.J. Allmendinger got back around, but Matt Kenseth failed to get off in time. That created a huge issue that lead to Kenseth going a lap down.

With that going on, A.J. Allmendinger ran out of fuel. Then, as drivers tried to complete their free pass, some passed Denny Hamlin, and gained back an extra lap when they weren’t supposed to.

This led to a 29-lap portion of the race full of confusion and misunderstanding as drivers questioned why they were in certain situations and why others were ahead of them or close behind them.

I think I speak for most fans out there when I say that I’m still not exactly sure what happened throughout the course of the caution laps, but a red flag would’ve probably helped sort things out without so many mistakes.

Winner: Kevin Harvick’s Chase Trend

We all know it was rough for Kevin Harvick this weekend as he finished in 20th-place and two laps down, but it’s not all bad for the driver of the No. 4 car.

It’s a weird trend to discuss, but one that can’t be ignored. Under the current Chase format, Harvick has responded to a bad week with a performance that is good enough to get him to the next round, whether it has come in the form of a great finish or a big win.

In 2014, he finished 33rd at Martinsville but came back with a second-place finish at Texas and wins at Phoenix and Homestead to win the championship.

In 2015, he finished 42nd at Chicagoland and 21st at Loudon after running out of fuel, then dominated at Dover.

In 2016, he finished 20th at Chicagoland before winning at Loudon and finished 38th at Charlotte before winning at Kansas.

I’m not sure what it is but one bad race almost guarantees a victory the next weekend. Watch out for Harvick next Sunday at Texas.

Loser: Stewart-Haas Racing

While Kevin Harvick’s misfortune has often spelled success in the week after, him and his teammates all struggled heavily on Sunday.

To add onto Harvick’s 20th-place finish, Kurt Busch–SHR’s other Chase driver suffered mightily all day long. Once he went down a lap, his day was virtually over and he ended up finishing the race 22nd and three laps down.

Tony Stewart had a few great moments in the race, like when he passed Jimmie Johnson for second on a restart, but he suffered the same fate as his Chase driver teammates as he eventually fell to 26th in his final ride at Martinsville. Danica Patrick struggled again too as she finished 24th.

For a Chevrolet team that has had some great runs from Chase drivers, SHR and Hendrick Motorsports went in opposite directions on Sunday. All HMS drivers finished 12th or better while all SHR cars finished 20th and below.

Harvick and Busch will head to Texas next weekend in a hole similar to Carl Edwards as both drivers will most likely need to win to earn a spot in the next round.

Winner: Mastering Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson entered Martinsville as a member of the Round of 8–the first time he had ever made it that far under the current Chase format.

But that didn’t impact the six-time champion. Him and his team battled through a smoking tire, contact with Hamlin and Almirola and a restart in 25th-place before coming back to seize the lead on Lap 409 and never looking back.

But this win wasn’t an ordinary win for Johnson. It was his 79th overall Cup Series win and his ninth win at Martinsville–one that clinched his spot in the Championship 4. Now Johnson will have a chance to capture his seventh championship at Homestead–a track he has never won at–and tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt in terms of total championships.

Johnson, just like Gordon in 2015, won’t have to worry at Texas or Phoenix as he has his spot in the next round.

Hendrick Motorsports has showed signs of improvement from an ugly summer and Jimmie Johnson has been the main beneficiary as he’s captured two wins in the Chase to bring his total to four on the season. He’ll have a shot at history once Homestead rolls around.