From the October, 2006 issue of Stock Car Insider

Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway Recap

The Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway turned out to be an action packed wreck fest featuring 18 cautions for 107 laps. I believe it is safe to say the drivers do not appreciate the wreck fests as much as we do.

Just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr who wrecked himself in the waning laps of the Subway 500. Dale Jr was trying to take away 7th position from Kasey Kahne when he drove down into turn 3 way too hard and completed a beautiful 180 degree spin. The mistake cost Jr 17 positions.

The other championship drivers faired as follows:

1. (Leader) Matt Kenseth's mediocre day turned fantastic thanks in part to a 42nd place finish by Jeff Burton. Matt was able to take over the championship lead with an 11th place finish.

2. (-36 points) Kevin Harvick finished 9th and earned every bit of it. The Busch Series champion suffered setbacks early after being tangled up in a wreck on lap 231.

3. (-41 points) Jimmie Johnson shot up the charts 105 points by winning the Subway 500. Johnson had the dominate car on the day and led the most laps, including the one that counts the most.

4. (-47 points) Denny Hamlin's put on a spectacular show for the hometown crowd, and rebounded from last week's poor finish with a 2nd place finish at Martinsville. Hamlin had a chance to win the race when he bumped Johnson up the track and pulled along beside him. In the end, Hamlin's car, only running on 7 cylinders wasn't enough to overpower Jimmie Johnson.

5. (-48 points) Jeff Burton, suffered his first real setback of the Chase. The engine in the #31 Cingular Chevy broke a valve train on lap 244.

6. (-94 points) Dale Earnhardt Jr could be a real contender if he kept his cool in the waning laps of the Subway 500. After complaining for many laps that Kasey Kahne was holding him back, Jr tried to drive under Kahne and ended up spinning himself out. What would have been a top 10 finish turned into a 22nd place finish really quick.

7. (-96 points) Mark Martin's day was fairly uneventful until the last laps of the Subway 500. That's win Martin realized he had a cracked radiator that leaked water. After coming in for multiple pit-stops to top off with water, Martin fell to 24th position.

8. (-99 points) Kasey Kahne posted yet another top 10 with a 7th place finish. This finish along with the win last week at Charlotte has moved Kahne to within 100 points of the lead.

9. (-141 points) Jeff Gordon gained 75 points on the leader with a 5th place finish. Gordon had a strong car that lead early on until the sun started to peek out. The #24 crew could not find the right adjustments to make to keep up with the changing track temperature.

10. (-171 points) Kyle Busch ran strong for much of the day until a late race swipe of the wall doomed him. As Kyle was trying to avoid one of the many spin outs in the race, he accidentally ran into the concrete barrier wall. The resulting damage knocked Kyle out of the top ten.

See complete 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Race Schedule