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+Goody's Cool Orange 500+ Preview

Mar 29, 2008 - 10:17 AM

March 30, 2008
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville, Virginia
Race 6 of 37 on Sprint Cup circuit

TV: FOX, 1:30 p.m. EDT

Laps: 500
Track length: 0.526 miles
Race length: 263 miles

Qualifying record: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 98.083 mph, October 2005
Race record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 82.223 mph, September 2006


Jeff Burton 
Team: Richard Childress Racing 
Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Impala 
2008 Earnings: $978,153

One of the circuit's most consistent drivers, won at Bristol; 
finished 13th in the Daytona 500 and eighth at California; was 
fifth in Las Vegas and 10th at Atlanta to sit fourth in the 
standings; finished eighth in last season's standings, one year 
after placing seventh; finished in the top 10 in half of the 
races last season, including nine top fives; lone win of the 
season came in April at Texas; finished the season strong with 
five top 10s over the final six races; finished sixth here in 
April last year.


Kurt Busch 
Team: Penske Racing South 
Car: No. 2 Dodge Charger
2008 Earnings: $1,444,445

Pushed teammate Ryan Newman across the finish line to give 
Penske Racing a 1-2 finish in the Daytona 500; followed with a 
13th at California, but finished 38th at Las Vegas and 11th at 
Atlanta; bounced back from an inconsistent first season with 
Penske to finish seventh in the standings last year; won at 
Michigan and Pocono and posted 14 top-10 finishes; also had four 
finishes of 30th or worse; won the championship in 2004 but was 
released from his contract at Roush Racing after the following 
season, when he finished 10th in the standings and was suspended 
for the final two races after an incident with the Phoenix 
police; finished 12th here in April last year.


Kyle Busch 
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing 
Car: No. 18 Toyota Camry 
2008 Earnings: $1,235,938

Has gotten off to a stellar start with Joe Gibbs Racing, placing 
fourth in the first two races and winning at Atlanta; finished 
17th at Bristol after power steering failed; had the dominant 
car and led the most laps at the Daytona 500; was strong at Las 
Vegas early, but struggled late and wound up 11th; sits atop the 
standings, 30 points ahead of Greg Biffle; is looking to build 
off a sensational run at Hendrick Motorsports as he moves to JGR 
and Toyota; finished fifth in the final 2007 standings after 
qualifying for the Chase for the second consecutive season; had 
20 top-10 finishes in 36 races last season, including 11 
top-fives; lone win came during the first Bristol race - the 
inaugural Car of Tomorrow event; ran fourth in this race last 
year.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. 
Team: Hendrick Motorsports 
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Impala 
2008 Earnings: $1,141,020

The circuit's most popular driver finished fifth at Bristol 
after a third at Atlanta and second at Las Vegas; was the top 
finishing Hendrick car at the Daytona with a ninth-place 
showing; was involved in an early-race crash at California and 
finished 40th; made the move from his father's Dale Earnhardt 
Inc., where he won 17 Cup events, to Hendrick Motorsports; got 
off to a good start with his new team by winning the Bud 
Shootout; has not won a points race since Richmond in May 2006; 
suffered through a tough final season at DEI, finishing 16th in 
the standings; had 12 top 10's last season, but also posted 11 
finishes of 25th or worse; finished fifth in the first 
Martinsville race last season.


Carl Edwards 
Team: Roush Fenway Racing 
Car: No. 99 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $1,379,215

Was docked 100 points and fell from the top spot in the 
standings after being penalized after his win at Las Vegas; 
victory at Las Vegas was his ninth career Cup win a week after 
taking the checkered flag at California; had the dominant car 
again at Atlanta, but blew an engine and finished 42nd; sits 
16th in the standings after running 16th at Bristol; ran 19th in 
the Daytona 500; qualified for the Chase last year and won at 
Dover after finishing 12th at New Hampshire, but failed post-race 
inspection and was docked 25 points and fined; penalty dropped 
him from third to sixth in the standings and he never recovered; 
won the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series championship; finished with 11 
top fives and 15 top 10s last year; also won at Michigan and 
Bristol; ran 17th here in April last year.


Jeff Gordon 
Team: Hendrick Motorsports 
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Impala 
2008 Earnings: $992,393

Rebounded to finish fifth at Atlanta after being involved in a 
scary late-race crash at Las Vegas where he finished 35th; 
bounced back with a third at California after opening his 2008 
season with a disappointing 39th in the Daytona 500; already has 
two DNFs this season after posting just one last year; only a 
dominant finish by teammate Jimmie Johnson kept him from 
capturing a fifth championship last season; finished with 10 
top-10 finishes in the final 11 races - the other finish in that 
span was an 11th at Dover; totaled a remarkable 30 top-10 
finishes and 21 top-fives in 36 races last year; spun with less 
than two laps remaining at Watkins Glen while leading, costing 
him another potential win - still managed to finish ninth; had 
six checkered flags last season and 81 career, just two shy of 
tying Cale Yarborough for fifth place all-time; reached a 
landmark milestone at the first Talladega race, recording his 
77th career victory to pass the late Dale Earnhardt for sixth 
all-time; had 10 poles last season - double that of Ryan Newman 
who had five; finished second in this race last year and has 
seven career wins at Martinsville.


Jimmie Johnson 
Team: Hendrick Motorsports 
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Impala 
2008 Earnings: $1,050,400

Two-time defending series champion finished a disappointing 18th 
at Bristol following a 13th at Atlanta after running 19th at Las 
Vegas; ran second at California after starting this campaign 
with a 27th at the Daytona 500; sits 13th in the standings; 
battled teammate Gordon for the top spot in the Chase early on, 
last season, then took off - winning four straight races over the 
second half of the Chase; suffered through an up-and-down season 
before the Chase, finishing 39th at the Brickyard after a fiery 
crash on the heels of a 37th at Chicago; finished the season with 
10 wins, 20 top fives, 24 top 10s and failed to finish four 
races; has won three straight races at Martinsville.


Matt Kenseth 
Team: Roush Fenway Racing 
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $882,493

Finished 10th at Bristol a week after running eighth at Atlanta;
was 20th at Las Vegas due to a late-race incident with Jeff 
Gordon; ran fifth at California, fresh off a disappointing 35th 
place showing at the Daytona 500; last season had a late-Chase 
surge with a win at the season-ending race at Homestead, 
following a third at Phoenix and a second at Texas; finished 
fourth in the final standings; had 13 top-five finishes and 22 
top 10s last season; won the series championship in 2003 despite 
capturing only one checkered flag, prompting NASCAR to change to 
its current Chase format; enters this season without longtime 
crew chief Robbie Reiser who has been replaced by Chip Bolin; 
ran 10th in this race last year.


Tony Stewart 
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing 
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $1,575,746

Finished second to teammate Kyle Busch at Atlanta, but was vocal
about the poor Goodyear tire quality after the race; suffered a 
hard crash at Las Vegas, injured his ankle and finished last; 
had another disappointment at Daytona, finishing third despite 
having the lead with one lap to go; took sixth at California after 
the Daytona 500; moved within two points of the points lead after 
the first two Chase races last year, but could not keep pace with 
Johnson and Gordon and faded to sixth in the final standings; 
finished second at Richmond to enter the Chase on a hot streak; 
pre-Chase surge included fourth at Bristol as well as running 
10th at Michigan on the heels of winning at Watkins Glen - his 
third win; captured back-to-back victories at Chicagoland and 
at the Brickyard; won three races in total to go along with 
23 top-10s; ran seventh in this race last year.



2007 Top 10
-----------
 1. Jimmie Johnson (48), Chevrolet 
 2. Jeff Gordon (24), Chevrolet
 3. Denny Hamlin (11), Chevrolet
 4. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8), Chevrolet 
 6. Jeff Burton (31), Chevrolet
 7. Tony Stewart (20), Chevrolet
 8. Scott Riggs (10), Dodge
 9. Jamie McMurray (26), Ford
10. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford

Past Champions
--------------
2007  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 70.258 mph
2006  Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 72.741 mph
2005  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 72.099 mph
2004  Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 68.169 mph
2003  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 75.557 mph
2002  Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 73.951 mph
2001  Dale Jarrett, Ford, 70.799 mph
2000  Mark Martin, Ford, 71.161 mph
1999  John Andretti, Pontiac, 75.653 mph
1998  Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 70.709 mph
1997  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 70.347 mph
1996  Rusty Wallace, Ford, 81.410 mph
1995  Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 73.946 mph
1994  Rusty Wallace, Ford, 76.700 mph
1993  Ernie Irvan, Ford, 74.101 mph
1992  Geoff Bodine, Ford, 75.424 mph
1991  Harry Gant, Oldsmobile, 74.535 mph
1990  Geoff Bodine, Ford, 76.386 mph
1989  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 76.571 mph
1988  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 74.988 mph
1987  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 76.410 mph
1986  Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 73.191
1985  Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 70.694
1984  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 75.532
1983  Ricky Rudd, Chevrolet, 76.134
1982  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 71.315 mph
1981  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 70.089 mph
1980  Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 69.654 mph
1979  Buddy Baker, Chevrolet, 75.119 mph
1978  Cale Yarborough, Oldsmobile, 79.336 mph
1977  Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 73.447 mph
1976  Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 75.370 mph
1975  Dave Marcis, Dodge, 75.800 mph
1974  Earl Ross, Chevrolet, 66.232 mph
1973  Richard Petty, Dodge, 68.831 mph
1972  Richard Petty, Plymouth, 69.989 mph
1971  Bobby Isaac, Dodge, 73.681 mph
1970  Richard Petty, Plymouth, 72.159 mph
1969  Richard Petty, Ford, 63.127 mph
1968  Richard Petty, Plymouth, 65.808 mph
1967  Richard Petty, Plymouth, 69.606 mph
1966  Fred Lorenzen, Ford, 69.177 mph
1965  Junior Johnson, Ford, 67.056 mph
1964  Fred Lorenzen, Ford, 67.320 mph
1963  Fred Lorenzen, Ford, 67.486 mph
1962  Nelson Stacy, Ford, 66.870 mph
1961  Joe Weatherly, Pontiac, 62.590 mph
1960  Rex White, Chevrolet, 60.440 mph
1959  Tom Pistone, Thunderbird, 61.600 mph
1958  Fireball Roberts, Chevrolet, 63.970 mph
1957  Bill Amick, Ford, 62.270 mph
1956  Jim Massey, Chevrolet, 62.670 mph