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Kyle Busch Makes History At Bristol Motor Speedway

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Denny Hamlin Wins Again At Martinsville Speedway

All Three JGR Cars Finish In Top Six

Date: October 24, 2010
Event: TUMS Fast Relief 500 (Race 32 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Martinsville Speedway (.526-Mile Oval)
Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Started 1st / Finished 1st) JGR Finish: Kyle Busch in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing (Started 26th, Finished 4th / Running, completed 500 of 500 laps) Joey Logano, No. 20 GameStop Toyota (Started 22nd, Finished 6th / Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)

It was another strong race for Joe Gibbs Racing in today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, with Denny Hamlin winning for the third consecutive time at the famed short track and all three JGR entries earning finishes in the top six.

Hamlin, who has won the previous two races in Martinsville, started the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota on the pole and was able to lead the first 10 laps before loose conditions forced him to drop back through the field. Hamlin was running 16th when the first caution of the day came out, but crew chief Mike Ford and the FedEx crew was able to make the right adjustments to tighten the car up. It didn't take long following the adjustments for Hamlin to race his way back into the top ten and ultimately the top five where he would spend much of the first half of the race. A caution on lap 225 sent the leaders to pit road, but several teams made the decision to remain out on the track which caused the field to shuffle and left Hamlin back in the 18th position when the race restarted. Another caution allowed the field to hit pit road on lap 289 and when the race restarted he was back inside the top 10. Hamlin was running in the seventh position when a caution came out on lap 348. The No. 11 pit crew was once again stellar on pit road and picked up several spots for Hamlin who would restart the race from the fourth position on lap 356. The final restart of the day would come with 100 laps to go and Hamlin in the third position. He would show great patience driving through lapped traffic to pass Jeff Burton and then race leader Kevin Harvick with about 30 laps remaining to win his third straight race in Martinsville. It marked only the second time that Hamlin led the race following his pole position start, but it was enough to claim his Series leading seventh victory of the season.

Kyle Busch started the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota in the 26th position and showed great patience slowly climbing his way up through the field. He cracked the top ten on lap 162 to put all three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota's into the top ten for the first time in the race. Busch was running just inside the top 10 when a caution came out on lap 225 and the M&Ms team made a decision to remain on the track and not pit. That allowed him to restart second on lap 233. Busch restarted fourth on lap 293, but slight contact with the 14 car dropped him back into the sixth position on lap 300. He would regroup to climb back into the top five just a few laps later and was running in the fourth position on lap 348 when another caution came out. Busch would restart the race on lap 356 in the fifth position. He would go on to battle current points leader Jimmie Johnson over the course of the race's final 100 laps and prevailed in the fight to come home with an impressive fourth-place finish. It was Busch's 10th top-five and 18th top-10 finish of the season.

Joey Logano started the No. 20 GameStop Toyota in the 22nd position but quickly proved to have a car that would race around the leaders all day. Logano would enter the top ten for the first time on lap 91 and spent much of the first half of the race in the position. When a caution came out on lap 225, the GameStop team made the decision to hit pit road along with most of the leaders. Several teams made the decision to remain out however, leaving the No. 20 GameStop team back in 19th place when the race restarted. Logano slowly worked his way forward and restarted 16th on lap 293 following the next round of pit stops. Logano worked his way up to 12th when a caution came out on lap 348. Following pit stops he would restart 12th on lap 356. Logano would race his way back into the top ten and continue his climb through the field over the course of the final 100 laps to come home with in the sixth position. The finish moved him into 17th in the current point standings and gave him his 13th top-10 finish of the year.

Hamlin earned the victory, while Mark Martin finished second, Kevin Harvick was third, Busch came home fourth, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five. There were 15 cautions for a total of 90 laps and 24 lead changes among 12 different drivers.

Hamlin closed the gap between him and current points leader Jimmie Johnson to just six points with four races remaining in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship and Busch managed to gain another spot in the standings and is now fourth overall 172 points behind Johnson.

The current standings after four races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship are as follows:

Jimmie Johnson (5673)
Denny Hamlin (-6)
Kevin Harvick (-62)
Kyle Busch (-172)
Jeff Gordon (-203)
Carl Edwards (-213)
Tony Stewart (-236)
Jeff Burton (-246)
Kurt Busch (-277)
Matt Kenseth (-293)
Greg Biffle (-316)
Clint Bowyer (-406)

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship continues next Sunday, October 31 at Talladega Superspeedway. The Tums Fast Relief 500 will begin at 1 PM ET with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with the pre-race show at Noon ET.

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