| Next stop on the Nextel Cup Schedule is Martinsville | | | | of NASCAR's most beloved drivers. Martin, always |
| Speedway | | | | the optimist, crawled out of his car and reacted in |
| There are only five weeks remaining in the 2006 | | | | the same way that has earned the support of fans |
| NASCAR season. That's only five chances for the | | | | over his entire career. "The championship is not really |
| other nine drivers in the Chase to catch Jeff Burton. | | | | something that's meant to be for me ever," Martin |
| By all appearances, it looks as if Jeff using the same | | | | said. "It's not gonna beat me down. I'm having a |
| philosophy that previous champions have used, | | | | good time. I'm having a blast." |
| consistency. | | | | Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway |
| Next week Jeff Burton hopes to apply that same | | | | Recap |
| philosophy at Martinsville Speedway; a track where | | | | The Bank of America 500 was not much different |
| Jeff has not excelled. Expect the Hendrick boys, Jeff | | | | than the many other races at Lowe's Motor |
| Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, to bolster their | | | | Speedway. The same familiar face; Kasey Kahne, |
| championship hopes next week at Martinsville. Both | | | | Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch; were |
| drivers average a 7th place finish at the 1/2 mile | | | | running up in the front for most of the race. The |
| track over the course of their career. | | | | race itself was clean and drama-free until lap 243 |
| Also expect the following drivers to do well next | | | | when Mark Martin suffered from a race-ending |
| week: | | | | wreck. |
| Tony Stewart - Average Finish 6th | | | | To the dismay of other drivers, that event created a |
| Mark Martin - Average Finish 8th | | | | domino effect that impacted others like Jeff Gordon |
| Jamie McMurray - Average Finish 13th | | | | who with 33 laps to go suffered an engine failure. |
| Next Week's Schedule: | | | | The other championship drivers faired as follows: |
| Nextel Cup: @ Martinsville Speedway | | | | 1. (Leader) Jeff Burton, or "Ice Man" as Earnhardt Jr |
| 10/20/06 - 03:40pm NASCAR Nextel Cup SUBWAY | | | | refers to him, finished 3rd and posted yet another |
| 500 Qualifying | | | | top 5 finish in this year's Chase for the Championship. |
| 10/21/06 - 11:05pm NASCAR Nextel Cup SUBWAY | | | | In 5 races, Burton has 1 win, 2 top 5's, and 2 top 10's. |
| 500 Practice | | | | 2. (-45 points) Matt Kenseth finished 14th and |
| 10/22/06 - 12:55pm NASCAR Nextel Cup SUBWAY | | | | captured five bonus points for leading the race. |
| 500 | | | | Kenseth will need to finish much higher in the |
| Busch Series off until October 28th at Memphis | | | | remaining 5 races if he hopes to catch Burton |
| Motorsports Park | | | | 3. (-89 points) Kevin Harvick was busted for speeding |
| Craftsman Truck Series: @ Martinsville Speedway | | | | on pit road late in the race. The penalty proved too |
| 10/20/06 - 09:00am NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | | | | costly for him to overcome and he finished in 18th |
| Kroger 200 Practice | | | | place. |
| 10/20/06 - 05:00pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | | | | 4. (-102 points) Mark Martin had a car that could win, |
| Kroger 200 Qualifying | | | | and it showed early. At different points during the |
| 10/21/06 - 01:05pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | | | | race, Martin had actually climbed high enough to take |
| Kroger 200 | | | | over the points lead. That came to end when on lap |
| Kasey Kahne wins 6th race in 2006 | | | | 243 when he wrecked with J.J. Yeeley. Martin was |
| You will probably find no bigger supporter of changing | | | | listed in 30th place when the checkered flag waved. |
| the current NASCAR points system than Kasey | | | | 5. (-106 points) Dale Earnhardt Jr was strong for |
| Kahne. After winning more races (6) than anyone this | | | | much of the night. He finished the race in 4th place, |
| year, Kahne still finds himself in 8th place with almost | | | | and collected 5 bonus points for leading the race. |
| improbable odds to win the championship. | | | | 6. (-137 points) Denny Hamlin's "Golden Boy" status |
| So far this year, Kasey Kahne's season stacked up | | | | was lost in Saturday night's Bank of America 500. |
| with 6 wins, 11 top 5's, & 16 top 10's. Not bad | | | | The rookie wrecked on the first lap of the race, and |
| you think? The problem has been when Kahne wasn't | | | | never fully recovered from it. He finished 28th. |
| in the top 10, he was generally in the bottom 10. | | | | 7. (-146 points) Jimmie Johnson finished 2nd and |
| However, this was not the case Saturday night at | | | | gained 10 points on leader Jeff Burton. Jimmie's |
| Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Bank of America 500. | | | | chances of winning the championship are now |
| Kahne was able to put on a dominating performance | | | | improved, but he'll have to gain more than 10 points |
| and trump Jimmie Johnson at Johnson's favorite | | | | every week to catch Burton. |
| track. That makes 2 wins at LMS in 2006, but leaves | | | | 8. (-160 points) Kasey Kahne has posted |
| the rest of us wondering if it's too little too late. | | | | back-to-back strong finishes by winning the Bank of |
| Mark Martin Stumbles at Charlotte | | | | America 500, and by finishing 2nd last week at |
| The Bank of America 500 was going perfect for | | | | Talladega. Let's see if NASCAR's most eligible |
| Mark Martin much of the night. At certain times during | | | | bachelor can string together 5 more strong finishes |
| the race, Martin had actually taken over the points | | | | to finish the season strong. |
| lead. That all came to a screeching halt with 91 laps | | | | 9. (-195 points) Kyle Busch is no longer pulling up the |
| remaining, however. | | | | rear. Kid Vegas finished in 6th place and moved in |
| As rookie J.J. Yeeley tried to enter pit road, he | | | | front of Jeff Gordon in the points. |
| crossed Mark Martin sending the #6 AAA Ford | | | | 10. (-147 points) Jeff Gordon must be under a hex. |
| crashing into the turn 4 wall. The crash did more than | | | | The last three races must have been torturous for |
| end Mark's night, it most likely ended his chances at | | | | the 4 time NASCAR champion. In each race, Jeff ran |
| winning the Championship in what will be Mark's last | | | | strong only to have a disastrous finish at the end. |
| full season of racing on the Nextel Cup circuit. | | | | Saturday night, Gordon lost an engine with 33 laps to |
| Overall, it was a sad and disappointing night for one | | | | go and finished 24th. |