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Tune in for
all the action!
2007 TV Schedule
2007 Schedule
Race Previews & Results
Daytona 500
Auto Club 500
UAW 400
Kobalt Tools 500
Food City 500
Goody's 500
Samsung 500
Subway Fresh 500
Aaron's 499
Crown Royal 400
Dodge Avenger 500
All_Star
Coca Cola 600
Autism Speaks 400
Pocono 500
Citizens Bank 400
Toyota/Save Mart 350
Lenox Tools 300
Pepsi 400
USG Sheetrock 400
Allstate 400
Pennsylvania 500
AMD at the Glen
GFS Marketplace 400
Sharpie 500
Sharp AQUOS 500
Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Syvania 300
Dodge Dealers 400
Lifelock 400
UAW-Ford 500
Bank of Americ 500
Subway 500
Bass Pro Shop MBNA 500
Dickies 500
Checker Auto 500
Ford 400
Additional Stories
How Does NASCAR Qualifying Work?
Chad McCumbee and John Andretti Named To Drive #45 Dodge
Make Your Vote Count
Make Kyle the most popular driver in 2007"
Speed Adds Kyle Petty
 Robbie Loomis
Feature guest on
the NASCAR Teleconference
Loomis looms large for Petty team
Inside the Halls of Petty: Welcome back Andretti
2007 NASCAR TV
Broadcast Times Announced
TNT Kyle Petty to serve as Race Analyst
Petty Meets Key
Legislature In Support
Of Track In Northwest
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Track Facts:
Banking/Turns: 12
Distance: one lap 0.526 miles
500 laps (263 miles)
Shape: Paper-clip
Subway 500
Sunday, October 21
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville, Virginia
Sunday, 12:30 p.m. EST
Schedule
Practice
11:00-12:30 p.m. EST, Friday, October 19
10:00-10:50 a.m. EST, Saturday, October 20
12:50-1:50 p.m. EST, Final Practice Saturday, October 20
Qualifying
3:45 p.m. EST, Friday, October 10, Two laps all positions (SpeedTV)
Race Day Sunday, October 21
1:00 p.m. EST, Driver introduction
1:30 p.m. EST, 500 laps, 263 miles
TV: ABC 1:00 p.m. EST start
Radio: Motor Racing Network (PRN), XM Radio
Check the SPEED Channel schedule (speedtv.com) for various programs on the race this weekend.
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Race Preview
Petty to Move Into Top-Five in Career Starts
Driver Has 809 Starts to His Credit
This weekend, Kyle Petty and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team will travel to the Virginia Commonwealth and the .526-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the Subway 500. Martinsville begins the second half of the “Chase for the Championship.”
Petty and Martinsville have been linked together during his extensive career. He ran his first race there in 1980. It also only a short drive from Randleman, N.C., meaning it sits inside the shadow of Petty Enterprises. So it seems only fitting that Martinsville will be the track where Petty becomes the driver with the fifth most starts all-time. He enters this weekend tied with Darrell Waltrip with 809 career starts.
Petty has made 53 starts at Martinsville. He has five top-five and 15 top-ten finishes at the track. He also grabbed one pole at Martinsville, which came in 1992. Petty’s 23,817 laps completed at Martinsville are the most of any track in his career.
Petty sits 35th in the owner point’s standings.
Comments from Petty as he prepares for Subway 500:
“Yea, 809 starts, that’s something I’ve not given much thought to. It just means I’ve been doing this for a long time. When I started racing in ’79, if you would have told me that I would have more starts than Darrell Waltrip or some of these other guys I would have said ‘no way.’ As the years go by you really can’t picture yourself doing anything else. So then they start to add up. It’s not something I was conscience of. I just wanted to race.”
“So, I don’t think too much of it. I just think of the next race or what’s happening now. I really can’t say enough about the performance of my team at Charlotte. We knew that we had a fast car and we didn’t let the fact that we got down a lap become an anchor to the team. Billy (Wilburn, crew chief) made great calls and the pit crew knocked off some great stops. Those are the kind of races that give you confidence. We’re turning a corner with this team.”
“Martinsville should provide us with another chance for a good finish this weekend. I’ve been racing there, man, since the early 80’s. I’ve had some good runs there. It’s a great place for our family. My grandfather winning, my father winning and just all the blessings we’ve had at this track. It’s great to reach another milestone in my career here. Maybe it means more here than another place that isn’t as close to home. It’s neat how things work out like that.
“I thought the Dodge Avenger held up well in the first Martinsville race back in April. Martinsville is tough on equipment, but the new car did really well. When you go to Martinsville the first and only priority is keeping the brakes cool. We never saw any problems in that area. Now we just need to work on getting the car to turn better. Martinsville is a tight racetrack anyway. But, we learned a lot from the first race. We’ll be in better shape when we roll off the truck on Friday.”
“Experience really comes into play at a track like Martinsville. Even though it is the smallest track we go to, 500 laps there can make for a long day if you get yourself in trouble early. I don’t think there are very many teams out there with the combined Martinsville experience that Billy and I have. Billy was working with Rusty (Wallace) when he was winning all those races there. He’s probably been going to Martinsville for over 20 years. Before I started driving I would be there watching and helping ‘The King’ win his 15 races. That kind of experience is something you just can’t buy.”
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Race Results
1. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
2. Ryan Newman, Dodge
3. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
4. Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
5. Matt Kenseth, Ford
21. Kyle Petty, #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge
22. Bobby Labonte, #43 Goody’s Headache Powders Dodge
OVERVIEW:
It’s a hat trick for Jimmie Johnson. He won his third consecutive race at the .526-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Sunday. Johnson battled with teammate Jeff Gordon for much of the race but came out on top at the end of the day. This is Johnson’s 30th career victory and his fourth win at Martinsville.
The Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jeff Gordon, who started from the pole, and Jimmie Johnson ran at the front of the pack for most of the 500 laps. Gordon slipped a few spots in the last leg of the race, but returned forward and salvaged a third-place finish. Ryan Newman took runner-up honors. He attempted to take the lead from Johnson in the last few laps but did not have enough to get around him. Johnson held the lead until the end of the race which concluded under a green-white checkered finish. The win helped Johnson close in just a little on Gordon who still holds the points lead by over 50 points with only four races remaining.
Kyle Petty and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team started in the 42nd position on Sunday. He steadily moved his way to the front after some early adjustments. Early in the race Petty had trouble getting the car to turn in the tight corners. It didn’t take long for the team to find a good setup and Petty started his ascent. As teams began to fall numerous laps down Petty stayed on the lead lap with the help of several lucky dog awards. Petty had moved into the 27th position with 125 laps to go and was still surging forward. His march however was abruptly halted when he was hit in the back by another car. The team was anticipating a top-10 finish, but Petty was forced to start at the tail end of the lead lap with the race coming to an end. In the final 30 laps Petty was able to recover and move from 25th to 21st. Petty scored a strong finish for the Dodge camp and moved up to 34th in owner points.
“The result today does not show the kind of day we had” said Petty. “We had a better run. We had a little trouble in the beginning of the race. Billy Wilburn and the guys made good adjustments and we were a lot better. We were happy with the way things were going then we got hit from behind. I think we did a good job recovering. We can move forward from this.”
Bobby Labonte and the #43 Dodge needed some relief after Sunday’s race after also receiving a hit from behind ending a top-10 run for Labonte. The team ran in the top-10 all afternoon, and for a long stretch in the second position. The Dodge was easily in position for a top-10 finish and had a good chance for a top-five. A change in the chassis later in the race dropped Labonte out of the top-10, but they had adjusted back and were moving forward again. It was then when they were hit from behind and spun. Labonte had to start his charge over again, but only had three laps to work. Labonte finished 22nd.
“It’s going to come to us soon,” said Labonte. “We are going to get that good luck because, right now, we’re running well. The guys are doing a good job. I’m happy with that. Doug (Randolph) did a good job with the car today. I’m proud of my guys. They are working hard and now we just need to get the finishes to show for it.”
The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series travels to the 1.5-mile Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Atlanta 500. It will be televised live on ABC and broadcast live on PRN Radio.
10/24/06
Last update Monday, October 22, 2007
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