NASCAR Cup Series

The half-mile, concrete track in southern Virginia is one of the places where a young Vickers fell in love with NASCAR. Just 60 miles from his Thomasville, N.C. boyhood home, the Vickers family often made the trip to Martinsville Speedway.

After a barrage of late race cautions and two attempts at a green-white-checker finish and when the dust settled, Edwards finished 21stand had survived the 194-lap race on the Superspeedway and advanced to the Eliminator round for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The points reset and all eight drivers are tied traveling to Martinsville.

David Ragan, driver of the No. 34 Wendell Scott Hall of Fame Tribute Ford, comments on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

Gilliland has 16 Sprint Cup career starts at Martinsville Speedway ... His top finish at the .526-mile oval is 19th (2010) .. A&W All American Food returns as primary sponsor of the No. 38 Ford.

Stenhouse Jr. has three Sprint Cup starts at the paper-clip shaped track with an average starting position of 23.3 and average finishing position of 32.0.

Greg Biffle was a strong contender in the first half of the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Biffle led a total of 18 laps and was a regular inside the top 10. As the laps dwindled down, the No. 16 3M Ford continued to get tighter which cost valuable track position on restarts as Biffle was stuck in the outside lane. The tight handling condition, coupled with tire wear, culminated in an 18th-place finish.

Richard Childress Racing's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history at Martinsville Speedway ... In 144 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has earned four pole awards and posted seven victories with drivers Dale Earnhardt (five times), Ricky Rudd (1983) and Kevin Harvick (2011).

After seeing his recent momentum stalled during the final two laps at Talladega, Martin Truex Jr. is ready to resume where he left off before the folly at the Alabama superspeedway.

Ford Racing has won four of the first six Chase races, two each by Team Penske drivers Joey Logano (New Hampshire, Kansas) and Brad Keselowski (Chicagoland, Talladega). The Ford record for most Chase wins in a single season is five, which was set in 2005 and equaled in 2008.

Talladega Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 18th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway to advance to the Eliminator Round of the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in the #11 FedEx One Rate/”Deliverminator” Toyota. Hamlin came into the race needing a 15th-place finish to ensure a spot among the final eight drivers vying for this year’s title, and along with other teams in similar situations, elected to hang in the back of the draft pack throughout most of the 188-lap event won by Brad Keselowski. Hamlin started 38th but quickly moved forward on the high-banked superspeedway.