nascar

His smile is infectious and his exuberance contagious. Nowhere was that more evident than in victory lane after Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally won at Martinsville Speedway. He’s an unexpected combination of vulnerability and a hidden strength born of tragedy that endears him to not only his fans but his fellow competitors as well. When Earnhardt wins it’s difficult not to get caught up in his joy.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the caution filled Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The victory was Earnhardt's fourth of the year and it was an emotional one. Ten years ago a Hendrick company plane went down during the fall Martinsville weekend killing all on board including Ricky Hendrick and John Hendrick the son and brother of Earnhardt's car owner Rick Hendrick.

On a day when his team honored 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott, Darrell Wallace Jr. delivered the ultimate tribute.

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray posted a lap of 99.905 mph to grab his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season. It was also his second pole at the famed half-mile paperclip and his 11th career pole.

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Martinsville Speedway for the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 and the first race of the Eliminator Round. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is also on track for the Kroger 200.

“Any driver is going to lose more races than he wins, White said. “You got to learn how to be a good loser and it will make you a better winner.”

After Daytona in July NASCAR made some changes to qualifying. As teams prepare for this weekend's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, there will be a new format for qualifying.

“I need to learn how to slow down. In everything else I drove, I’ve had to make up for the lack of equipment,” he explained. “You can’t do that in the Nationwide Series. The drivers are too good and the cars you’re racing against are really good.

Kevin Harvick took the lead on the final restart of the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to grab the win and secure his spot in the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He led a race high 162 laps on the way to his third victory of the season.

Kyle Busch took the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway after starting sixth and leading only 34 laps. The turning point came in the closing laps when Busch took command, passing Harvick with 20 laps to go. It was his sixth Nationwide series victory of the year. Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney crossed the line in the follow up spots.