Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American professional auto racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 48 Honda full-time for Chip Ganassi Racing and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the No. 48 Cadillac on a part-time schedule for Ally Cadillac Racing. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competed full-time in the series from 2002 to 2020, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet with Hendrick Motorsports, before transitioning to open-wheel racing. Johnson's seven Cup championships, the first five of which are consecutive, are tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all-time. Many analysts and fellow drivers consider Johnson to be one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time.
Clinton Edward Bowyer is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for NASCAR on Fox.
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the 0.526-mile (0.847 km) Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first of two races at the track, the other one being the Xfinity 500 in the NASCAR playoffs.
Steve Letarte is a sportscaster and a NASCAR crew chief. Born in Cornish, Maine, he is currently at NBC Sports as a color analyst on their telecasts for NASCAR. He left Hendrick Motorsports following the 2014 season after 20 years with the team. From September 2005 to November 2010, he was the pit crew chief for Jeff Gordon, taking over the No. 24 Chevrolet from Robbie Loomis. From February 2011 to November 2014 he was Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief. He returned in 2021 to be the crew chief of Corey Lajoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports team.
The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 36th modern-era Cup series. Beginning on February 10 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout, the season ended on November 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 400. The Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and was contested over the final ten races.
The 2006 DirecTV 500 was the sixth race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was held on April 2, 2006 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Jimmie Johnson won the pole and Tony Stewart led the most laps and won the race.
The 2007 Samsung 500, the seventh race of the 2007 Nextel Cup Series, was held on Sunday, April 15 of that year at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The race was won by Jeff Burton of Richard Childress Racing. Jeff Gordon would lead the most laps with 173 laps led.
The 2007 Subway 500, the 32nd race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season and the sixth race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, ran on Sunday, October 21, 2007, at Martinsville Speedway, located on the outskirts of Martinsville, Virginia. This race was the fifteenth of sixteen series races to use NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow template, which will be made permanent as of the 2008 season.
The 2007 Dickies 500 was the 34th race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season and the third to last race in the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup. This race took place on Sunday, November 4, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 2008 Tums QuikPak 500 was the thirty-second stock car race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and started off the second half of the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 500-lap, 263-mile (423 km) event, the only race on the Chase that was held on a short track, was held on October 19 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. ABC carried the race beginning at 1 pm US EDT and MRN along with Sirius Satellite Radio had radio coverage starting at 12:45 pm US EDT.
Jeffery Michael Gordon is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Sprint Cup Series, and also served as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in select races during the 2016 season. He is regarded as one of the most influential drivers in NASCAR history, helping the sport reach mainstream popularity.
The 2009 TUMS Fast Relief 500 was the 32nd race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season at the beginning of the second half of the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 500-lap, 263 miles (423 km) event, the only race on the Chase that is held on a short track, was held on October 25, 2009 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. Denny Hamlin won while points leader Jimmie Johnson finished second.
The 2010 TUMS Fast Relief 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 24, 2010, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. It was contested over 500 laps, and was the thirty-second race of the season and the sixth race in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The race was won by Denny Hamlin for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Mark Martin driving for Hendrick Motorsports finished second and Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick, who started thirty-sixth, came third.
The 2011 Tums Fast Relief 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 30, 2011, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States. Contested over 500 laps on the 0.526-mile (847 m) oval, it was the 33rd race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the seventh race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. The race was won by Tony Stewart for the Stewart Haas Racing team. Jimmie Johnson finished second, and Jeff Gordon clinched third.
The 1987 Goody's 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on September 27, 1987, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.
The 2012 Tums Fast Relief 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 28, 2012 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the 0.526-mile oval, it was the thirty-third race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the seventh race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. Jimmie Johnson won the race, while Kyle Busch finished second, and Kasey Kahne clinched third. Chevrolet clinched their 36th Manufacturers Championship with Jimmie's win.
The 2005 Advance Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car race held on April 10, 2005 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The race was the sixth of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. The pole position was won by Scott Riggs of MB2 Motorsports, his first career pole, while Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing led the most laps with 247. Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon won the race. Sergeant Sean McGuire gave the starting command from Iraq.
The 2006 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the sixth in the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 22, 2006, before a crowd of 65,000, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, a short track that holds NASCAR races. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won the 500‑lap race starting from the ninth position; Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing finished second, and Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte was third.
The 2004 Advance Auto Parts 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. It was held on April 18, 2004, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia before a crowd of 91,000. The 500-lap race was won by Rusty Wallace of the Penske-Jasper Racing team after he started from a seventeenth position; It was Wallace's fifty-fifth and final victory of his career. Bobby Labonte finished second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in third.
The 2016 Goody's Fast Relief 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on October 30, 2016, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 33rd race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, seventh race of the Chase and first race of the Round of 8.
