[nascar] Earnhardt fends off Gordon at Martinsville

Dale Earnhardt Jr. denied his title-contending Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon victory as the Eliminator round of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase began at Martinsville Speedway.

Earnhardt burst through to the front in a frantic five-lap run to the finish after the second of two red flags. The majority of the field pitted for fresh tires and Earnhardt made the swiftest progress forward to beat Gordon, who led the most laps but also had a pitlane speeding penalty, by three tenths of a second.

"Oh, man, we've been trying to win here for so many years," said Earnhardt, who collected his 23rd Cup victory but his first at Martinsville. "This place is so special to me. I've wanted to win here so bad. We brought the good cars. I'm out of breath from celebrating more than driving – it's a real emotional win."

Ryan Newman – still winless in 2014 – kept himself in the thick of title contention by finishing third, with Tony Stewart the best of those to try to brave it out on old tires in fourth. Chase men Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth completed the top six, despite Kenseth being involved in a mid-race clash with Kevin Harvick that consigned the furious Harvick to 33rd. Kenseth now trails Gordon by five points.

"He (Kenseth) won't win this championship – if we don't, he won't," Harvick fumed.

Kenseth accepted responsibility for the incident.

"I don't blame him for feeling that way, honestly," said Kenseth, now fourth in points but only five behind leader Gordon. "It was a mistake – he was an innocent bystander and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I totally understand how he feels and I totally understand why he would say that."

Longtime leader Denny Hamlin was eighth, behind Clint Bowyer – who was the first out of the pits on fresh tires for the final restart but couldn't carve a path through.

Results - 500 laps:
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 3h43m 07.000s
2. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet +0.345s


Alongside Harvick, Brad Keselowski is the other title contender now under most pressure. He suffered a transmission problem that slowed him abruptly in front of the pack and the subsequent multi-car shunt triggered the first red flag, with Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears and Martin Truex Jr. coming off worst in the mess. The other stoppage was prompted by a late tangle between Kyle Larson and Marcos Ambrose.

While two Hendrick cars led the field home, the other half of the team had a miserable day. Kahne had several incidents with Brian Vickers before his eventual exit, and Jimmie Johnson dropped down the field when he pitted out of sequence with a vibration and then suffered a long delay in a clash with Mears.