Hamlin wins, Johnson wins

Change of scenery for the Sprint Cup Series drivers, accustomed to ovals, and who had an appointment this weekend with the narrow Martinsville oval. In the shape of an athletics track, the circuit offers two straight lines and two turns that are tighter than usual. Ryan Newman, the pole sitter, got off to a good start and led the first laps of the race while, from the seventh lap, two drivers were surprised coming out of the corner. Matt Kenseth pushes Marcos Ambrose and the two men go crosswise.

On the 22nd lap, the race changed leaders. Jeff Gordon manages to gain the upper hand over Ryan Newman by taking the rope. Martin Truex Jr and Mark Martin follow, but Jimmie Johnson is not far away. On the 58th lap, the leader of the general classification came back on Jeff Gordon and passed him after a close duel between the two teammates. Jeff Gordon regularly lost places and was overtaken on the 75th lap, after contact with the Colombian.

The duel between the two men continued to rage for many laps, with Montoya taking the lead on the 102nd lap by going inside Gordon. Jimmie Johnson still leads but must face the rise of the former driver of Formula 1, in second position after a period of neutralization. The Colombian even took the lead of the race on the 141st lap, getting the better of the No. 48 in the same way he took over Gordon, before two new yellow flag periods, which propelled Jeff Burton to first place. for the benefit of the supply game.

But the Chevrolet driver did not maintain his advantage for long, Denny Hamlin taking the lead on the 182nd lap. Sam Hornish Jr then made a mistake, causing another yellow flag. Kyle Busch took advantage of the restart to show himself at the front (202nd lap) but not for long, Hamlin regaining his position four laps later.

At the halfway point of the race (254th lap), Greg Biffle took control, before Jimmie Johnson took the lead again on the 260th lap. Kasey Kahne hits a wall and, therefore, another yellow flag after 300 laps. Everyone returns to the pits, except David Reutimann, who takes control of the race. But Jimmie Johnson doesn't stop there and goes for the ?double zero? on the 321st lap to regain the lead.

The three-time reigning champion then saw the return of Toyota by Denny Hamlin and must fight to stay in front. Finally, Johnson was forced to give in in the 362nd round to the speed of his opponent. The two men remained neck and neck throughout the end of the race. The restart of the 487th is particularly close between the two men but Hamlin maintains the advantage with authority, while Scott Speed ​​goes sideways and destroys his Toyota on the wall.

After 501 laps, Denny Hamlin won the Martinsville race, while John Andretti blocked the finish line. Jimmie Johnson finished in second place, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. In terms of the championship, the leader of the classification did excellently, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart finishing in eighth and ninth position. If nothing is decided yet, we will now have to be very strong to get back on Jimmie Johnson.