His title bid may be over, but Jimmie Johnson still has something to prove this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. A win would cement Johnson as the active win leader at the track. Johnson currently has eight wins at Martinsville, and he showed strength in the first of two practice sessions on Saturday, topping the speed charts with a lap speed of 98.023 mph.
Unfortunately for Johnson, the driver he’s tied with with those eight wins, Jeff Gordon, was second with a speed of 97.699. Martin Truex, Jr., Jame McMurray and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5.
Also in the top ten after practice were Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Clint Bowyer.
For a full practice rundown, click the link.
Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.