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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 STP 500 at Martinsville

During a week when the sport was mourning a loss in its Royal Family, the family race team shone through. Richard Petty Motorsports honored their boss’s wife Lynda, who passed away last week, in the best way a racer can: by putting together a great performance on track. Marcos Ambrose led 22 laps en route to a top-five run Sunday, his best result ever at Martinsville. Meanwhile, driving an STP-sponsored car that harkened back to the days of Richard Petty behind the wheel, Aric Almirola drove from a 20th-place start to finish eighth. Somewhere, the Queen, “Mrs. Lynda,” is smiling.

Who’s Hot And Who’s Not In Sprint Cup: Martinsville-Texas Edition

The tight confines of Martinsville Speedway were the setting for NASCAR’s return to action after Easter break. Minus Denny Hamlin, some familiar faces put on an all-too-familiar show at Sprint Cup’s smallest track.

HOT

Martinsville Speedway has always been kind to Jimmie Johnson, and the running of the STP Gas Booster 500 proved no different. The five-time champion appeared better than ever at the 0.526-mile oval, winning Sunday for the eighth time.

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Martinsville Race Recap

*Key Moment* – Joe Gibbs and Rick Hendrick spent their money to enter stock car racing? Seriously, on a day where Jimmie Johnson set a career high for laps led, where Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing led all but two laps, it’s hard to find a “defining moment.” Maybe Friday afternoon when Jimmie Johnson won the pole? When a driver “owns” a track, like Johnson has owned Martinsville during his career, earning the quickest route off pit lane just makes it that much easier for him to whip the field. He used that first pit stall to regain control, late in the race and it was all over but the burnouts after that.