Snapshot: Martinsville

On the front row
1. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (99.905 mph)
2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (99.605 mph)

Fastest in practice
First practice: Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet (99.250 mph)
Second practice: Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet (99.023 mph)
Final practice: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (97.322 mph)

Great eight
Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief 500 marks the first race in the Eliminator Round. Eight drivers are still in contention to win this year’s championship, and their point totals were reset to 4,000 after last week’s race at Talladega. Among the surprises still in title contention — Ryan Newman, whose three top-fives are the fewest out of all eight eligible drivers, and Carl Edwards, whose 13 top-10s rank last in the group. “I keep going back to what Ryan Newman said at the Hall of Fame,” Edwards said. “He said, ‘Man, I’ve never been tied for the points lead with four races to go.’ It’s an amazing opportunity.”

They said it … on tempers
“Things do carry over. You can put them away, but if you’re back racing with that individual and they use you up a time or two, maybe you remember and don’t push the brakes as hard or get on the gas a little earlier than you should have. Those moments seem to surface on short tracks. There can be plenty of madness here.” – Jimmie Johnson

“This is a track certainly where it’s easy to let your temper get the best of you, especially if things aren’t going your way and your car isn’t driving good and somebody runs into you and all that kind of stuff. I think this track always lends itself to that no matter what the situation is. ” — Matt Kenseth

“It will be interesting to see how everything plays out. I think there will be something that happens that we don’t expect. It will definitely be entertaining.” — Carl Edwards

Hope for Harvick?
A loose race car during the first round of group qualifying saw Chase contender Kevin Harvick slap the wall twice, then finish 33rd. That’s where he will start Sunday. It’s his worst start of the season at a non-restrictor-plate track and far worse than his average start in this year’s 32 races — 8.8, second-best in the series. A positive: Harvick was fast Saturday, leading final practice and finishing fifth in the day’s opening session.

Fond farewell
Sunday marks the final race for drivers Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch with their respective crew chiefs, Tony Gibson and Daniel Knost. The Stewart-Haas Racing teammates will swap crew chiefs, starting next week at Texas Motor Speedway, for the remainder of the year and into 2015. The hope is to jumpstart both teams by better meshing the personalities between the two roles. Knost has an analytical background that Patrick likes, while Gibson was referred to this weekend as more of an “old-school” crew chief. “I think long-term, it’s the right thing,” SHR Competition Director Greg Zipadelli said.

Driver rating
(Best driver rating average at Martinsville Speedway based on past nine years)
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (124.8)
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (119.0)
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (109.6)

Defending race champion: Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet

Former Martinsville winners in the field
Jeff Gordon (8), Jimmie Johnson (8), Denny Hamlin (4), Tony Stewart (3), Kurt Busch (2), Ryan Newman (1), Kevin Harvick (1).

Fantasy Sleeper (powered by Rotowire.com): Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Hendrick Motorsports star is coming off the disappointment of not advancing in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Talladega last weekend. Earnhardt should shake that off as we visit one of his favorite short tracks this weekend. He has been the closest driver in the field at upsetting the Martinsville big three of Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon in recent races. The risk is relatively small and the fantasy racing upside is too good to ignore.

MORE: