From nascar.com
On a day that saw two of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup favorites suffer potentially catastrophic problems, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stole a victory from the title contenders on Sunday. He passed Tony Stewart for the lead with less than four laps left in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway and pulling away for his fourth victory of the season. Ten years and two days removed from the tragic Hendrick Motorsports plane crash that claimed the lives of 10 people, including owner Rick Hendrick's son, Ricky, Earnhardt took the checkered flag for the first time at the .526-mile short track, earning the first grandfather clock trophy he has coveted throughout his career.
In fifth position for a restart on lap 495, Earnhardt made short work of Clint Bowyer (restarting fourth on the outside) and three drivers who had stayed out on old tires, including Stewart, and arrived at the finish line .344 seconds ahead of teammate Jeff Gordon, who took second place and the lead in the Eliminator Round of the Chase. Behind Hendrick teammates Earnhardt and Gordon, Chase driver Ryan Newman came home third, posting his fifth straight top 10 in the Chase and climbing to second in the standings, three points behind Gordon. Stewart held fourth place, and Joey Logano ran fifth, his sixth top-five result in seven Chase races this year. Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski weren't as fortunate as they got involved in accidents or suffered mechanical problems.
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