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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Martin, Gordon Slip-Sliding Away
Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon both finished in the top 10 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 25, 2009   Martinsville, VA
Mark Martin finished eighth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville. (Photo: Getty Images)

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin both had solid races at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. Yet they both sunk a little deeper into the quicksand that seems to swallow up drivers points racing fellow teammate Jimmie Johnson this time of the year.

Gordon led 36 laps and finished fifth in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, with Martin trailing him by three positions. It was Gordon’s fifth consecutive finish of sixth or better, and Martin’s fifth finish of eighth or better in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

But Johnson’s runner-up finish meant he once again had a better points day than his two teammates, so he left Martinsville leading Martin by 118 points and Gordon by 150, the biggest gap in the Chase.

So once again, Gordon and Martin having good days wasn’t enough to offset Johnson’s better one.

For his part, Gordon professed to be satisfied with his fifth-place run, because there were a couple of runs where his car sank through the field, the balance clearly off. But fast pits and good adjustments by crew chief Steve Letarte helped Gordon rally to another top-five finish.

“We got way behind at times and it didn't look like we were going to make our way back to the front,” said Gordon. “But we needed more long runs and we finally got it and that long run is what got us back into in. We drove all the way back up to third or fourth. Real happy. Wish we could have won it. Wish we could have finished maybe one or two positions forward but we'll take it.”

Martin, meanwhile, battled wheelspin issues in trying to put the power down out of the tight turns at Martinsville.


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