NASCAR update

The good old boys head east to Martinsville, Virginia this weekend as they hit race 6 of a grueling 36 race Nextel Cup series. While a case can be made for all the drivers listed below, I simply cannot ignore Jeff Gordon's incredible record at this Speedway and he finally had a decent race last weekend 15th at the Food City 500.Carl Edwards Ran 26th, his worst result of the season, in last week's Food City 500 on the heels of his first career victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks earlier; also was saddled with the worst starting position of his brief career (42nd) after crashing his Ford Taurus just prior to his qualifying lap; dropped a spot to fourth place - one point behind Tony Stewart - in the standings; making his second career start on this track after running 24th in the Subway 500 here on October 24.Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ended a three-race slump with a fourth in last week's Food City 500; had finished 24th or worse in three previous events after running third in season-opening Daytona 500; climbed nine spots to 17th in the standings; despite being known for his superspeedway prowess, has enjoyed recent success on the short track here with five top-fives in the last six events, leading 452 laps during that stretch; with two victories and four top-10s, scored more points on short tracks than any other driver for the third straight season last year; eager to visit victory lane for the first time here: "We've been good here the last few years, but I want to improve that string of top-five finishes and get a win at this place."Elliott Sadler Virginia native was runner-up to Harvick in last week's Food City 500 after winning his third career pole and first since September 2003; climbed three spots to fifth in the standings on the strength of his third top-10 in five events this season; ran 12th in this event last year, but an accident led to a 32nd in the Subway 500 here during the "Chase", virtually wiping out his championship hopes; looking to run well in front of his home fans: "There's always a log of pressure on us to run good there I've always got so much support from all of our Virginia fans."Greg Biffle Maintained his second-place position in the standings with a ninth in last week's Food City 500; was his fourth straight top-10 finish following a 25th in the season-opening Daytona 500; he and standings leader Jimmie Johnson are the only drivers to have at least four top-10s this year; claimed his fourth career checkered flag in the Auto Club 500 on February 27, marking his second victory in a three-race span dating to last season's finale; ran 35th in this event last year and has not finished better than 17th in four career starts here.Jeff Gordon Has won five grandfather clocks, which are presented to race winners at Martinsville, among his 70 career checkered flags; in 2003 became the first driver since Rusty Wallace in 1994 to sweep both races here; won both times from the pole, becoming the first driver to do so since Fred Lorenzen in 1964; won the pole for this event last year before running sixth; also ran ninth in the Subway 500 in October for his 18th top-10 in 24 career starts here; has just two top-10s in five events this year - a victory in the Daytona 500 and a fourth at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400; is 12th in the standings following a 15th in last week's Food City 500; also was 12th in points after the Food City 500 last year.Jimmie Johnson Claimed his first checkered flag in six starts here but did not visit victory lane after learning that several members of team owner Rick Hendrick's immediate family had been killed in a nearby plane crash; went on to claim an emotional victory the next week at Atlanta Motor Speedway among his six straight top-10s to finish the season; drew Jeff Burton's ire after knocking him into the turn 2 wall in last week's Food City 500 before finishing sixth; has run sixth or better in 11 straight events dating to last year; is only driver to run in the top 10 in each of the first five races this year and holds a 94-point lead over Biffle atop the point standings; has five straight top-10s, including three straight top-fives, on this track despite claiming difficulty here: "That's been the hardest track for me to figure out. To win there last year was one of my personal moments in saying that I had buckled down and worked hard at this and got it done."Kevin Harvick Despite being without crew chief Todd Berrier, who was suspended four races for a violation in Las Vegas last month, ended a 55-race victory drought with the checkered flag in last week's Food City 500; also won the Sharpie Professional 250 the following day; climbed five spots to sixth in the standings, his highest ranking since being sixth through 10 events last year; has run in the top 10 in seven of the last 13 events dating to last season; included in that stretch is an eighth in the Subway 500 here on October 24; ran 19th in this event last year after qualifying fifth; his best finish at Martinsville was a seventh in October 2003; looking for a second straight short-track victory with spotter Rick Carelli's assistance: "(Carelli) has a great understanding of how I race and what am trying to do. It is a great advantage to have a spotter that knows you well and knows how you react to situations."Kurt Busch Defending series champion was caught up in an accident involving Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton in last week's Food City 500, ending his four-race winning streak at Bristol Motor Speedway; was saddled with a 35th-place finish, his second straight result outside the top 30 after running third or better in each of the season's first three events; fell three spots to seventh in the standings - his position entering the inaugural "Chase for the Nextel Cup"; ran 11th in this event last year before finishing fifth in the Subway 500 here as one of his nine top-10s during the "Chase"; led 111 laps en route to victory in the fall race here in 2002.Rusty Wallace Ended a career-high 105-race victory drought when he took the checkered flag in this event last year; was his seventh career triumph here, trailing only Richard Petty (15) and Darrell Waltrip (11) on Martinsville's all-time list; won five of seven races here between 1994 and 1996 when he won five of seven races; considered a short-track specialist, qualified third before running 13th in Bristol last week; has run between 10th and 13th in four of the first five events this season with the only deviation being a 27th in the Golden Corral 500; the 48-year-old, who is retiring from full-time competition after this season, is ninth in the standings. Ryan Newman Suffered his worst result of the season in last week's Food City 500, running 30th; fell five spots to 11th in the standings; has won two poles this season and is the only driver to start in the top 10 in each of the first five events; set a track record with a lap of 97.043 miles per hour among his four consecutive poles during the "Chase" last year; has run in the top five each of his last three trips here, including a third in this event last year; hoping to continue his success here: "We've had three straight really good finishes now at Martinsville, so the Alltel team definitely has a positive outlook going into this weekend." Tony Stewart The 2002 series champion climbed to third in the standings following a third-place finish in last week's Food City 500; also was third through five events last season; has been in the top 10 in the standings 50 consecutive weeks; has three top-10s in five events this season after posting six top-10s in his final nine races of 2004; ran 15th and 14th in the two events here last year after posting three top-10s in his previous four races on this track; won the fall race here from the pole in 2000.