Jeff Gordon’s quest for a fifth title in his final NASCAR season received a major boost at Martinsville, where Joey Logano’s winning streak came to a dramatic end.
Gordon proved too good for Jamie McMurray on the final restart two laps from home to score a highly popular 93rd career victory.
The win in the opening Eliminator round of the Chase guarantees that Gordon will advance to the final Championship round, where the final four play-off for the title.
At 44 years old, Hendrick Chevrolet veteran Gordon has been chasing a fifth title since 2002 and had gone winless in 39 races.
“We’re going to Homestead,” beamed Gordon, whose Victory Lane celebrations were completed in near darkness after the start was delayed by rain.
Winner of the previous three races, Team Penske’s Joey Logano, led 207 laps before being wrecked by rival Matt Kenseth with less than 50 to go.
The incident followed Logano spinning Kenseth from the lead during the closing stages at Kansas two races ago.
“It was just a complete coward move, especially for a championship race car driver and race team,” said Logano of Kenseth.
“Just a complete coward. I don’t have anything else to say. It’s a chicken-you-know-what move to completely take out the leader when your race is over.”
Dismissing Logano’s comments, a relaxed Kenseth claimed that he had a right-front tyre going down due to damage from an earlier clash with Logano’s team-mate Brad Keselowski.
“Some days you’re the bat and some days you’re the ball,” said Kenseth, who had hinted at retribution in the immediate aftermath of the Kansas incident. “It’s never fun when you’re the ball.”
The previous contact with Keselowski had seen Kenseth spin into the path of Kurt Busch, whose title hopes also took a severe dent as a result.
Kenseth’s team-mate Denny Hamlin took third for Joe Gibbs, while Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr rounded out the top six.
Gordon now leads the Chase standings from Kyle Busch, Truex Jr, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Logano with two races remaining to set the field of four for the finale.
VIDEO: Race wrap
RESULTS: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 – Martinsville Speedway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MAKE | START | LAPS | LAPS LED | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS POINTS |
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 5 | 500 | 35 | Running | 47 | 4 |
| 2 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 4 | 500 | 0 | Running | 42 | 0 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 10 | 500 | 3 | Running | 42 | 1 |
| 4 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 22 | 500 | 0 | Running | 40 | 0 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 6 | 500 | 0 | Running | 39 | 0 |
| 6 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 2 | 500 | 27 | Running | 39 | 1 |
| 7 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 7 | 500 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
| 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 12 | 500 | 38 | Running | 37 | 1 |
| 9 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 24 | 500 | 0 | Running | 35 | 0 |
| 10 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 13 | 500 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
| 11 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 3 | 500 | 19 | Running | 34 | 1 |
| 12 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 21 | 500 | 0 | Running | 32 | 0 |
| 13 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 23 | 500 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
| 14 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | 14 | 500 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 26 | 500 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 8 | 500 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
| 17 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 19 | 500 | 0 | Running | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 30 | 500 | 6 | Running | 27 | 1 |
| 19 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 9 | 500 | 0 | Running | 25 | 0 |
| 20 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | 31 | 500 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 27 | 500 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 41 | 499 | 0 | Running | 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 38 | 498 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 33 | 498 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 55 | David Ragan | Toyota | 28 | 498 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 25 | 497 | 0 | Running | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 23 | Jeb Burton | Toyota | 35 | 496 | 0 | Running | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | Ford | 20 | 493 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 26 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 39 | 492 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | 36 | 492 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
| 31 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 32 | 491 | 0 | Running | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 11 | 490 | 143 | Running | 13 | 1 |
| 33 | 33 | Alex Kennedy | Chevrolet | 43 | 489 | 0 | Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 15 | 486 | 22 | Running | 11 | 1 |
| 35 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | Ford | 34 | 479 | 0 | Running | 9 | 0 |
| 36 | 62 | Timmy Hill | Chevrolet | 42 | 459 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 1 | 458 | 207 | Running | 9 | 2 |
| 38 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 18 | 443 | 0 | Parked | 6 | 0 |
| 39 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 29 | 423 | 0 | Running | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 16 | 391 | 0 | Accident | 4 | 0 |
| 41 | 32 | Kyle Fowler | Ford | 40 | 373 | 0 | Brakes | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 98 | Ryan Preece | Ford | 37 | 365 | 0 | Running | 2 | 0 |
| 43 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 17 | 185 | 0 | Accident | 1 | 0 |
STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 4047 | Leader | 33 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 1 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 4039 | -8 | 22 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 2 |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr | 4039 | -8 | 33 | 1 | 8 | 21 | 2 |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | 4037 | -10 | 33 | 3 | 20 | 25 | 1 |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | 4030 | -17 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | 4013 | -34 | 33 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 1 |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 4011 | -36 | 30 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 0 |
| 8 | Joey Logano | 4009 | -38 | 33 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 0 |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 2251 | -1796 | 33 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 2 |
| 10 | Ryan Newman | 2231 | -1816 | 33 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 1 |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 2221 | -1826 | 33 | 2 | 15 | 20 | 1 |
| 12 | Jamie McMurray | 2201 | -1846 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| 13 | Matt Kenseth | 2197 | -1850 | 33 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 4 |
| 14 | Jimmie Johnson | 2193 | -1854 | 33 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 1 |
| 15 | Paul Menard | 2177 | -1870 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer | 2124 | -1923 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 2 |
| 17 | Aric Almirola | 877 | -3170 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 18 | Kasey Kahne | 872 | -3175 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | 802 | -3245 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 20 | Greg Biffle | 796 | -3251 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 745 | -3302 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 22 | Casey Mears | 712 | -3335 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | AJ Allmendinger | 687 | -3360 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 24 | Danica Patrick | 665 | -3382 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 25 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 664 | -3383 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 26 | Tony Stewart | 661 | -3386 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 27 | Sam Hornish Jr | 657 | -3390 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 28 | David Ragan | 636 | -3411 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 29 | Trevor Bayne | 614 | -3433 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | 537 | -3510 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 509 | -3538 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | David Gilliland | 491 | -3556 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 33 | Alex Bowman | 410 | -3637 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt | 387 | -3660 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Matt DiBenedetto | 366 | -3681 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Michael Annett | 359 | -3688 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Josh Wise | 249 | -3798 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Jeb Burton | 199 | -3848 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Michael McDowell | 192 | -3855 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Alex Kennedy | 120 | -3927 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | 74 | -3973 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Bobby Labonte | 60 | -3987 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | Michael Waltrip | 58 | -3989 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Brian Vickers | 32 | -4015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Ryan Preece | 14 | -4033 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Will Kimmel III | 11 | -4036 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Mike Wallace | 8 | -4039 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | T.J. Bell | 7 | -4040 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Eddie MacDonald | 7 | -4040 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Kyle Fowler | 3 | -4044 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Ron Hornaday Jr | 2 | -4045 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 52 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -4047 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 53 | Brian Scott | 0 | -4047 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 54 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -4047 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 55 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -4047 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -4047 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 57 | Regan Smith | 0 | -4047 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | HendrickChase Elliott | 0 | -4047 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 59 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Chris Buescher | 0 | -4047 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | Boris Said | 0 | -4047 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | Brendan Gaughan | 0 | -4047 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 64 | Justin Marks | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -4047 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Travis Kvapil | 0 | -4047 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | B J McLeod | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 0 | -4047 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -4047 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 71 | Joey Gase | 0 | -4047 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 72 | Derek White | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 | Jeff Green | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Erik Jones | 0 | -4047 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | Tanner Berryhill | 0 | -4047 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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