For win, Earnhardt had to hold off fast-charging Gordon

RIDGEWAY, Va. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. really wanted that clock.

He had grown up in a house full of Martinsville Speedway clocks from his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and had been chasing the chimes for almost 14 years.

So when the green flag was waved with five laps to go for the final restart of Sunday’s race, Earnhardt knew this was his chance; he immediately began to power his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS from fifth toward the front.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got to get by him really fast because he's going to hold me up,’” Earnhardt said on trying to pass the first-place car of Tony Stewart. “If I have to run behind him for even a corner, I'm going to have somebody with four tires, just like me, on my bumper. That's not going to be fun for three laps.”

When he looked back in his rearview mirror after passing Stewart, he saw the familiar face of a driver who also had taken four fresh tires – teammate Jeff Gordon.

“I hadn't looked in the mirror since the green dropped, until I got past Tony,” Earnhardt said. “I saw Jeff was about four car lengths back. They said it was three laps to go.”

The two Hendrick Motorsports drivers had quickly worked through lap traffic to secure the top two positions in the closing laps of the race. In the midst of the roaring crowd and rumbling engines, Earnhardt’s mind also was racing.

“I thought, ‘All right, just hit every corner, don't overdrive the car, don't try to be the fastest car, just try to put together the best corner you can and get out of that corner -- get out of the corner as hard as you can get out of it,’” Earnhardt said, as he reflected on his thought process during the race. “Don't overdrive the center to where you can't exit as well as you can. It's really important to exit as hard as you can.”

Gordon’s No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet had plenty of speed and the driver had an automatic berth into the Championship Round in his sights. Earnhardt knew that – he just needed to hold him off for three more laps.

“If I gave him a half a car length a lap, I was able to afford to do that,” Earnhardt said. “He was fast enough all day that he could run us down if the race continued. I knew if I give him half a car length a lap, he would never have the chance to get to that bumper.”

Earnhardt was able to execute his plan and hold on for the win.

“Dale drove a nice, clean race,” Gordon said. “I never had an opportunity.”

Earnhardt’s Chevy SS ended up in Victory Lane, with Gordon finishing right behind him in second.

“I've come so close here,” Earnhardt said after the race. “I've been passed at the end, lost some races here. Like I said, had some cars that should have won. So it was good.”

And Gordon – who now ranks first in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings – was proud of his teammate’s performance.

“Dale Jr. saw an opportunity to win, and you can't blame him for giving it everything he had to go get that win,” he said. “That's awesome for him.”