"Champion in Waiting?"

Racewinner Jimmie Johnson flat dominated the Tums QuikPak 500 here at Martinsville Speedway. Johnson bagged his 6th win of 2008 by leading 339 of 504 laps of the .528 mile oval--the smallest venue where NASCAR Sprint Cup cars run. His margin of victory over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2nd) was .708 of a second. Carl Edwards finished 3rd, Jeff Gordon 4th and Denny Hamlin 5th. Other chasers for the Sprint Cup and their finishes: Kevin "Happy" Harvick, 7th, Matt Kenseth 8th, Clint Bowyer 9th, Greg Biffle 12th, Jeff Burton 17th (thanks to a pit penalty he lost a lap), Tony Stewart 26th and Kyle Busch finished 29th with a pit miscue of his own.

This is Johnson's third Sprint Cup win in a row here. The series moves to the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday for pole day...assuming the rains stay away.

Points (NASCAR makes them official in the next 24-48 hours):

1--Jimmie Johnson #48--6073

2--Greg Biffle #16--5924

3--Jeff Burton #31--5921

4--Carl Edwards #99--5875

5--Clint Bowyer # 07--5831

6--Kevin Harvick #29--5817

7--Jeff Gordon #24--5798

8--Tony Stewart #20--5735

9--Dale Earhardt, Jr. #88--5694

10--Matt Kenseth #17--5665

11--Denny Hamlin #11--5653

12--Kyle Busch #18--5628

Martinsville is a no BS, friendly race track, which focuses on the product--the racing--and its paying customers. Clay Campbell has not forgotten that formula, which he learned from the legendary H. Clay Earles, the founder of this place. NASCAR and corporate cousin International Speedway Corporation will likely pull some shenanigans to get a race for the Kansas Speedway (and its new casino). There is something to be said for tradition...and especially if sponsors are willing to step up in the minefield that is the business climate, and write checks for race sponsorships.

Staff Sgt. Robert Hankins--Martinsville Grand Marshal/TUMS QuikPak 500

Here is a picture of another American hero, taken at Martinsville Speedway, at the sponsorship announcement that Tums would sponsor the next two October races here. Staff Sgt. Hankins is assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He's airborne and air assault qualified, and has seen enough rough stuff to earn an award of the Combat Action Badge. Bob, his wife and parents are here thanks to Tums. All people of good will, I'm sure, will keep him in thoughts and prayers when he returns to Iraq after his leave is over. It's people like Bob and his soldiers who provide ink-stained wretches and blabbermouths like me freedom of speech. I'm glad guys like him have my back.

Darren Singer, VP of Marketing for Goody's/Tums, fired a shot across the NASCAR bow concerning the possible loss of a race at this track. When he announced the sponsorship, Singer said that the Kansas race (reputed to get another race when a casino is built) needs to get it from another track--not Martinsville, both of whose races are sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline brands Tums and Goody's.

Rainout theater shows point leader Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole--Jeff Gordon was fastest in "happy hour". Is there a possibility that the Happy Harvick/Cousin Carl Edwards feud might reignite?

Lewis Hamilton has a 7 point lead over Felipe Massa after winning the Chinese Grand Prix from the pole. Fernando Alonso finished 4th...so the Renault squad is hitting its stride in late season. Ferrari has the Constructor's Championship all but locked up...Ferrari's Massa basically needs to win if Hamilton finishes from 3-8th in Brazil. We'll do the points possibility on the Race-Talk program previewing their season ender.

We'll rejoin you from the post race news conference with a synopsis and (if I can remember) a snapshot of the winner.