By Ron Lemasters, NASCAR.COM
October 19, 2007
10:21 PM EDT

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- If Jeff Gordon keeps this up, he will one day walk off with the deed to Martinsville Speedway.

Gordon led an abbreviated practice session earlier in the day, then went on to take the pole for Sunday's Subway 500, guaranteeing the active leader in victories on the .526-mile paperclip the best pit spot and all sorts of momentum.

Gordon, whose lap of 19.938 seconds at 94.974 mph knocked fellow Chaser Martin Truex Jr. off the pole, is the acknowledged master of Martinsville, having won seven times in 29 starts.

That's a lot of grandfather clocks, which the speedway presents to the winner.

In 10 more races, he's come home in the top five, and he's been in the top 10 a whopping 23 times. Gordon now has six poles, and has led 2,298 laps (that's 1,400 fewer than all-time leader Cale Yarborough). His average finish is a miniscule 7.3, second among Chasers.

Perhaps the most important stat of all for Gordon at Martinsville is the number of DNFs he has: 0.

Truex surprised early, clicking off a lap at 19.988, 94.737 mph. That was good for the pole and the only sub-20-second lap of the day until Gordon came out. It marks the third time this year he's missed the pole by a smidgen, and tied his career-best starting position.

Truex has three starts at Martinsville, and while the track bears a resemblance to the tracks he grew up on in the Northeast, he hasn't quite figured out the little monster. His best finish is 19th, earlier this year, and his average finish is 28.0.

Kevin Harvick is looking to put tire troubles in the rearview mirror, although Martinsville is not a good place to try that. In 12 starts, Harvick averages 20.1 per finish (10th in the Chase) and has four top-10 runs to his name. His best finish is seventh, twice, the last coming in April of this year.

Harvick went out later in the session and laid down the third-fastest lap, 19.999 seconds, 94.685 mph.

Jimmie Johnson kept pace with his teammate and car owner Gordon, putting his Chevrolet fourth at 20.013 seconds, 94.618 mph. If Gordon is the king, then Johnson is the crown prince. In 11 starts, Johnson has three victories, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. His average finish is 6.4, better than Gordon's and best in the Chase.

In those 11 starts, he has led 724 laps, which ranks third behind Gordon and Tony Stewart.

Stewart is the only non-Hendrick Motorsports driver to win during the past five, turning the trick in 2006. In 17 starts, Smoke has three poles, a pair of victories, six top-fives and 10 top-10s, and he's led 1,193 laps.

He'll start out in the hole on Sunday, though, posting a lap at 20.241 seconds, 93.553 mph that put him 34th.

In the past five races, Stewart has one finish worse than seventh (26th in 2005, when he broke a wheel while leading), and 829 of his laps led came in that span. In three races from April 2005 to April 2006, he led 818 laps and earned one victory.

The rapidly maturing Kyle Busch has started five Martinsville races, and his best finish is fourth in April. He averaged 15.0 per finish, with two top-five and three top-10 finishes. The 22-year-old was the first of the Chasers on the track, and his lap of 20.025 seconds, 94.562 mph held up for quite a while. He'll roll off sixth, the last of the Chasers in the top 10.

 Kurt Busch, one of five Chasers to have won at Martinsville, has had good days and bad days here. He has the one victory, another top-five and four top-10 finishes to counterbalance six finishes of 27th or worse.

His lap of 20.068 seconds, 94.359 mph was good for 11th.

Jeff Burton is always tough in his home state, and Martinsville seems to suit him. In 26 starts, Burton has a victory, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. He won here in 1997 driving for Jack Roush, and his average finish is 15.0.

Burton was the last car out, and he put his Chevrolet 18th at 20.126 seconds, 94.069 mph.

Carl Edwards put the his Ford in at 20.130 seconds, 94.069 mph, which was good for 20th. Edwards is still searching for his groove on the tiny .526-mile oval. In six starts, he's been 12th once, and his average finish of 22.2 is 11th in the Chase, ahead of only Truex.

Clint Bowyer has three starts at Martinsville, and his best finish was 11th here in the spring. He manages to get it home in the top 20 on average (18.7), however, and that plays right into the big picture in terms of points.

He's not been the fastest gun in qualifying, however, averaging 33.3 per start, but it hasn't seemed to hurt him. He qualified 21st at 20.138 seconds, 94.031 mph.

Another Virginia pilot, Denny Hamlin, runs well at Martinsville. He's been in the top 10 in three of his four starts, twice in the top five. He was second in this race last year. His average finish is 12.5, fourth-best in the Chase.

His lap at 20.185 seconds, 93.812 mph was good for 30th.

Matt Kenseth does reasonably well at Martinsville, despite having never won here. His average finish is 16.3, seventh in the Chase, and he has four top-10s and a top-five in 15 starts. His top-five finish was a second, back in 2002.

Kenseth logged in at 20.170 seconds, 93.882 mph, good for 24th.