Jimmie Johnson extended his points lead to 41 points over Denny Hamlin and 77 points over Kevin Harvick by finishing third last week. This week NASCAR travels to Ridgeway, Virginia, and the 'biggest little track in racing' at Martinsville Speedway for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 1:15 p.m.

The main thing auto enthusiasts and sports investors should know is that Jeff Gordon has the distinction of winning more poles and races (seven) at Martinsville than any other active driver. Gordon has also won back-to-back races three times, but has not won on a short-track since 2005. You will have to go back 15 races to find the last time that a Ford has won this race and 12 times to see a Dodge, which doesn't bode well for Edwards, Biffle and Kahne. Finally, only four races since 2003 have been won from the top two rows on the starting grid.

Who will win the TUMS Fast Relief 500?

It seems only fitting that the top two Chasers, Johnson and Hamlin, have won the last eight races at Martinsville Speedway. There is nothing like home cooking for Virginia's very own son, Hamlin. So it’s not that surprising that Martinsville is his best track in the 10 races that comprise the Chase. Hamlin has won two out of the last three races at Martinsville and is coming off a fourth-place finish in last weekend's Bank of America 500. In 10 starts at Martinsville Hamlin has seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

The last time that Double-J finished outside the top 10 at Martinsville was in 2002. Johnson has six wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in 17 starts at Martinsville. He sports a nifty 5.4 average finish at Martinsville, and here is the rub, this isn't even his best track in the Chase (Phoenix, 4.9 average finish).

Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick has to be disappointed. After dominating the entire season he has failed to make any noise in the Chase. Harvick has never won at Martinsville, nor has Harvick ever recorded a top-five finish in 18 starts. Harvick needs to make a move soon (read, win) if he wants to close the 77-point gap. Especially at Martinsville where Johnson and Hamlin are poised to extend the points lead after Sunday. Harvick finished eighth last week, but his chances don't look great to improve on his position in the Chase.

Jeff Gordon is now 156 points out of first and sits a distant fourth in the standings. Gordon blew a great opportunity last week to close in on Harvick, Hamlin and Johnson, starting the Bank of America 500 from the pole, but finishing the race 23rd. One bright spot is that Gordon used to dominate at Martinsville and it’s his best track with a 6.7 average finish. But as we saw last week the No. 24 team cannot put a whole race together and win.

Pick! Denny Hamlin, No. 11, +300

TUMS Fast Relief 500 - Long Odds Lucky Dog Pick

This week reminds me of a few races in the Chase where either Hamlin or Johnson were locks to win and they ended up with a top-five instead. Granted, both Johnson and Hamlin have dominated the past eight races. However, I am going to think outside of the oval and go with Tony Stewart. Stewart has already won one race in the Chase and is 177 points out of first place. He has won at Martinsville two times, but finished ninth in this race last year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hamlin and Johnson bump each other out of this race, leaving old 'Smoke' to wave the checkers.

Pick! Tony Stewart, No. 14, +1000
 
TUMS Fast Relief 500 - Top Three Finish

Martinsville will likely come down to a Hamlin-Johnson or Johnson-Hamlin finish. Since I have Hamlin winning the race it is likely that Johnson will notch another top-three finish this Sunday one way or another. If he wins or comes in second place it’s likely that little will change on upper ranks of the Sprint Cup leaderboard. Remember that in March Johnson started from third place and finished in ninth place. That won't happen two races in a row.

Pick! Jimmie Johnson, No. 48, -110

TUMS Fast Relief 500 - Odds Top Three Finish*
Martinsville Speedway - Oct. 24, 2010 1:15 pm EDT

Denny Hamlin -110
Jimmie Johnson -110
Jeff Gordon +180
Tony Stewart +300
Kyle Busch +350
Kevin Harvick +350
Clint Bowyer +450
Jeff Burton +600
Jamie McMurray +600
Kurt Busch +750
Carl Edwards +750
Juan Pablo Montoya +750
Joey Logano +900
Ryan Newman +900
Martin Truex Jr +1200
Dale Earnhardt Jr +1200
Greg Biffle +1500
Kasey Kahne +1500
Mark Martin +1500
Matt Kenseth +2200
David Reutimann +3000
Reed Sorenson +3000
David Ragan +3000
AJ Allmendinger +3000
Marcos Ambrose +3000
Sam Hornish Jr +3000
Brad Keselowski +3000
Regan Smith +3000
Paul Menard +3000
Scott Speed +3000
Bobby Labonte +3000
Travis Kvapil +3000
zx Field (Any Other Driver) +3000
Elliott Sadler +3000


TUMS Fast Relief 500 - Odds to Win*
Martinsville Speedway - Oct. 24, 2010 1:15 pm EDT

Jimmie Johnson +300
Denny Hamlin +300
Jeff Gordon +600
Tony Stewart +1000
Kyle Busch +1200
Kevin Harvick +1200
Clint Bowyer +1500
Jamie McMurray +2000
Jeff Burton +2000
Carl Edwards +2500
Juan Pablo Montoya +2500
Kurt Busch +2500
Ryan Newman +3000
Joey Logano +3000
Dale Earnhardt Jr +4000
Martin Truex Jr +4000
Greg Biffle +5000
Kasey Kahne +5000
Mark Martin +5000
Matt Kenseth +7500
Marcos Ambrose +10000
Sam Hornish Jr +10000
Elliott Sadler +10000
Regan Smith +10000
Paul Menard +10000
Scott Speed +10000
Bobby Labonte +10000
AJ Allmendinger +10000
David Ragan +10000
Reed Sorenson +10000
David Reutimann +10000
Brad Keselowski +10000
zx Field (Any Other Driver) +10000
Travis Kvapil +10000

*Odds courtesy of Sportsbook.com