Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have a combined 11 wins at Martinsville Speedway. They proved again yesterday they will be tough to beat during today’s sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Johnson, who has four wins here, will start from the pole in the TUMS QuikPak 500 after rain washed out qualifying Friday. He was the only driver to turn a lap under 20 seconds on the .526-mile oval with a speed of 94.808 mph.

Sprint Cup qualifying was canceled yesterday because of persistent rain at Martinsville Speedway. Jimmie Johnson, the Chase points leader, will start on the pole alongside South Boston’s Jeff Burton in tomorrow’s TUMS QuikPak 500. It’s the second straight race in which Johnson will start first based on owners points. Also, it’s the ninth time this year that qualifying has been washed out, including three Chase events - Loudon, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Martinsville.

Randy Hallman and Ralph Paulk discuss all things NASCAR, including the fight/scuffle at Charlotte.

Jimmie Johnson was furious after losing valuable points at the end of the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Even though he has a 69-point advantage of South Boston’s Jeff Burton, he’s feeling somewhat anxious. “[Burton] has always been on my radar,“ Johnson said. “He’s been doing this a long time. He knows the tracks. He knows how to race and get points.“

Kyle Busch led a race-high 137 laps in winning the rain-interrupted Nationwide Dollar General 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Friday night in Concord, N.C. Busch regained the lead from South Boston’s Jeff Burton on Lap 170 then beat Burton to the finish line by .661 seconds in winning with an average speed of 103.647 mph. Busch won his ninth Nationwide event, giving him 20 NASCAR wins overall—including eight Sprint Cup and three Craftsman Truck victories.

The racetrack at Lowe’s Motor Speedway has changed some since it was redesigned two years ago. If nothing, else it slowed down Jimmie Johnson, who dominated by winning five of six races from 2003 to 2005. South Boston’s Jeff Burton, who last night made his final Nationwide start this season, expects a lot of hard racing all over the 1.5-mile racetrack.

Ralph Paulk and Randy Hallman assess the Talledega race, Jimmie Johnson, and the battle for the NASCAR championship.

Travis Kvapil will lead a parade of non-Chase qualifiers to the starting line in today’s Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Kvapil turned a fast lap of 187.364 mph yesterday to capture his first Sprint Cup pole. Kvapil, making his 100th Cup start, will be joined on the front row by Casey Mears (187.295). Aric Almirola qualified third, followed by Regan Smith, Paul Menard, Mike Wallace and Tony Raines.

Don’t miss our new motorsports webcast. This week Randy Hallman and Ralph Paulk talk Talladega.

The fat lady isn’t singing for Kyle Busch, but she’s standing by. Busch may have seen his Sprint Cup title hopes go in smoke, just two races into the Chase. He began the postseason with a 30-point advantage over Carl Edwards but now finds himself in the 12th position after finishing last in yesterday’s Camping World RV 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Jeff Gordon, trying to get back into the Chase, won the pole for tomorrow’s Camping World RV 400 yesterday at Dover International Speedway. Gordon, winless this season, qualified with a speed of 157.061 mph. He will start on the front row alongside Mark Martin, who edged out former Chesterfield County resident Denny Hamlin for the second starting spot.