Bill Fleischman: NASCAR's Mark Martin makes his point

Track facts: Denny Hamlin led 299 laps, including the last 195, to win last year's race. Kurt Busch was runner-up; Jeff Gordon was third . . . Kyle Busch won the spring race at Richmond . . . After taking five of the season's first 15 races, Hamlin is winless in the last 10 . . . Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart have the most wins (three) at RIR among full-time active drivers . . . Carl Edwards' second-place finish Sunday night at Atlanta tied his season best . . . Following his victory at Watkins Glen last month, Juan Pablo Montoya has three consecutive top-10 finishes. He is 17th in points, 200 out of 12th place.

Wins: Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, 5 each; Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, 3 each; Jamie McMurray and Kurt Busch, 2 each; Ryan Newman, David Reutimann, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, 1 each.

Sprint Cup Standings

Position, Driver (prev. pos.) Points, Points. behind leader

*1. Kevin Harvick (1) 3585, -

*2. Jeff Gordon (2) 3366, -219

*3. Kyle Busch (3) 3325, -260

*4. Tony Stewart (6) 3302, -283

*5. Carl Edwards (4) 3299, -297

*6. Jeff Burton (7) 3261, -324

*7. Jimmie Johnson (9) 3247, -338

*8. Kurt Busch (10) 3228, -357

*9. Matt Kenseth (8) 3225, -360

*10 Denny Hamlin (5) 3147, -438

11. Greg Biffle (11) 3110, -475

12. Clint Bowyer (12) 3066, -519

Cut line, with points behind No. 12

14. Jamie McMurray (13) 2938, -128

15. Mark Martin (14) 2919, -147

*Clinched berth in the Chase

The Chase

Sept. 26: AAA 400, Dover, Del. (1 p.m., ESPN)

Oct. 3: Kansas 400, Kansas City, Kan. (1 p.m., ESPN)

Oct. 10: Pepsi Max 400, Fontana, Calif. (3 p.m., ESPN)

Oct. 16: Banking 500, Concord, N.C. (7:30 p.m., 6ABC)

Oct. 24: Tums Fast Relief 500, Martinsville, Va. (1 p.m., ESPN)

Oct. 31: AMP Energy 500, Talladega, Ala. (1 p.m., ESPN)

Nov. 7: Lone Star 500, Fort Worth, Texas (3 p.m., ESPN)

Nov. 14: Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Avondale, Ariz. (3 p.m., ESPN)

Nov. 21: Ford 400, Homestead, Fla. (1 p.m., ESPN)