Jeff Gordon could have won Martinsville if qualifying hadn't been cancelled

Jimmie Johnson received the best pit stall and starting position for the most recent Martinsville race due to the qualifying provisions, in case of rain, set by NASCAR. In my opinion, had there been the opportunity to qualify for that race, Jeff Gordon would have gotten his first win of the season. He has 8 poles and 7 wins at Martinsville. Texas, for the #24, is a whole other story with 16.1 average finish and a 43rd place finish this past spring.

This blogger has some nice solutions: Racedriven.com: Qualifying in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes all the difference.

My First NASCAR Race

  The first NASCAR race I ever attended was the 1999 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

  My brother and I drove the 1,200 miles from Framingham, MA to Daytona, FL in our parents' red Ford Windstar. The check engine light came on somewhere in South Carolina, just to make things interesting.

  We arrived at the track 8 hours before the green flag; I remember sitting in the parking lot and it being the hottest day ever. My brother and I walked the souvenir trailers packed in like a herd of sweaty sheep. We bought a giant number "6" decal from Mark Martin's Valvoline trailer and put it on the back window of our minivan to show our support.

  Inside the track was amazing. Grand in every way imaginable. They sold beer buy the buckets. You could actually buy a bucket full of ice with 5 cans of Budweiser in it. The pre-race ceremony was filled with patriotism and wonder. Four F-14A Tomcats flew by as the Star Spangled Banner was being sung. It was simply magic. Our seats were about 50 yards past the start/finish line and we had an amazing view of turn 4 and the tri-oval; pit road stretched out right in front of us.

  I actually don't remember much about the race itself except that unbelievable second lap. 43 cars, side-by-side, 2 inches apart, nose-to-tail all up to full speed, 199 m.ph. They entered turn 4 and a feeling of panic almost knocked me to the ground. There was no way they were going to make that turn, they were going way to fast. They are going to pile up, 30 rows deep and thousands of people were going to get hurt...But that didn't happen. At the apex of the turn, every single car sank to within a half inch of the track and they held that turn at 190. The panic turned to sheer joy and I was a NASCAR fan.

  Dale Jarrett beat Dale Earnhardt Sr. to win the race under caution and Mark Martin finished 17th. I've been to at least one race a year ever since.