It sure was one interesting race in Martinsville. The 18th caution of the day set up a three lap shootout between Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson with Stewart making a power move to the outside for the win. Martinsville did take hold of some title hopes as Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth were caught up in wrecks. Brad Keselowski’s championship effort suffered a blow when he spun with two laps remaining and finished 17th.

Carl Edwards’ consistency has kept him on top of the point race for the majority of the season and, with only three races left on the schedule, has set him up for a run at his first Sprint Cup championship.

Tony Stewart moves to second, just eight points back while Kevin Harvick is 21 points behind in third.

The Chase heads off to Texas Motor Speedway for round eight next week as we get closer to the 2011 championship battle being decided in Homestead on November 20th.

                
   1. Carl Edwards 1 Win       Points: 2273           Leader
   2. Tony Stewart 3 Wins      Points: 2265          Behind:  -8
   3. Kevin Harvick 4 Wins      Points: 2252          Behind:  -21
   4. Brad Keselowski 3 Wins  Points: 2246         Behind: - 27
   5. Matt Kenseth 3 Wins       Points: 2237         Behind: - 36  
   6. Jimmie Johnson 2 Wins  Points: 2230          Behind: - 43
   7. Kyle Busch 4 Wins          Points: 2216         Behind: - 57
   8. Kurt Busch 2 Wins          Points: 2215         Behind: - 58
   9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.          Points: 2200          Behind: - 73
  10. Jeff Gordon 3 Wins        Points: 2197         Behind: - 76   
  11. Denny Hamlin 1 Win      Points: 2193          Behind: - 80
  12. Ryan Newman 1 Win      Points: 2184         Behind: - 89

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