Virginia 500 - Martinsville Speedway

Labonte Wins the Virginia 500
Bobby Labonte won his first career race on a short track in the Winston Cup series, holding on to win the Virginia 500 at Martinsville. Labonte, the 2000 series champion, scored his first victory of the 2002 season, the 19th of his career, to become the 10th different winner in the last 10 races at Martinsville. Matt Kenseth crossed the finish line in the second position, his sixth top-ten finish of the season. Tony Stewart finished in the third spot and Dale Jarrett came home fourth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the top-finishing Chevrolet in fifth. Point-leader Sterling Marlin finished 12th and now leads Kenseth by only 27 points in the chase for the championship.

Gordon on Martinsville Pole
Jeff Gordon sits in a familiar position on the Martinville starting grid, the pole position. Gordon, who won the pole for this race at the Martinsville Speedway last season, qualified in 20.106 seconds at an average speed of 94.180 mph to capture his third career pole at the Martinsville track. Bobby Hamilton will start from the outside-pole position, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Terry Labonte start from row two. Chevrolet claimed the top-four starting spots for the Virginia 500.