Penske Teammates Battle -- Newman Finishes 3rd

Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace, battling at Martinsville.

An interesting and bittersweet day at Martinsville.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, crossed the finish line first for his second straight win. Newman ended up finishing 3rd behind Jamie McMurray, but there were a few fireworks between Newman and his Penske Racing teammate, Rusty Wallace.

With 8 laps left in the 500-lap event, Johnson spun his tires on the re-start and Rusty was making his moves to pass. Johnson blocked, and in the meantime, Newman dove low into Turns 1 and 2 while Rusty was on the outside. The beating and banging continued down the back stretch and into Turns 3 and 4, where Rusty was eventually washed up the track and Ryan took the 2nd position.

After the race, Rusty gave Ryan a shot -- then Ryan returned it with a bump of his own in the pit lane.

Although Jimmie Johnson, a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, it was learned that a plane from Hendrick Motorsports on its way to Martinsville crashed sometime during the race. There was no Victory Lane celebration.

10 people died in that plane crash and the list is staggering. Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, was at the track when he heard the news.

• Ricky Hendrick, son of Rick Hendrick. He was a Busch Series driver and was being groomed to take over the company when his dad retired.
• John Hendrick, brother of Rick Hendrick. He was the president of Hendrick Motorsports.
• Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, John Hendrick's twin daughters.
• Randy Dorton, chief engine builder at Hendrick Motorsports.
• Jeff Turner, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports.
• Joe Jackson, an executive with DuPont (Jeff Gordon's sponsor)
• and pilots.

NASCAR.com article, click here.