After a week off, the NASCAR Spint Cup Series returns to action this weekend. Here's the latest from NASCAR.com. 

Welcome retun

Much has been made of the early-season struggles of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, although in their respective cases, "struggle" is a relative word. After all, coming into Sunday's Martinsville event, Johnson is 13th in the series standings while Gordon is 14th.

Martinsville would appear to offer the perfect remedy for both. Here's why:

w Johnson, the two-time defending series champion, has won the last three races at Martinsville.

w Four-time series champion Gordon leads all active drivers in Martinsville wins, with seven.

w Combined, the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won eight of the last 10 Martinsville events.

He's a contender

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series reaches its sixth race of the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is looking more like a Chase contender all the time. After starting the year with victories in two non-points events – the Budweiser Shootout and one of the Gatorade Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500 – Earnhardt has posted three top-five finishes, one of only three drivers to do that in the season's first five weeks. That is the sort of consistency that produces championships.

Earnhardt finished fifth in the series' last race, at Bristol; he's fifth in the series points, surprisingly the highest standing among Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

On the other hand, he's trying to defy some personal history this weekend; he has never won at Martinsville.

The bubble has burst

Five races are in the books. That means the weekly guaranteed starting spots to the top 35 teams in car owner points are based on current standings.

Sam Hornish Jr., the former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion driving the No. 77 Dodge for Roger Penske, has the 35th and final guaranteed spot going into Martinsville.

There are some surprises, regarding those on the outside looking in.

Looking up at Hornish – and having to qualify on time at Martinsville: Jamie McMurray, in 36th; Dave Blaney, 37th; last year's Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti, in 38th; Regan Smith, 39th; and Kyle Petty, 40th.

60th Anniversary Season

This season marks NASCAR's 60th anniversary. This week, the sport comes to the only track that was on the very first schedule back in 1948 – Martinsville Speedway, in Martinsville, Va.

The Goody's Cool Orange 500 on Sunday will continue a tradition that started on July 4, 1948.

That's right.

Martinsville, not Daytona, was the first race track to celebrate the Independence Day tradition, NASCAR-style.

Martinsville then was on the inaugural schedule in 1949 for the Strictly Stock Series, the precursor to what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Michael Waltrip Racing: One year later

A year after the early-season problems that doomed Michael Waltrip Racing to a disappointing 2007 season, things are looking up. All three MWR Toyota teams are in the top 35 of car owner points going into Martinsville.

That's one part of the story. The other involves the domino effect on the driving lineup, caused by the retirement of Dale Jarrett. Starting this week, David Reutimann takes over the No. 44 previously driven by Jarrett and first-year driver Michael McDowell steps in the No. 00 previously driven by Reutimann.

Michael Waltrip remains in the No. 55 Toyota.