MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- The Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway was delayed more than one hour after a pothole developed in the track's concrete surface in Turn 3.
The Nextel Cup Series race was red-flagged for one hour, 17 minutes and 28 seconds after 290 of 500 laps, after Jeff Gordon's DuPont Chevrolet was damaged by a stray piece of concrete.
NASCAR and track officials immediately concocted a patch of quick-sealant for the hole, which was 12 inches by 12 inches and "two to three inches deep," applied it and then used jet dryers in an attempt to dry it more quickly.
Officials also sealed two additional holes "about the size of a baseball," one in Turn 3 and another at the entrance to Turn 4.
"It's a real similar situation to when you have to make an emergency patch on an Interstate or something," Nextel Cup director John Darby said. "We have special patching materials today that dry quickly and are very hard and very effective."
The race resumed under caution at about 5 p.m. ET. Gordon made four pit stops to change four tires, add fuel and make repairs on his car and restarted the race at Lap 302 in 21st position of 22 cars on the lead lap.
He advanced to 16th position within five green flag laps, then his progress stalled briefly.
The situation began to develop when, at about Lap 278, one of NASCAR's observers reported a piece of concrete had come out of the track and bounced out of the racing groove.
The race continued and when Michael Waltrip spun in Turn 3 to bring out a caution, a large piece of concrete was seen on TV, bouncing near the outside wall.
Little more than 10 laps later, a hole that was described on one driver's in-car radio as "six or seven inches deep" had developed.
At about Lap 284, leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet missed the hole, but second-place Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet was struck by a piece of concrete in its right-front corner.
"I didn't think I hit it ever," Earnhardt Jr. said of the hole. "I saw a chunk (of concrete) about the size of a piece of lead. I drove under it (but) it's hurt Jeff's car pretty good. It's just an old racetrack."
Gordon, attempting to win his third consecutive Martinsville race, had led 180 of 291 laps leading to the incident. He had calmed considerably shortly after exiting his car, but admitted he was none too pleased by the development.
"There's a big hole down there for sure," Gordon said. "We received a lot of damage. There was a huge piece of concrete in the middle of the track."
Gordon had come back from several positions behind to lead after earlier pit stops, but acknowledged his crew had a chore in front of it.
"We're going to have to come in and fix it, and it will make it exciting for the fans," Gordon said. "We have an awesome race car. There's no doubt we can still go to the front, but it'll take a lot of hard work and things will have to go our way."
The field turned six laps of the .526-mile track under caution before the red flag was displayed. When the race resumed, 11 more laps were run under yellow before the green flag flew.
As the delay stretched for more than an hour while NASCAR and track officials applied the patches, crews were unable to work on any of the cars. Gordon was anxious to continue.
"As far as I'm concerned, I want every lap to fix the car, then to try to get back to the front," Gordon said. "I think as long as there's no chassis or suspension damage, we're OK."
The lower right corner of Gordon's car's valance panel was smashed in.
"It looks like (the damage) is fender and braces -- I'll have to pit to survey it," Gordon said. "Hopefully there will be enough caution laps to fix it without losing track position."
When the race restarted, Gordon's crew used a hammer to beat out the fender and valance, pulled out various body panels and, on his third stop, checked the car's toe-in.