Checkered Countdown: Top-Five Martinsville Finishes

No. 2 Ricky Craven gets his first Cup win after a thrilling battle against Dale Jarrett (2002).

Craven is best known for being the winner of the closest finish in NASCAR history at Darlington in 2003. But his only other Cup victory came the year before at Martinsville after another incredible battle against Jarrett on the final lap. Jarrett had caught him with three to go. He stayed behind the leader but then moved to the outside of him after the white flag. The two raced side-by-side through turns one and two and on the backstretch. Craven then decided to play it safe and used the inside groove to his advantage: he ran a higher line in turn three forcing Jarrett to go even wider. The driver of the #88 lost momentum and ground to Craven, who finally cleared him. It was the first win for both the driver and the PPI Motorsports organisation.