RPM.ESPN.com takes a look at what went down in the racing world this past weekend.

	Zanardi's drive.

Biggest surprise: Brendan Gaughan finishing outside the top-10 (11th) in the Martinsville CTS race. He's spoiled us.

Biggest non-surprise: Jeff Gordon winning at Martinsville. Twice this year from the pole.

Also, Matt Kenseth dodging a bullet on Sunday. Mike Massaro explains.

Biggest disappointment: Ken Schrader's late troubles at Martinsville. That team really could have used a top-10.

Gutsy move: Alex Zanardi. His weekend outing almost makes one want to see him behind the wheel full time. But he proved his point -- more racing isn't necessary.

Also, Kenny Brack's recovery (and the best to Al Unser Jr. ...).

Boneheaded move: NASCAR's pit road open/closed controversy ... or rather, the drivers who complained about the pit road flag not being waved soon enough. Replays showed the flag was indeed out, but teams also contend that NASCAR usually doesn't open up pit road that early in a caution. NASCAR president Mike Helton said otherwise. This is somewhat of a he said, she said -- but if Helton is correct and NASCAR has been following the same procedure lately, then the league did nothing wrong.

Redemption: Jeff Burton (10th) scored his first top-10 in six races and just his second in the last 12 races. Burton is currently 13th in points and within striking distance of Bill Elliott in 10th.

Random stat: 313. The number of laps Gordon led at Martinsville.

Random thought: How disheartening would it be to all open wheel racers with F1 aspirations if MotoGP champ Valentino Rossi had a successful test with Ferrari and landed a test ride?

General amazement: Drivers complaining about Chevy dominance in Winston Cup. Yes, Chevrolet is dominating the manufacturers' race. But the points leader drives a Ford and the driver with (by far) the most wins is in a Dodge.

Quote: "I guess I've got no room to stop and be mad, so I just need to shut up." -- Johnny Sauter after Bobby Hamilton Jr. bumped him out of the way en route to winning Saturday's Busch race.

Photo: Check out the photo of the week. Familiar scene.

Tell us what you think: Share your thoughts with us about the weekend's action.

 
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