Weekly Pull List: 10/2/2016

All the comics available this week can be found on ComicList, and any comic book news is on CBR.

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The Walking Dead #160

Marvel
Deadpool and the Mercs for Money #5
Death of X #3
Foolkiller #1
Spider-Man 2099 #17
Spider-Woman #13
Spidey #12

Johnson Wins at Martinsville, Clinches Championship Spot

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Jimmie Johnson won the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway on Sunday to lock himself into the Championship Round of the Chase.

Johnson led 92 laps on his way to his ninth-career victory at Martinsville.  On the final restart, Johnson had to race Denny Hamlin for the lead, who is one of the best when it comes to racing at Martinsville.  Once Johnson got around Hamlin, he pulled away over the final 30 laps.

 

Robert Laberge (Getty Images)

Johnson said the way the race played out suited his car’s setup.

“Coming into this race, there are so many challenges at this track,” Johnson said.  “Having those long runs really suit my style and my car.”

Johnson will now head to Homestead-Miami Speedway in three weeks to fight for his record-tying seventh Championship.  If Johnson is the top-finishing Chase driver at Homestead, he will tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to win seven championships.  Johnson said he was trying not to think about that scenario for as long as he could.

“I’ve been trying to ignore this conversation about seven, but now I can’t,” Johnson said.  “Probably going to lie…and say I’m not going to think about it at all, but it’s inevitable.”

“We’re going to enjoy this and savor this, and try to get our ducks in a row for Homestead.”

Hamlin finished third after racing Johnson hard after the final restart.  Martinsville is Hamlin’s best track, and he said a change they made under the final caution cost them a chance at the win.

“We thought we were going to come back out under green flag conditions, and we made an adjustment for that and it was just not good,” Hamlin said.  “A race-winning car at times, but definitely not at the end.”

Hamlin raced hard with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch over the final run, which allowed Johnson and Brad Keselowski to pull away. Hamlin said they will have to fight for every position in the next few weeks.

“Well, you try to do everything you can to hold them off, but you’ve got to be realistic too,” Hamlin said.  

Busch was less optimistic following the race, and said he was frustrated with the way his teammates raced.

“We work so good together we gave the 48 [of Johnson] a win,” Busch said.

Unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Kyle Busch

6. Jeff Gordon

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Jamie McMurray

9. Joey Logano

10. AJ Allmendinger

11. Kasey Kahne

12. Chase Elliott

13. Greg Biffle

14. Kyle Larson

15. Aric Almirola

16. Ryan Newman

17. Austin Dillon

18. Michael McDowell

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Kevin Harvick

21. Casey Mears

22. Kurt Busch

23. Trevor Bayne

24. Danica Patrick

25. Paul Menard

26. Tony Stewart

27. Chris Buescher

28. Clint Bowyer

29. Landon Cassill

30. Regan Smith

31. Dylan Lupton

32. Matt DiBenedetto

33. Jeffrey Earnhardt

34. Brian Scott

35. Michael Annett

36. Carl Edwards

37. David Ragan

38. Reed Sorenson

39. Gray Gaulding

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Chris Trotman (Getty Images)

Weekly Pull List: 10/26/2016

All the comics available this week can be found on ComicList, and any comic book news can be found on CBR.

BOOM! Studios
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #8

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Chew #59
Saga #39

Marvel
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #10
Civil War II #6
Deadpool #21
Extraordinary X-Men #15
Guardians of the Galaxy #13
Marvel Tsum Tsum #3
Punisher Annual #1
Spider-Man Deadpool #10
Star Wars #24
Star Wars: Poe Dameron #7
Venom Space Knight #13

Austin Dillon Falls One Point Short of Next Chase Round

Austin Dillon finished ninth on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, but it wasn’t enough to move on to the next round of the Chase.

Dillon tied Denny Hamlin for the final spot in the Chase, but Hamlin had the tiebreaker over Dillon.  The tiebreaker was a driver’s best finish in the round, and Hamlin finished third on Sunday, compared to Dillon’s sixth-place finish last weekend at Kansas.

Dillon said he and his team did everything they could to make the next round.

Getty Images

“We did everything we could,” Dillon said.  “Just didn’t get enough…just one spot at the line.”

Dillon had help from his teammates Paul Menard and Ryan Newman over the closing laps, but the field bottled up at the end and Dillon had nowhere to go.

“I’ve got to thank my teammates, they helped me a lot there at the end trying to help me as much as they could,” Dillon said.  “Old girl just didn’t have enough to get the 43 [of Aric Almirola].”

Dillon surprised many by making the second round of the Chase, and he would have had a strong round if not for a late wreck in the opening race in Charlotte.  Dillon finished 32nd at Charlotte, which magnified the fact that he only needed one more spot to make the next round.  

Dillon said missing the third round on a tiebreaker made it tougher to handle.

“Just disappointed when you tie.  I don’t know, tiebreaker went to [Hamlin].”

Dillon, who is in the midst of his best career season at the Sprint Cup level, said he believes his team will continue to build on their momentum going into the final four races and into 2017.

“We’re fighters, our whole team is.  Proud of my American Ethanol guys…we’ll be back stronger than ever next year.”

Logano Comes Up Clutch in Talladega, Hamlin Ties for Final Chase Spot

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Joey Logano won the Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon to advance to the next round of the Chase.

Logano came into Talladega tied for the final spot in the Chase, and needed to finish ahead of Austin Dillon to move on to the next round.  Logano said his team came up big when he needed them.

“This feels good, to win in a clutch moment like that,” Logano said.  “To come in here with the pressure on, this team excels when that happens.”

 

Getty Images

Logano had a problem on an early pit stop, when he dragged his team’s jack around the track, but the jack never came loose and his team was able to remove it with no damage to the car.  Logano said his team did a good job of staying calm when they’re season was on the line.

“Plenty early enough in the day that we had that mistake happen, and no one got worked up,” Logano said.  “I’m ready for the challenge ahead of us, and this team’s definitely ready.”

On the final lap, Denny Hamlin finished third by .006 seconds over Kurt Busch.  The finish tied him with Austin Dillon for the final Chase spot, which went to Hamlin due to the tiebreaker of best finish in the round.  Hamlin said he’s excited he may finally have good luck in the Chase.

“This is really the first true Chase fortune I’ve had in my 11-year career,” Hamlin said.  “I knew it was going to be a rough day…I knew this was the best case scenario for us, to go out here and finish in the top 5 and hope the chips fall in a good way for us.”

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Brian Scott

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Kurt Busch

5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

6. Kyle Larson

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Aric Almirola

9. Austin Dillon

10. AJ Allmendinger

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Chase Elliott

13. Paul Menard

14. Ryan Newman

15. Greg Biffle

16. Michael McDowell

17. Trevor Bayne

18. Clint Bowyer

19. Jamie McMurray

20. Danica Patrick

21. Landon Cassill

22. Chris Buescher

23. Jimmie Johnson

24. David Ragan

25. Regan Smith

26. Ryan Reed

27. Matt DiBenedetto

28. Matt Kenseth

29. Carl Edwards

30. Kyle Busch

31. Bobby Labonte

32. Tony Stewart

33. Michael Annett

34. Jeffrey Earnhardt

35. Kasey Kahne

36. Alex Bowman

37. Reed Sorenson

38. Brad Keselowski

39. Casey Mears

40. Martin Truex Jr.