MARTINSVILLE -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. left with a crinkled car, but he had fun beating and banging despite a 23rd-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

"It was very rough out there," said Earnhardt, who led 24 laps but saw hopes for a good finish end because of a broken cylinder.

"You had to dish it back out, though. I mean every time I got ran into, I ran back into them. Or they're just going to keep doing it to you. I ain't going to be pushed around out there. You get angry but you get back to racing, to what your job is.

"A bunch of them drove it to my door and I would put it back in them in the next corner. It was pretty fun."

Earnhardt's engine woes are not new this season. He's failed to finish six races because of engine failures. He said he lost a cylinder about 50 laps into the race, although he outran many despite being underpowered.

He said his engine problems worsened late and he lost several spots, placing last among those completing all 506 laps.

"Too many cautions and restarts in the last 50 laps and the valve springs kept breaking and broke the motor even worse," he said.

Close call

Kyle Busch used a fast car and a different pit strategy, pitting when others didn't and vice versa, to finish fourth.

"We had a good car," he said. "If we didn't have two wrecks [in the Chase], I think we'd be right there challenging for this thing. But we're not making much up to the guys in front of us. We'll get what we can and finish out the year strong."

Survival

Denny Hamlin couldn't be too disappointed with his sixth-place finish. Contact with another car damaged his left front and made it difficult for his crew to change left front tires. That caused Hamlin to lose several positions when he stopped.

"I don't think we had anything less than about a 20-second stop all day," said Hamlin, whose crew typically services his car in about 13 seconds. "When you have body damage out on the track, that is what happens."

Big finish

Greg Biffle was thrilled with his seventh-place finish. He had never finished better than 17th at this track, which he admits is one of the toughest for him.

"That was a win!" Biffle said. "I won! That's the first time I've finished a race at Martinsville [in the top 10] in my life. It's unbelievable."

Strong effort

Rookie Juan Pablo Montoya finished eighth -- his second top-10 finish in the last 12 races.

"We worked on the car all day and couldn't get where we wanted it to be, but I think, in general, it was a great day," he said. "A top-10 here is a big thing."

Tough run

Ricky Rudd finished 27th in what likely will be his final Cup race at Martinsville and in Virginia. The Chesapeake native plans to retire after this season.

There was some question entering this weekend if he would race because of the shoulder injury he suffered last month in a crash at California Speedway. Rudd made it all the way through.

"I'm hurting pretty good," Rudd said after the race. "It's not too good, but it could be worse."

Pit stops

After reviewing videotape, NASCAR announced that Carl Edwards finished 11th and Jeff Burton placed 12th. The original finishing order had them flip-flopped. ... The 21 cautions for 127 caution laps set a track record. The previous mark was 19 cautions and 125 caution laps. ... Hendrick Motorsports has won 15 of 32 races this season and eight of the 15 Car of Tomorrow races. ... Seven of the title contenders finished in the top 10.