(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)
By Aaron Bearden
Post-race review and analysis from the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Who Won?
Martin Truex Jr. The Joe Gibbs Racing vet dominated the final stage to score a comfortable win.
Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 Results
Top Stories
Small adjustment
A new era of Martinsville Speedway was ushered in with Wednesday’s midweek night race.
It didn’t look much different from the old one at the top of the charts, though nearly everything else was different.
Martin Truex Jr. overcame early struggles to claim a dominant victory in Wednesday’s Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500, celebrating on the front stretch at race’s end just as he had after shellacking the field in last fall’s playoff race.
The result was his fourth short-track win in the last six events, following a difficult 0-for-80 start at the tracks for the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
“We’ve been working a long time on trying to figure this place out, and just chipping away at it,” said Truex of his 27th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series. “The last couple of years we’ve been really strong — ’18 was a heartbreaker going at the end of the race there. Last year, to get the win, and this year, just hats off to the guys.
“We started the first run and pushed the right front tire off, and we were terrible. Really good adjustments by the guys, want to thank all them. Congrats to James (Small, Truex’s crew chief) on his first win, he’s doing an awesome job and really proud of him. It’s a big day for us.”
Wednesday’s race couldn’t have seen many more differing variables from the playoff battle seen just eight months ago.
The race marked the first NASCAR night race at Martinsville, which implemented lights and held its first night race ever in last fall’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 – a marquee Late Model Stock Car race. What was expected to be an event buzzing with fans on a Saturday night going into the year was instead ran without spectators in the middle of the week.
Bubba Wallace’s car depicted the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Corey LaJoie’s machine carried his face adorned with a mask – a sign of the current COVID-19 era. Ty Dillon’s car brought back the “Hump Day” scheme seen in previous midweek races.
The lower-downforce rules package and softer tire brought by Goodyear each provided new challenges to the field, resulting in a bit more ebb and flow in the pack. Title contenders like Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin fell a lap down in the opening stage and never recovered, while underdogs like Wallace and Michael McDowell contended for position inside of the top-10 before settling for top-15s.
Of the top-five finishers, three were either lapped or nearly lapped over the opening 250 laps. Truex narrowly avoided falling a lap down at the end of Stage 1, while runner-up Ryan Blaney and third-place finisher Brad Keselowski each dropped outside of the lead lap in the opening 60 laps. They each finished ahead of teammate Joey Logano, who lapped them with a four-second lead in the early stages.
Jimmie Johnson scored a rare stage win in Stage 2 only to drop back to 10th in the final stage. Clint Bowyer sat second in the opening laps but was relegated to 17th. Alex Bowman needed the free-pass early on but rallied to sixth.
There were comers and goers throughout the night, but none fared better than Truex. The veteran rose through the field as his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates all struggled – Kyle Busch was the group’s second-best finisher in 19th – and dominated the final stage to score his first win with new crew chief James Small.
Taking the checkered flag was similar to last fall for Truex, but the rest of the post-race festivities served as a reminder of the current time.
The New Jersey native engaged in sizable burnout down the front stretch as Martinsville’s new lights strobed around him, but climbed out of his car to a quiet Virginia night before taking his victory lane photos alone, wearing a mask and unable to engage with the team that had worked on his car and helped lift him to a win.
It was Truex’s first victory during the COVID-19 pandemic, and likely the most surreal win of his life. Truex immediately noticed the emptiness of a fan-free celebration.
“I don’t even know what to say, kind of speechless,” he said. “It feels a little strange out here to be honest.”
Racing for a cause
Bubba Wallace called Wednesday’s race the most important of his career.
It ended with a respectable finish. Now the burgeoning star’s battle away from the track continues.
Wallace and his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team put together a clean 500 laps to score a well-deserved 11th-place finish in the Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. The result was Wallace’s best at the track, and could have been better had a broken droop chain not resulted in slow pit stops and lost track position throughout the night.
“I don’t really know what the deal was, our team will have to debrief,” Wallace said. “Our left-front tire wasn’t getting-off the ground completely, so we had to do three pumps. That was unfortunate, but man, our car was so good.”
But the end result didn’t matter as much as what the drive itself represented.
NASCAR has engaged in sizable shifts in culture and mindset over the past two weeks, playing its part in a time of social unrest that’s developed following the passing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The sport, traditionally associated with the stereotypes of its southern heritage, has sent out messages of support for both the black and LGBTQ+ community while also allowing for peaceful protest during pre-race festivities and prohibiting the confederate flag at races.
Wallace has been at the forefront of the movement, leading the charge as the sole African-American driver in the NASCAR Cup Series and calling on his fellow drivers to speak up and voice support. The third-year driver wore an ‘I Can’t Breathe” shirt along with an American flag face mask in races on Sunday and Wednesday, and at Martinsville also competed with a special #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme on the iconic No. 43 Chevrolet.
Ty Dillon was the first among Wallace’s contemporaries to speak up, with the pair sharing a conversation about systemic racism on Instagram last week. Numerous others followed, sharing messages on social media and creating a unified video that aired prior to Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR official Kirk Price, a black man and U.S. Army veteran, kneeled during part of the pre-race festivities. Sanctioning body president Steve Phelps denounced racism at the same event, with the field stopping on the front stretch during pace laps so he could share the message over the radio.
While NASCAR continues to adapt, Wallace has paved the way for the sport’s changes to reach mainstream audiences, making an appearance on CNN early in the week with more appearances planned. Athletes like Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara gave nods Wallace and NASCAR on social media, thrusting the sport into the public eye.
“I think it’s great, the initiative he’s showing and wanting to be a part of change, the right change,” runner-up finisher Ryan Blaney said of Wallace, one of his best friends in the garage. “I feel like he’s on his way, man. He’s doing a really good job. I think he was on CNN the other night. He did a great job on that.
“Like I said, I’ve just known him a long time and he’s just Bubba to me. I think of him as a brother. It’s good to talk to him, but I think he’s definitely not getting sleep because he’s so busy. It’s good things, a good cause that he’s striving towards.”
Stage 1 winner and 2018 Cup champion Joey Logano echoed Blaney’s thoughts.
“It was really cool to see what Bubba was able to do,” he said. “I didn’t see where he finished, but he should be proud of the movement he’s made for the African American community in our sport. He always has just by being here, but when you look at the comments he made on CNN the other day and then NASCAR completely answered it. Kudos to NASCAR. Kudos to Bubba for bringing it up and using his platform for something good. That’s the most important thing. We can win races.
“I say this all the time, winning a championship is nice, but what is it? It’s an empty trophy, it’s an empty cup. That’s what it is. If you do nothing with it, it’s really pointless at the end of the day, so kudos to him for really stepping up and being a leader and not just a race car driver.”
Wallace had a strong long-run car in his Martinsville effort, rising up to challenge for position inside of the top-10 early on. He snagged a fifth-place finish in Stage 1, earned TV time along the way and battled seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson for 10th in the closing laps – just days after Wallace helped Johnson use his platform as part of the current social movement.
“I’ll tell you what, it was awesome to race with 7-Time there at the end,” Wallace said. “Jimmie Johnson has won so many times here and when we’re running him down – that’s hats off to my guys. Good job fellas.”
With his statement drive complete, Wallace will return to the busy life he’s been leading both at the track and away from it. He’s making an appearance on NBC’s “TODAY Show” as this story is being typed, and will have to make a quick turnaround to race again on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Such is the life of an athlete making the most of their opportunity and platform – both on the track and off of it.
Overheated
Austin Dillon was treated and released from the infield care center at Martinsville Speedway after being helped from his car with just 398 of 500 laps completed in Wednesday’s race.
Dillon was subjected to high heat and fumes during most of the event after his No. 3 Chevrolet lost a crush panel when it blew a right-rear tire on Lap 5.
“Right at the start of the race, we had a puncture in the right-rear tire and had to pit, which put us a couple of laps down,’ Dillon said. “It may have been cut from the very beginning of the race because as soon as we took the green flag, something felt off. Our Chevy remained really fast, and at times we were a half-second faster than the rest of the field. We just couldn’t catch a break to get our laps back with long green-flag runs tonight.
“We were also battling brutal temperatures in the cockpit because the crush panel got knocked out when the right-rear went down at the beginning of the race. Eventually, we had to retire early from the race. We had a really good car, so it’s a shame that had to happen.”
The 2018 Daytona 500 champion tried to continue on through the end of the race, but became dizzy and had to pull in and bring his night to an early end as the race dipped into the final 100 laps. His Richard Childress Racing crew helped him out of the car, and Dillon was placed on a stretcher before being taken to the infield care center for treatment.
He was classified in 37th at race’s end, dropping him outside of the playoff grid in 17th. But he emerged from the race with his health, with the largest lingering setback appearing to be an unfortunate blister.
“I got the bright idea to put an ice pack between my legs, and it melted and burnt my ass,” Dillon said. “Got a little blister down there on my left butt cheek, right next to my tattoo.”
Dillon arrived at Martinsville under the impression that he might have to leave the race early for a different reason. His wife, Whitney Dillon, is expecting the couple’s first child within the next few days. Saturday’s Xfinity Series winner, AJ Allmendinger, was on standby in case an early substitute was needed.
Long, hot night @MartinsvilleSwy but we had a fast #3 AstraZeneca Chevy #partner pic.twitter.com/8TaFLCGea2
— Austin Dillon (@austindillon3) June 11, 2020
Hero to zero and back
No driver was busier over their 500 laps on Wednesday night than polesitter Ryan Blaney.
Thankfully for the Team Penske ace, the three hours of hard work concluded with a strong end result.
Blaney led the field to green in Wednesday’s Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500, but lost the top spot in the opening lap to a strong outside drive from Aric Almirola. Things quickly got worse from there, with the inaugural Roval Cup winner dropping outside of the top-20 and falling a lap down to teammate Joey Logano before the Lap 60 competition caution.
“We started off really bad,” he said. “I mean, we went from starting on the pole to being a lap down in 60 laps. That’s kind of tough to do. We found a way to do that. We dug ourselves a hole early.”
The early struggles left Blaney in a bad spot, but his team quickly rallied. Early adjustments and the changing track conditions allowed the 26-year-old’s car to come to him, and he rose back onto the lead lap with by securing the free pass on a Lap 114 caution.
From here Blaney began to march forward. He ascended back into the top-five and snagged the lead on Lap 272, pacing 34 laps and emerging as a contender for the win the final stage. Unfortunately for Blaney the win wasn’t meant to be. He suffered a penalty on a round of pit stops when a crew member jumped over the wall too soon, and spent the final 150 laps clawing his way back to the front of the field.
A 97-lap green flag run concluded the race, and Blaney took advantage with a spirited charge through the field. He rose to second with 45 laps remaining and tried to reel in Truex, but didn’t have the pace to close the gap.
Blaney could have battled for the win with a late caution, but ultimately settled for second when one never came.
“(Truex) just got away from me,” Blaney said. “I couldn’t run him down. By the time I got to second, he was gone. My stuff was a little worn out, having to pass a lot of cars.”
Though he held the points lead early in the year, Blaney has flown under the radar in the late spring stint. He’s gone winless with new crew chief Todd Gordon while teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have two victories apiece.
Based on the promise his No. 12 team is shown, Blaney expects that to change in the near future.
“I thought it was going to be tonight,” he said. “You keep bringing speed like this every week, eventually you’re going to find a little bit more and be able to win the race. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing. I think it’s going to come soon.”
Other Notes
- Matt DiBenedetto quietly rose to seventh over the final run to score his third top-10 of the year with Wood Brothers Racing. That’s only one less than the now-retired Paul Menard managed in his entire 2019 campaign with the team.
- Racing can be a humbling industry. Just three days after his dominant win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick had his worst performance of 2020. The points leader came home a quiet 15th amid a difficult night for Stewart-Haas Racing.
- Joe Gibbs Racing also had a forgetful night outside of the race winner, with finishes of 19th (Kyle Busch), 20th (Erik Jones) and 24th (Denny Hamlin).
- Jimmie Johnson’s 70 laps led were the most he’s managed in a Cup race since his victory in the spring 2017 race at Bristol Motor Speedway, more than three years ago.
- Brad Keselowski only has two wins at Martinsville, but he’s a top-10 machine. The 2012 Cup champ has nine-consecutive top-10s at the paper clip, with eight of the results being fifth or better. He’s finished 10th or better in 15 of his 21 Martinsville starts.
- Kurt Busch’s consistent opening to 2020 saw him earn his eighth top-10s in 11 starts as of Wednesday. Busch’s 10.8 average finish to date would be the best in his Cup career if he can maintain it through the rest of the season.
- Michael McDowell is also quietly off to the best start of his Cup career. The Front Row Motorsports veteran has three top-15 finishes in 11 races, only two fewer than he managed in the entirety of 2019. McDowell’s 20.3 average finish would be the best of his career by nearly two positions, and his 24th-place spot in the standings is six positions better than he was through this many races in both 2018 and ’19.
- Ryan Newman came home a quiet 12th after a long night at Martinsville, tallying his best finish since his harrowing crash in the Daytona 500. Newman has finished between 12th and 15th in five of seven starts since returning to action at Darlington Raceway in May.
