MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA – JUNE 10: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #19 SiriusXM Toyota, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on June 10, 2020 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Martin Truex Jr captures first win of the NASCAR Cup Series 2020 season at Martinsville Speedway in the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500.
The NASCAR Cup Series continued with more weeknight racing at Martinsville Speedway. The speedway installed lights back in 2017, and it was the first time they had a chance to use them for the cup series. With great racing and great visuals, the only thing missing from the Wednesday night race was the fans.
First Stage
Ryan Blaney shared the front row with Aric Almirola, and it was Almirola jumping out to the early lead.
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA – JUNE 10: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #19 SiriusXM Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on June 10, 2020, in Martinsville, Virginia. Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Martin Truex Jr Seizes Victory at Martinsville for first NASCAR Cup Series win in the 2020 season.
Martin Truex Jr. seizes a victory for Joe Gibbs Racing on Wednesday night under the lights. It was his second consecutive win at Martinsville Speedway after also winning there last fall. Ultimately Truex was able to cruise to a 4.232-second victory in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 over a super competitive Team Penske trio of cars.
HAMPTON, GEORGIA – JUNE 07: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light For The Farmers Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 07, 2020 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Coming off the race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee a week ago, the NASCAR Cup Series headed to Georgia’s Atlanta Motor Speedway for Sunday’s race. The 1.54-mile track is known for rough pavement and fast speeds. Similar to Auto Club Speedway, the pit window is cut down because tire wear shows up quickly.
The First Stage
Chase Elliott held the pole and was able to jump out to a nice lead. He led up to the competition caution on lap 25. All drivers came down pit road for servicing and Joey Logano won the race off pit road.
Logano jumped to the bottom on the restart, but it was Kevin Harvick who followed him and made an early pass for the lead. The field fell into a single file with Harvick at the point. He was the first to come to pit road for green-flag pit stops.
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 17: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, celebrates after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Homestead Speedway on November 17, 2019, in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
For one final time this season, the boys of NASCAR’s Cup Series fire the engines for the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway to race four hundred miles to see who will be crowned the champion. It has been an incredible season, and now four of the best drivers to ever do it will have a shot at the trophy.
Denny Hamlin started on the pole, but it was Kevin Harvick with the fast start. He jumped out front and quickly moved away from the field. Martin Truex Jr. was able to move past Hamlin into the second-place position, and he quickly tracked down Harvick in the lead. On lap 21, Truex Jr. made the pass on Harvick as Harvick was losing some long-run speed.
On lap 36, green-flag stops began to filter through. Harvick and Kyle Busch both came down first with Hamlin and Truex Jr. following on the next lap. Truex Jr. cycled back into the lead with now a four-second lead over the field. Truex Jr. continued to increase his lead as the rest of stage one ran green. With no one contending for the lead, Truex Jr. easily won the first stage of the race.
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 17: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, races Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead Speedway on November 17, 2019, in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
The Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway often is decided by a short run to the finish. That’s was part of the game plan developed by driver Kevin Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers.
Unfortunately for the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team, the entire third stage was run without caution, and the final 101-lap green-flag run prevented Harvick from using the short-run speed built into his Ford.
Starting second at the beginning of the race, Harvick streaked ahead of polesitter Denny Hamlin and led the first 20 laps before eventual race runner-up Martin Truex Jr. ran him down. After a restart on Lap 13, Harvick again went to the point and stayed out front for 13 laps but couldn’t hold the position.
