NASCAR goes short trackin’ with the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway and for the first time the Cup drivers will race at night.  For the first time in its 73 year history, Martinsville will see a race on a Wednesday night under the lights.

In the name of safety, NASCAR continues to set the field with no practice or qualifying runs.  As a result, the field was set by car owner points and a random draw.  Penske Racing driver Ryan Blaney will sit on the pole and bring the field to the green flag.

Stages one and two of the race are 130 laps each with stage three lasting 240 laps for a total of 500 laps around the half mile track known as the paperclip.

And a unique track deserves a unique trophy; the winner of the race at Martinsville gets a grandfather clock.  The first race was run in 1949, making Martinsville the oldest active track on the NASCAR circuit.

Richard Petty Motorsports has traded in the Petty Blue paint scheme this week for a black car marking Black Lives Matter.  RPM and driver Bubba Wallace designed the car that features a peace sign and black and white hands clasping together on the hood.

The starting lineup for the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500:
Ryan Blaney
Aric Almirola
Joey Logano
Clint Bowyer
Martin Truex Jr
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Busch
Alex Bowman
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
Erik Jones
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
John Hunter Nemechek
Matt DiBenedetto
Matt Kenseth
Jimmie Johnson
Austin Dillon
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Corey LaJoie
JJ Yeley
Cole Custer
Ryan Preece
Michael McDowell
Ty Dillon
Brennan Poole
Christopher Bell
David Starr
Quin Houff
Garrett Smithley
Joey Gase
Daniel Suarez
Timmy Hill
Reed Sorenson

Richard Petty leads the list of wins at Martinsville with 15 followed by Darrell Waltrip with eleven.  FOX broadcaster and Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon has nine wins; as well as, Jimmie Johnson who leads the list of active drivers.

NASCAR has called for a competition caution on lap 60.  Drivers may not fuel their cars until the competition caution.

With a pit road that circles nearly the whole track, it’s a bit tricky getting down pit road and hitting their marks; and pit road speed is only 30mph.

Joey Gase had to serve a pass through penalty at the start of the race after his car failed pre-race inspection five times.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of the race but it is Ari Almirola from the outside lane that gets out in front for the lead.

Austin Dillon falls back in the field with a possible flat tire.

Lap four, Arick Almirola has the lead wit Ryan Blaney in second; Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap five Austin Dillon brings out the first caution flag of the race for a flat tire.  Austin has more than a race to worry about, he and his wife are on baby watch.  A boy they will name Ace is due anytime; AJ Allmendinger is standing by to fill in for Dillon should he need to leave.

Aric Almirola brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 13 and edges out Ryan Blaney for the lead; Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 15 Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano battle it out for second with Aric Almirola in the lead.

Lap 16 the top five are Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney.

Ryan Newman’s team reports that he has a tire rub.

Lap 19, Aric Almirola holds on to his narrow lead on Joey Logano; Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch round out the top five.

Lap 20, Joey Logano passes Aric Almirola for the lead with Martin Truex Jr in second; Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.

Lap 24, Austin Dillon is the only car not on the lead lap, two laps down.

Joey Logano has pulled out to a half second lead on Martin Truex Jr; Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Corey LaJoie has his face on the hood of his car again; and this time, he is wearing a mask.

Lap 28, Joey Logano now has a lead of nearly two seconds on Martin Truex Jr; Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Busch round out the top five with 37 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 31, Joey Logano continues to increase his lead with Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

Lap 39, Joey Logano has a lead of nearly four seconds on Chase Elliott and is encountering slower traffic; Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Kurt Busch round out the top five.

Garrett Smithley has taken his car to pit road.

Kyle Busch is reporting some possible brake issues.

Several of the drivers have fallen back in the field by 15 to 25 spots.

Lap 45, Joey Logano’s lead is down to under three seconds on Chase Elliott.

Back on the track, Garrett Smithley has some brake issues and gets his car down pit road; the track stays green.

Lap 48, Joey Logano has a three second lead on Chase Elliott; Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt DiBenedetto round out the top five.  There are only 23 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 50, Joey Logano has pulled out to a lead of over four seconds on Chase Elliott with 22 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 54, Joey Logano’s lead is now nearly five seconds over Chase Elliott; Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt DiBenedetto round out the top five with 20 cars on the lead lap with Garrett Smithley the only driver off the track.

Lap 57, with 19 cars on the lead lap, Joey Logano has a near five second lead on Chase Elliott; Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto, and William Byron round out the top five.

There are only 17 cars on the lead lap.

When NASCAR puts out the competition caution flag at the end of lap 61, it erased a lead of over five seconds by Joey Logano.

Drivers bring their cars down pit road for service and adjustments.

Joey Logano wins the race off of pit road.

Kyle Busch has made multiple trips down pit road with brake issues.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 69 and battles it out with Chase Elliott for the lead.

Joey Logano holds on to his lead; Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 75, Joey Logano has a half second lead on Clint Bowyer; Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kurt Busch round out the top five with 20 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 80, Joey Logano holds on to his half second lead on Clint Bowyer; Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, and William Byron round out the top five.

Lap 85, Bubba Wallace enters the top 10.  Joey Logano has a half second lead on Clint Bowyer; Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch ,and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Garrett Smithley has returned to the track 39 laps down.  All 39 cars that started the race are on the track with 19 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 90, Joey Logano has a lead of over half a second on Clint Bowyer; Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Lap 95, Joey Logano has increased his lead over Clint Bowyer to over a second; Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Thirty laps to go in stage one, Joey Logano has a lead of over a second on Clint Bowyer; Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Kevin Harvick’s team is reporting some battery issues.

Denny Hamlin is reporting some overheating issues in his car.

Lap 105, Joey Logano has pulled out to a lead of a second and a half on Clint Bowyer; Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr, and William Byron round out the top five. With 19 cars on the lead lap.

Twenty laps to go in stage one, Joey Logano has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds; Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five with 19 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 113, the caution flag comes out after Timmy Hill gets stalled on pit road.

Lead lap cars come down pit road for fresh tires and service with Bubba Wallace winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.

After staying out on the track, Corey LaJoie brings the field to the green flag restart with just 10 laps remaining in stage one.  Eight drivers took the wave around and are back on the lead lap.  Corey LaJoie gets out in front for the lead as drivers are getting three wide across the track.

Joey Logano passes Corey LaJoie for the lead; Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson,, Core LaJoie, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

With just six laps remaining in stage one, the drivers are getting aggressive and running three wide across the track as they vie for position.

Joey Logano has a half second lead on Clint Bowyer; Jimmie Johnson round out the top five.

Joey Logano wins stage one with a lead of over half a second for his third stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Joey Logano
Clint Bowyer
Jimmie Johnson
Martin Truex Jr
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
Matt DiBenedetto
William Byron

Coming out of his pit stall, Bubba Wallace avoided a near disaster when he made contact with Ryan Preece.

Martin Truex Jr was charged with a commitment line violation and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Austin Dillon was also charged with a commitment line violation.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 141 and jumps out in front for the lead; Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Matt DiBenedetto, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.

During the pit stop, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr’s teams were busy making repairs after the drivers had made contact with someone at some point.

Lap 151, Joey Logano has a lead of over  Matt DiBenedetto, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace has an issue with his car that will hinder the teams making pit stops and slow them down.

Lap 162, Joey Logano has a lead of over a second on Clint Bowyer; Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Matt DiBenedetto round out the top five.

There are 22 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 168, Joey Logano has a lead of over a second on Jimmie Johnson; Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

In seventh place, pole sitter Ryan Blaney is running the fastest laps on the track.

Lap 171, the top five are Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Chase Elliott.

Timmy Hill is the only driver out of the race.

Lap 175, Joey Logano has dominated the race leading nearly every lap so far; Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.  There are 22 cars on the lead lap.

Unlike stage one, Joey Logano has not been able to run away from the field so far in stage two.  While he has a lead of nearly a second and a half on Jimmie Johnson, he has not been able to pull out to multiple second leads.

Lap 184, Joey Logano has a lead of over a second and a half on Jimmie Johnson; Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 193, with Joey Logano out in front by nearly a second, the drivers are getting three wide across the track; Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 197, Jimmie Johnson has caught up to leader Joey Logano and is challenging for the lead as the drivers battle lapped traffic.

Lap 200, Jimmie Johnson is on leader Joey Logano’s bumper looking to take the lead.  With Johnson alongside, the drivers go nose to nose.  Jimmie Johnson takes the lead on lap 202.  The nine time Martinsville winner is in his last season as a full time Cup driver.

Lap 204, the top five are Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott.

Lap 208, since taking the lead, Jimmie Johnson is beginning to pull away from Joey Logano and now has a lead of over half a second.

Lap 216, Jimmie Johnson has pulled out to a lead of a second on Joey Logano; Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott round out the top five with 22 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 219, Jimmie Johnson has pulled out to a lead of a second and a half on Joey Logano.

Lap 222, Jimmie Johnson now has a two second lead on Ryan Blaney; Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman round out the top five with 21 cars on the lead lap.  Timmy Hill remains the only driver out of the race.

Beginning to run away with it, Jimmie Johnson has pulled out to a three second lead on Ryan Blaney; Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

So far Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Quin Houff are the only two drivers who have been caught speeding on pit road.

With 30 laps to go in stage two, Jimmie Johnson has a two and a half second lead on Ryan Blaney – who has been consistently running the fastest lap times; Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Twenty to go in stage two, Jimmie Johnson leads the way with Ryan Blaney is second; Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five with 19 cars on the lead lap.

Fifteen to go, Jimmie Johnson has a lead of over a second and a half on Ryan Blaney; Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five with Bubba Wallace in sixth place.

Lap 249, there are 17 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 252, Ryan Blaney has begun to cut into Jimmie Johnson’s lead; Johnson now has a lead of a second and a half on Blaney.  Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 258, with just 16 cars on the lead lap, Jimmie Johnson has a lead of just over a second on Ryan Blaney.

Jimmie Johnson wins stage two for his first Martinsville stage win and only his third career stage win.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Jimmie Johnson
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Alex Bowman
Kevin Harvick
Bubba Wallace
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Kurt Busch
Tyler Reddick

Even though the sun has gone down, ice is the biggest request on pit road.

William Byron was charged with an uncontrolled tire on pit road.

Reed Sorenson was caught speeding on pit road.

Jimmie Johnson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 272 and battles nose to nose with Ryan Blaney.

Lap 274, Ryan Blaney gets the lead from Jimmie Johnson with Joey Logano taking second; Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

There are only 16 cars on the lead lap.

Alex Bowman has a tire rub.

Ryan Newman also has a  tire rub.

Lap 280, Ryan Blaney has a lead of less than half a second on Joey Logano; Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

With a stage of 240 laps, the drivers cannot complete the lap on a single fuel load; drivers can only run about 150 laps on a single fuel load.

Lap 284, Joey Logano passes Ryan Blaney to retake the lead; Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, and Jimmie Johnson round out the top five.

Lap 299, Joey Logano has a half second lead on Ryan Blaney; Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, and Jimmie Johnson round out the top five.  They may be tow laps down, but the Dillon brothers are still battling each other for position and swapping a lot of paint in the process.

Lap 304, all three of the Penske Racing cars are in the top five with Joey Logano leading the way, Ryan Blaney is in second, and Brad Keselowski is now in fourth.

Lap 306, with 16 cars on the lead lap, Ryan Blaney takes the lead from Joey Logano; Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 310, Ryan Blaney has a lead of just over half a second on team mate Joey Logano with the third Penske driver Brad Keselowski in third; Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 319, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over half a second on Joey Logano; Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson round out the top five.

The caution flag comes out on lap 324 when David Starr spins out after making contact with Erik Jones.  Clint Bowyer is the “lucky dog” in 17th place.

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Joey Logano wins the race off of pit road with Brad Keselowski coming out second.

Ryan Blaney had a slow pit stop after a tire changer dropped the air gun.  Ryan Blaney was penalized for having a crew member come over the pit wall too soon and will have to restart from the back of the field.  Crew members are allowed to come over the wall when the driver is just one pit stop away.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 333 with Logano getting out in front for the lead with Brad Keselowski in second; Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Lap 341, Joey Logano has a half second lead on team mate Brad Keselowski; Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr, and Jimmie Johnson round out the top five.

Lap 348, Brad Keselowski has caught up to Joey Logano and is challenging for the lead; third place driver Chase Elliott is making it a three way battle.

Lap 353, Joey Logano holds on to the lead with Brad Keselowski on his bumper and Chase Elliott in third.

Lap 355, leaders encounter lapped traffic.

Lap 357, Brad Keselowski continues to battle Joey Logano for the lead, but so far Logano has held him off.

Aric Almirola is on pit road for a battery change.

Lap 362, Martin Truex Jr has made it a four way battle as the drivers encounter heavy traffic.

Lap 364, the top five are Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, Chase Elliott, and Kevin Harvick.

Lap 365, Brad Keselowski takes the lead with Martin Truex Jr in second; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 368, Brad Keselowski has increased his lead to a third of a second on Martin Truex Jr; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 370, Martin Truex Jr passes Brad Keselowski for the lead.

Lap 375, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Brad Keselowski; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 380, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly a second on Brad Keselowski; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Lap 389, Martin Truex Jr has encountered heavy traffic and has allowed second place driver Brad Keselowski to catch up; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Lap 392, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Brad Keselowski; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman round out the top five with Jimmie Johnson in sixth.  There are 17 cars on the lead lap.

Quin Houff brings the caution flag on lap 397 when he gets into the wall.  Corey LaJoie is the “lucky dog” in 18th place.

With only 101 laps remaining in the race, this could be the final pit stop for the teams.

Martin Truex Jr wins the race off of pit road with Brad Keselowski out second.

With only 98 laps remaining in the race, Martin Truex Jr brings the field down for the green flag restart and holds on to the lead with Joey Logano in second.

Austin Dillon has been helped out of his car after dealing with some extra heat issues when the crush panels were damaged early in the race due to a flat tire.

Drivers are getting three wide across the track as the laps count down.

With 92 laps remaining in the race, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly half a second on Joey Logano; Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

With 18 cars on the lead lap, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over half a second on Joey Logano; Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Getting attention from the health care officials, Austin Dillon becomes just the third driver out of the race.

Eighty to go, Martin Truex Jr continues to lead the race by over half a second on Joey Logano; Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Clint Bowyer is also reporting some battery issues.

With 75 laps remaining in the race, Martin Truex Jr has a one second lead on Joey Logano; Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Seventy to go, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Joey Logano; Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 434, Martin Truex Jr has increased his lead to over a second and a half on Joey Logano; Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

It has been nearly two years since a driver other than a member of Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing has won a short track race.

Lap 443, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Joey Logano; Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 245, Brad Keselowski gets around team mate Joey Logano for second place.  Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly three seconds.

Only 50 laps remain in the race, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly three seconds on Brad Keselowski; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 456, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over three seconds on Ryan Blaney; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.  There are just 16 cars on the lead lap.

With 39 laps to go, Ryan Blaney has cut into Martin Truex Jr’s lead which is now under three seconds; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out to the top five.

Thirty five to go and there are only 15 cars on the lead lap.  Martin Truex Jr has again increased his lead to over three seconds.

Thirty to go, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of nearly four seconds on Ryan Blaney; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five with 15 cars on the lead lap.

Only 25 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr has a four second lead on Ryan Blaney; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Aric Almirola makes an unscheduled pit stop.

Twenty to go, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over four seconds on Ryan Blaney; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Cole Custer comes down pit road.

Fifteen to go, Martine Truex Jr has increased his lead to nearly five seconds on Ryan Blaney; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five with 15 cars on the lead lap.  Bubba Wallace and his “Black Lives Matter” car are just outside the top 10 in eleventh.

Ten to go, Martin Truex Jr has a four and a half second lead on Ryan Blaney.

Five to go, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over four seconds on Ryan Blaney; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr takes the white flag.

With a lead of over four seconds, Martin Truex Jr wins the first NASCAR Cup race under the lights in Martinsville to make it two in a row and four of the past six races.

The unofficial results of the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500:
Martin Truex Jr
Ryan Blaney
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Alex Bowman
Matt DiBenedetto
William Byron
Kurt Busch
Jimmie Johnson
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Newman
Chris Buescher
Michael McDowell
Kevin Harvick
Tyler Reddick
Clint Bowyer
Corey LaJoie
Kyle Busch
Erik Jones
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Matt Kenseth
Denny Hamlin
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Preece
Daniel Suarez
Christopher Bell
Cole Custer
Brennan Poole
JJ Yeley
David Starr
Aric Almirola
Quin Houff
Joey Gase
Garrett Smithley
Austin Dillon
Reed Sorenson
Timmy Hill