Posted on by Staff Report

Capitol Records recording artist Devon Gilfillian will sing the national anthem tonight prior to the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup for Martinsville | Martinsville 101

NASCAR fans will recognize Gilfillian from his single “Get Out & Get It,” which was featured on the NASCAR on FOX broadcast last Sunday during the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway. Gilfillian’s debut album, Black Hole Rainbow, is available now.

Wednesday’s race at Martinsville marks the seventh event in NASCAR’s return to racing following a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the first-ever regularly-scheduled NASCAR Cup Series event at the speedway to be held under the lights.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville, Virginia, for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown postponed its original scheduled date in May. Martinsville Speedway will play host to Wednesday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

As with other events held since NASCAR returned to action after the coronavirus outbreak, the 263-mile race will take place without fans in attendance, and only a limited amount of essential personnel will be permitted on the track’s grounds. It will mark the seventh Cup Series race in NASCAR’s return and the 11th race overall this season.

Here’s everything you need to know with helpful information on the track’s first official race under the lights at NASCAR’s highest level.

RELATED: How to follow the races | Schedule for Martinsville

TRACK DETAILS

Martinsville Speedway is a .526-mile oval that held its first NASCAR Cup Series event on September 25, 1949, the oldest track on the circuit. Red Byron was the winner of the race.

With an 800-foot frontstretch and backstretch, each 588-foot turn is banked at just 11 degrees. The turns also feature a concrete preferred bottom groove, while the upper grooves and straightaways are asphalt.

Wednesday night’s 500-lap race will be the 143rd race for NASCAR’s top division on the Virginia track.

RELATED: Historic moments at Martinsville

STAGE LENGTHS

Stage 1 is set to end at Lap 130, Stage 2 at Lap 260, and the final stage is slated to conclude on Lap 500.

STARTING LINEUP

Wednesday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 will be held without practice and qualifying as NASCAR tries to limit exposure for on-site personnel to control the spread of coronavirus. The lineup was determined by a random draw among groups in the team owner standings:

  • Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points

Ryan Blaney will start on the pole in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang alongside Aric Almirola in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang.

MORE: Starting lineup for Martinsville

Pit-stall selection will be ordered based on finishing positions from the NASCAR Cup Series’ previous race — last Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway — followed by new entries in order of points.

For more information about starting-lineup procedures for national-series races scheduled without qualifying, click here.

RULES PACKAGE

In March, NASCAR officials introduced a reduced-downforce package designed to enhance competition on road courses and the circuit’s shorter oval tracks. The changes include significantly smaller spoilers, splitters and other aerodynamic devices in an effort to place a greater emphasis on handling and driver input with less stabilizing downforce on those tracks. The package draws inspiration from similar rules used in the 2017-18 seasons.

Among the changes for those specific tracks:

  • A significantly smaller rear spoiler, which shrinks from an 8-inch height to 2.75 inches.
  • The front splitter’s overhang will now measure a quarter-inch (down from 2 inches), with approximately 2-inch wings (reduced from 10.5 inches).
  • Alterations to the radiator pan, removing its vertical fencing in an effort to reduce front-end downforce. The dimensions of the pan remain the same.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Unique set of challenges: Wednesday’s stop at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway presents one similar challenge and one that is quite different, compared to the series’ first short-track race of the year at Bristol Motor Speedway. Similar to Bristol, Martinsville’s corners are concrete, and the tread compounds Goodyear chooses to bring are specifically designed to lay rubber on that surface. The difference is the banking as Martinsville is virtually flat while Bristol is steeply banked. As a result, the constructions of these two tire codes have been designed to optimize the acceleration, deceleration and handling needed on Martinsville’s flat, tight turns. Also of note, since this is the first night race at Martinsville, the Goodyear test at this track last summer that yielded this tire setup was held partially under the track’s new lights.

“Moving the first Martinsville race later in the schedule will have an impact on tires and the track’s ability to take rubber,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Originally scheduled for May and now being held in June, ambient temperatures will be warmer, which will help the cars’ ability to lay rubber in the concrete corners. Even though this race will be held at night, track temperatures should be warmer than what we ‘normally’ have for this event. In addition to the concrete corners, Martinsville’s lack of banking, long straightaways and tight turns combine for the other challenge teams face. Drivers are hard on the brakes entering the corners and hard on the gas exiting, so our constructions have to be very robust in handling those conditions.”

Goodyear debuts new tire setup: There are two new tire codes NASCAR Cup teams will run at Martinsville Speedway. Compared to what was run at this track last season, this tire setup features construction updates on both sides of the car and compound changes on both sides that will give the cars more grip and introduce more tire wear. This tire setup came out of a test at Martinsville last July. Drivers, and teams who participated in that test were Team Penske (Ryan Blaney), Stewart-Haas Racing (Clint Bowyer) and Wood Brothers Racing (Paul Menard). This is the only track where NASCAR teams will run either of these two tire codes. Also, like most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Martinsville.

STATS TO KNOW

— Both Martinsville Speedway winners in 2019 swept all three stages. Brad Keselowski won both stages and the race in the spring and Martin Truex Jr. won both stages and the race in the fall.

— Team Penske (three) and Joe Gibbs Racing (two) won five of the last six at Martinsville Speedway.

— Ford drivers have won four of the last six races at Martinsville Speedway after the manufacturer failed to win any of the prior 28 races. Brad Keselowski won two of the last six Martinsville races and is the only repeat winner in the last seven races there. Chevrolet has 56 Martinsville wins but has won only once in the last eight races.

— The last five Martinsville Speedway races were won by the driver who led the most laps, while the last five winners led a stretch of over 100 laps in each of their victories. Two of the last five races ended with a last-lap pass; the final lead change in the other three races was with 114 laps to go or more.

— Only once in the last seven Martinsville Speedway races has a driver earned their first win of the season. Clint Bowyer accomplished the feat in the spring 2018 race.

— The past five races at Martinsville Speedway have produced five different winners — Kyle Busch (fall 2017), Clint Bowyer (spring 2018), Joey Logano (fall 2018), Brad Keselowski (spring 2019) and Martin Truex Jr. (fall 2019).

Source: NASCAR statistics, Racing Insights 

LIVE COVERAGE

Tune in Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET to television coverage from Martinsville Speedway on FS1 and the FOX Sports App. For full radio coverage, listen in to MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on-air. 

RELATED: Ways to follow the races

For a more interactive experience, head over to NASCAR.com or the NASCAR app to check out an enhanced Race Center, live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the customizable live leaderboard with Scanner (which is FREE for both races), and the return of Drive (featuring in-car cameras).

Be sure to set your lineup in Fantasy Live and make your picks in the NASCAR Finish Line App.

2019 RACE WINNER

Brad Keselowski, who has already won two races in 2020, took his No. 2 Team Penske Ford to Victory Lane in last season’s first of two trips to Martinsville Speedway. Keselowski led a dominating 446 of the 500 total laps and finished with a .594-second margin of victory over Chase Elliott. Keselowski also won the spring race at the track in 2017.

RELATED: 2019 STP 500 recap

ACTIVE MARTINSVILLE WINNERS

Jimmie Johnson (nine); Denny Hamlin (five); Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch (two); Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman (one)

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

Martinsville Speedway is my favorite racetrack on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Whenever someone asks for my perfect hypothetical Cup Series schedule, my reply is, “36 races at Martinsville.” Martinsville is old school in every way: short, flat, tight and bumpers are not only encouraged, they’re required to make passes.

Wednesday’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (7 p.m. ET, FS1) will also be the first Cup Series night race at Martinsville, so expect plenty of bumping and banging under the lights.

In order to zero in on my best for Martinsville, I’m leaning heavily on results from 2018, which were run with a race package similar to what teams will use.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@PJWalsh24) for any additional bets I add for Martinsville.

NASCAR at Martinsville Odds, Betting Picks

*Odds as of Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET

Kyle Busch (+460) to win at Martinsville

When it comes to Martinsville, Kyle Busch is the first name that comes to mind. Over his last nine races at the track known as “The Paperclip,” Busch has two wins and eight top-five finishes.

More specifically, Busch also had the best car at Martinsville in 2018.

In those two races, Busch had the best average finish, ran the most fast laps, had the best average running position and the best driver rating.

And the icing on the cake? Busch finished second at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Sunday, meaning his team will have the second pick when selecting its pit stall. Considering the importance of track position and Martinsville’s tight pit road, this could be the difference between winning and losing.

Denny Hamlin (+700) to win at Martinsville

I’m having a hard time separating Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. If two options are viewed equally, it makes sense to simply take the one with the best odds/potential payout. In this case, that option is Hamlin.

In 2018 at Martinsville, Hamlin had the second-best average running position, ran the second-most fast laps and led the fourth-most laps.

And while this is certainly more subjective than the numbers above, Goodyear is bringing a softer tire to Martinsville with the goal being more wear and falloff later in green-flag runs.

A high-horsepower, low-downforce race with excessive tire wear is right in Hamlin’s wheelhouse at Martinsville, making him a very attractive option at 7-1.

Clint Bowyer (+2000) to win at Martinsville

Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing prior to the start of the 2017 season, Bowyer has one win and four top-seven finishes in six races at Martinsville.

And more importantly, that win came in the spring of 2018. In fact, Bowyer had the third-best driver rating over both Martinsville races that season.

Bowyer also finished fifth at Phoenix Raceway earlier this year, another flat track that used the same package teams will race at Martinsville.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. AND RALEIGH, N.C. (June 10, 2020) – As NASCAR Weekly Series sanctioned events begin to return at select tracks across North America, NASCAR and Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP), a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider, today announced a multiyear official partnership, designating Advance Auto Parts as the series entitlement sponsor. As part of the agreement, Advance also becomes the “Official Auto Parts Retailer of NASCAR.”

“It’s great to have Advance join us in welcoming the return of NASCAR-sanctioned grassroots racing,” said Ben Kennedy, vice president, racing development, NASCAR. “Advance’s commitment to our Weekly Series will develop some of the brightest NASCAR talent across North America. Advance has a long history in racing, and we’re thrilled to see its expanded presence from the grassroots all the way through our national series.”

MORE: Full Grassroots coverage

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series is one of the oldest series in NASCAR, where champions are crowned at NASCAR-sanctioned Home Tracks. The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series was paused in mid-March due to COVID-19 and recently returned with sanctioned events at select tracks beginning June 6.

The series is run at nearly 60 NASCAR-sanctioned Home Tracks throughout the United States and Canada. NASCAR Home Tracks are a group of local short tracks sanctioned by NASCAR.

“Drivers and race fans in North America have not been able to attend their local tracks due to COVID-19. We are excited to be partnering with NASCAR and the NASCAR Weekly Series to support tracks, drivers and fans as they resume live racing this year,” said Jason McDonell, Advance’s chief marketing officer. “We are committed to helping our customers advance in our stores, online and with this multiyear partnership with NASCAR. We are passionate about advancing local communities where we serve, and through this sponsorship we’ll be able to help grow racing at the grassroots level while supporting the next generation of champions.”

Race fans can catch select NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series races live and on-demand via TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold, the new streaming service from NASCAR and NBC Sports. NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series races are part of the NASCAR Roots package for $2.99/month or $19.99/annually. The full TrackPass package, which includes NASCAR Roots, IMSA and American Flat Track events is available for $4.99/month or $44.99/year. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold will be available on desktop web browsers and via the NBC Sports app on iOS and Android phones and tablets, Apple TV (Gen 4), Roku, Amazon Fire TV, AndroidTV, Xfinity X1, Xfinity Flex and Chromecast devices connected via HDMI.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

Just like it did with essential personnel this past month, NASCAR will require guests attending the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway to follow strict at-track safety precautions as the world continues to battle the COVID-19 outbreak.

Guests have not been allowed into any national series events since the coronavirus forced a pause on all three schedules back in March. The sanctioning body announced Tuesday a limited number of guests will be permitted to attend the Dixie Vodka 400 on Sunday in Florida and the GEICO 500 on June 21 in Alabama. All guests will be screened before entering, required to wear face masks, mandated to social distance and are forbidden from the infield, among other new safety protocols.

RELATED: NASCAR reveals plan to welcome back guests

“The race-day experience will be different, it’s just different times, and fans will have to adjust that,” said Daryl Wolfe, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President, Chief Operations and Sales Officer. “We will have to adjust on how we’re addressing these issues for fans. We think we have a very, very good plan in place — a very detailed plan — but make no mistake, I’m sure there will be some key learnings coming out of Homestead that then we will reapply and adjust for Talladaga.”

That’s how NASCAR has gone about every race since the sport returned to action on May 17 at Darlington Raceway — adjusting where needed, when needed with a scrutinous eye on safety. There have been six Cup Series events since then. None of them had practice. Only one had qualifying. A revised 2020 schedule has been planned out through Aug. 2, featuring midweek shows and weekend doubleheaders.

Homestead will invite up to 1,000 South Florida service members. The 1.5-mile track’s grandstand has 55,000 seats.

Talladega will welcome 5,000 fans. NASCAR’s longest oval at 2.66 miles can hold about 80,000 people in its main grandstand alone.

“It is so dependent on the local communities, advice from medical experts, working directly with governor’s offices,” Wolfe said. “Candidly, frankly, in some states there is more flexibility than in other states. ​Having said that, we can probably be more aggressive with some of these numbers, but we’re choosing not to. We want to start very small, learn and then adapt.”

Concessions will be open since outside coolers will not be allowed for safety reasons. Face masks will be available to guests who do not bring their own. Hand sanitizing and washing will be encouraged with stations easily accessible. There will be a cleaning team visibly working throughout the event in public areas.

Modified event procedures, specifically when it comes to health safety, have been finalized with guidance from multiple credible sources — inside and outside the industry.

“What we’ve been doing is we’ve reached out and have an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist. We’ve actually talked to several of those,” NASCAR Vice President of Racing Operations John Bobo said. “​What we find is we also need our physicians that we’ve worked with for years through our consulting group that understand racing.  We can get the best advice from infectious disease specialists, but also talk to physicians who are actively treating COVID patients and apply it to racing.

“​A lot of sets of eyeballs, a lot of people weighing in. We try to be thoughtful, listen, put that all together. ”

NASCAR officials have not determined whether guests will be allowed beyond the Talladega event. Wolfe said he knows it has been announced that Pocono Raceway, which is next on the schedule after Talladega, will not have outside attendees, but that the issue will be addressed further when the time comes.

Wolfe and Bobo both acknowledged how important it is to get this next step in NASCAR’s return-to-racing plan right. They also know fans are probably the most important step back toward normalcy.

“Oh, I miss them a lot,” Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin said before the return announcement. “To me, I miss the pre-race stuff as much as anything. … Going out to driver intros, fans are either rooting you on or cussing you out. I mean, I’ll take a few cuss-outs here now. I don’t even care. I just want to hear something.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty Motorsports revealed a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme for the No. 43 Chevrolet on Tuesday. Wallace, who has been outspoken about the civil unrest centered around racial inequality and NASCAR’s place in the national conversation, will run the paint scheme for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Wednesday night at Martinsville Speedway (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Wallace had significant input on the paint scheme that was revealed on RPM’s social media channels.

“I’m excited for this opportunity to run #BlackLivesMatter on the car for Martinsville,” Wallace said in a video posted on Richard Petty Motorsports’ Twitter handle.

“This statement that we have right here. … Running this race car. Being on live television. I think it’s going to speak volumes for what I stand for, but also what the initiative that NASCAR, the whole sport, is trying to push.”

“I think the two fists — the black fist and the white fist — going hand in hand speaks volumes, says a lot. Has a lot of power behind it,” Wallace said.

The Virginia track affectionately known as the “Paperclip” was where Wallace, who came up through NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, won his first national series race in 2013 while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

Martinsville also is significant historically in that it is near the home of Danville, Virginia, native Wendell Scott, the only African-American driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race and a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Wallace has been a leader in the discussions among NASCAR drivers about social justice. Wallace and Ty Dillon held such a talk last week on Instagram Live, and Dillon later said he would not be afraid on his platforms to stand up for his beliefs.

Before the Cup Series race on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, drivers collaborated on a video titled “I will listen and learn,” and NASCAR President Steve Phelps took a moment before the start of the competition to discuss the need for change.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR issued three lug-nut penalties in the Xfinity Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series following races at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend.

In the Xfinity Series, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was found with one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check after Brandon Jones drove the car to an eighth-place finish in the EchoPark 250. The No. 19 crew chief, Jeff Meendering, was fined $5,000 per Sections 10.9.10.4: Tires and Wheels of the NASCAR rule book.

RELATED: Xfinity Series race results | Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race results

In the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, both the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota driven by Christian Eckes to a third-place finish and the No. 56 Hill Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Timmy Hill to a 22nd-place finish were each found to have one lug nut not safely secured in post-race check after the Vet Tix Camping World 200. Both crew chiefs, Ryan Fugle (No. 18) and Greg Ely (No. 56), have been fined $2,500 per Sections 10.9.10.4: Tires and Wheels of the NASCAR rule book.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 9, 2020) — NASCAR today announced its plan to reintroduce guests at select NASCAR Cup Series races beginning with the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (June 14 on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (June 21 on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR’s modified event procedures, protocols and number of attendees have been finalized with guidance from public health officials, medical experts and local, state and federal officials. All guests in attendance will be screened before entering, required to wear face coverings, mandated to social distance at 6 feet, and will not have access to the infield, among other revised operational protocols. NASCAR will continue to adapt and improve its procedures to ensure they are effective and can be scaled to support an increased number of fans in the future.

“We have tremendous respect and appreciation for the responsibility that comes with integrating guests back into our events,” said Daryl Wolfe, Executive Vice President, Chief Operations and Sales Officer, NASCAR. “We believe implementing this methodical process is an important step forward for the sport and the future of live sporting events. The passion and unwavering support of our industry and fans is the reason we race each weekend and we look forward to slowly and responsibly welcoming them back at select events.”

NASCAR will continue its long history of honoring military members by welcoming them as the first guests allowed entrance to a NASCAR Cup Series event since March 8. Homestead-Miami Speedway will invite up to 1,000 South Florida service members as honorary guests for the Dixie Vodka 400, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral.

Talladega Superspeedway will allow up to 5,000 guests in the frontstretch grandstands/towers for the GEICO 500. In addition, there will be limited motorhome/5th-wheel camping spots available outside the track high atop the Alabama Gang Superstretch. Tickets are open exclusively on a first come, first served basis to fans who purchased tickets or reserved camping for the originally scheduled GEICO 500 (April 26) and live within a designated proximity to the track.

Additional protocols and procedures for guests planning to attend can be found at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

Posted on by Team Release

STATESVILLE, N.C. — GMS Racing announced the addition of Chase Purdy to the driver lineup for five races in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2020. The NASCAR Next alum will make his season debut June 27 in the No. 24 Bama Buggies Silverado at Pocono Raceway.

In addition to Pocono, Purdy will pilot the No. 24 for GMS Racing at Kentucky Speedway, both Kansas Speedway events, as well as Talladega Superspeedway.

“I know I’m definitely going to need to get acclimated again. I think I’m a bit out of practice with everything that goes into a full race weekend, especially in the truck series,” Purdy said. “My main goal is to refresh everything, watch a lot of film and stay in touch with my teammates leading up to the races. I would like to take a practice session to get warmed up and everything, if we’re allowed. If we just line up and race, I just want to settle in at first and make real adjustments as we go. My goal initially would be to keep the truck in one piece and finish in the top 10.”

Purdy last competed full time in 2018 in the ARCA Racing Series for MDM Motorsports alongside GMS Racing drivers Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith. Purdy amassed 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes en route to a fourth-place finish in the championship standings. That year also marked Purdy’s Gander Trucks debut, competing at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway with current GMS Racing crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz atop the pit box.

The Pocono Organics 150 to benefit Farm Aid will take place June 27 at 12:30 p.m. ET and will air live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.