Martin Truex Jr. won his first NASCAR Cup race of the season Wednesday night in the first Cup race held under the lights at Martinsville Speedway, the series’ oldest venue. Truex, one of NASCAR’s biggest winners over the past three years, had failed to find victory lane in the first 10 races of this season. Ryan Blaney, Brad Keslowski and Joey Logano made it a 2-3-4 finish for Penske Racing.
The race started shortly after NASCAR issued a ban of the Confederate flag, stating, “It will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.” The issue was pushed to the fore this week by Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s lone black driver and an Alabama native. Wallace drove the Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 Chevrolet with a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme.