MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) 鈥� Martin Truex Jr. used a trip to NASCAR’s shortest track to end a lengthy losing streak on the day the stock car series at long last banned the Confederate flag.
Truex cruised down the stretch and won his first NASCAR Cup race of the season on Wednesday night in the first race under the lights at Martinsville Speedway.
Truex, the 2017 Cup champion, has been one of NASCAR鈥檚 biggest winners over the last three years, but failed to find victory lane for Joe Gibbs Racing over the first 10 races of this season. He won 19 times from 2017-2019.
鈥淚 knew we were going to get one soon,鈥� Truex said. 鈥淗opefully we can get on a roll.鈥�
Tick tock. The time ran out on the losing streak.
Truex won the Martinsville grandfather clock on the paperclip-shaped track at just 0.526 miles. He won for the first time with new crew chief James Small.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge for him and his confidence and for the way people look at him,” Truex said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 huge. I knew all along that he was capable, I know he鈥檚 going to be an amazing crew chief for a long time to come.鈥�
Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, who has two wins this season, and Joey Logano made it a 2-3-4 finish for Team Penske.
The race started shortly after NASCAR said the Confederate flag would be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.
The issue was pushed to the fore this week by Bubba Wallace, NASCAR鈥檚 lone black driver and an Alabama native who called for the banishment of the Confederate flag and said there was 鈥渘o place鈥� for it in the sport. Wallace drove the Richard Petty Motorsports鈥� No. 43 Chevrolet with a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme. Wallace, wearing an American flag mask, clapped his hands when asked about the decision before the start of the race.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a stressful couple of weeks,鈥� Wallace said on FS1. 鈥淭his is no doubt the biggest race of my career tonight. I鈥檓 excited about tonight. There鈥檚 a lot of emotions on the racetrack.鈥�
Wallace wore a black 鈥淚 Can鈥檛 Breathe鈥� T-shirt but did not kneel during the national anthem. His Chevy had 鈥淐ompassion, Love, Understanding鈥� emblazoned on the hood. He finished 11th at Martinsville.
鈥極ur Black Lives Matter Chevrolet 鈥� that鈥檚 so good to say, right 鈥� was so good on the long runs,” Wallace said.
The 26-year-old Wallace, who finished second in the 2018 Daytona 500, also had a dose of newfound fame. Already outspoken on social causes in NASCAR, Wallace denounced the flag and his message spread throughout sports. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted a 鈥淏IG S/O鈥� to Wallace and retired NFL star Deion Sanders tweeted he was proud NASCAR 鈥渞ecognized the sensitivity of our country while confronting the racial injustices.鈥�
Wallace even made some new NASCAR fans 鈥� for a night, at least 鈥� out of other athletes. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara replied to NASCAR鈥檚 statement with a tweet asking 鈥渨hen the next race??鈥� with a popcorn emoji. He followed along on social media, as did Carolina Panthers safety Tre Boston. Boston tweeted questions about the race and seemed to enjoy the action at Martinsville: 鈥淒o y鈥檃ll be pinned to the TV. I鈥檓 watching the standing more than the drivers I feel. Is this ok? Am I doing this right? Do y鈥檃ll flip channels?鈥�
Former NFL safety Bernard Pollard Jr. joined in on the social media action and had a question on cautions answered on the FS1 broadcast.
But NASCAR鈥檚 decision angered a contingent of flag loyalists, who stewed on social media. NASCAR helmet artist Jason Beam, who paints designs for some of the sports biggest stars, was among the loudest critics. He unleashed a string of tweets blasting the move, writing 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 erase history by picking and choosing what parts you want to keep and don鈥檛 won鈥檛 to keep.鈥�
Oh well, Reese Witherspoon gave the ruling a high-five emoji on Twitter, and that alone might be enough to outweigh the haters.
Martinsville capped a stretch of seven straight Cup races since it resumed without fans at the track. That streak ends Sunday when 1,000 Florida service members, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral, are allowed to attend the Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway as honorary guests and view the race from the grandstands. The following week at Talladega Superspeedway, up to 5,000 fans will be allowed to attend the race. NASCAR said all fans will be screened before entering, required to wear face coverings, mandated to social distance at six feet, and will not have access to the infield.
鈥淚 want to say hi to all the fans at home, we definitely miss you,鈥� Truex said. “This just doesn鈥檛 feel right, but exciting to win for sure.鈥�
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
