In Martinsville tradition, Truex won a grandfather clock that pays tribute to the local furniture industry. ( Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Martin Truex Jr. made it two in a row at Martinsville Speedway on a night where the race was overshadowed by NASCAR’s announcement that it is banning displays of the Confederate flag from its events.
Truex hadn’t won a race all season, with his last NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville in October.
“I knew we were going to get one soon,” Truex said. “Hopefully we can get on a roll.”
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Truex led the final 129 laps and was followed across the finish line by teammates Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano for a Team Penske 2-3-4 sweep.
Prior to the race, NASCAR stated its new position on the Confederate flag, which came after conversations with African-American driver Bubba Wallace, who called for it to be banned this week and drove a car with a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme at Martinsville.
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The 26-year-old Wallace received messages of support on Wednesday from several superstar athletes, including LeBron James, Deion Sanders and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who live-tweeted the race. Wallace finished in 11th place for his best Cup Series result at the track.
The next NASCAR Cup race is at Miami-Homestead Speedway on Sunday, which will be the first since the series restarted to have fans in attendance, with 1,000 service members from the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral invited as guests.