2019 First Data 500

The **2019 First Data 500** is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 27, 2019, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track (extended from 500 laps), it was the 33rd race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, seventh race of the Playoffs, and first race of the Round of 8.

## Report

### Background

**Martinsville Speedway** is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.

#### Entry list

* **(i)** denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
* **(R)** denotes rookie driver.

* Matt Tifft was supposed to drive No. 36 car but he was hospitalized after suffering “a medical condition”. So Matt Crafton was called to replace Tifft in the No. 36 car.

## Practice

### First practice

Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.591 seconds and a speed of 96.657 mph (155.554 km/h).

 2
 3

### Final practice

Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.667 seconds and a speed of 96.283 mph (154.952 km/h).

 2
 3

## Qualifying

Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.354 and a speed of 97.840 mph (157.458 km/h).

## Race

### Stage 1

Hamlin easily led the first 30 laps until the caution flag came out for debris on the race track. Pit stops shuffled the front of the pack as Truex exited with the lead. Followed by Ryan Blaney(12), Daniel Suarez(41), Clint Bowyer(14), and Hamlin.

As Truex maintained the lead, Hamlin moved back up to 2nd and Elliott worked his way from the back of the pack to the top 10. With six laps to go, Truex lapped Kyle Larson(42) to leave just 16 cars on the lead lap.

Harvick and Larson were the only two playoff drivers to not capture bonus points during Stage 1. Larson returned to the lead lap as the lucky dog during the caution period.

### Stage 2

Truex exited the pits first and let into the restart for Stage 2. This time it was Clint Bower(14) chasing his rear bumper around the track. Fifty laps into Stage 2, Ty Dillon(13) spun with the help of Daniel Hemric(8) giving the leaders an opportunity to pit for fresh tires.

Jimmie Johnson(48) hit a tire on pit road and also ran into the right rear of Brad Keselowski(2), necessitating a 2nd stop by Johnson to repair the damage. Also during the stop, Elliott had trouble leaving his pits. A damaged rear axle proved to be the issue as the #9 car remained on pit road as the race restarted. Elliott ultimately took his car to the garage as the crew continued to try and repair the problem.

Truex again led with Bowyer in 2nd, Blaney 3rd, William Byron(24) in 4th and Logano moving up to 5th.

Elliott returned to the race 53 laps down in last place. Every point is valuable and if another car has trouble Elliott may make up some ground. Nine laps from the end of the stage, Bowyer cut a tire, it came apart and scattered debris across the track bringing out the caution. Larson stayed on the track as the remainder of the leaders headed for pit road.

Truex got a nose in front of Larson coming to the start-finish line and took the stage win. Larson picked up 9 bonus points by staying out and gaining track position.

### The Final Stage

Truex continued to add to his laps led total at the start of the Final Stage. Logano moved into 2nd but sits almost three seconds behind the leader. The caution came out again on Lap 345 as Austin Dillon(3) shredded a tire. Everyone came to pit road, with 155 laps it is possible someone may try to stretch gas mileage to the end.

Truex sped off into Turn 1 as the race restarted, Byron moved past Blaney into second, with Logano in 4th. Hamlin and teammate Kyle Busch traded bumper taps as Hamlin pushed his way into the 5th position.

On Lap 361, the first accident of the day occurred as Kyle Busch got tangled with Aric Almirola on the front stretch. Ryan Preece(47), Johnson, and Matt DiBenedetto(95) also picked up some damage in the incident.

Almirola’s and Johnson’s cars were eliminated from the race. Elliott will pick up those two positions if he remains out of trouble over the next 30-40 laps. Out of the care center, Almirola expressed his dissatisfaction with Kyle Busch and promised to make life difficult for him over the remaining races this season.

As cars battled for position on the restart, Alex Bowman(88), Bubba Wallace(43), and Suarez were wrecking under the flag stand to bring out another caution. A lot of cars have damage from on-track incidents, Truex’s car is spotless and still out front.

With 52 laps to go, Bowyer cut down a left rear tire and debris brought out the caution again. Everyone had a chance to pit for fresh tires and plenty of gas to reach the end of the race. It will also ramp up the intensity. Truex easily scampered away from the pack. Byron and Blaney banged for 2nd place, Hamlin drove Logano into the wall fighting for 4th.

Logano’s brush with the wall flattened a tire and he spun. Another yellow flag waved. Shortly after the restart, Hemric and Michael McDowell got together and another caution slowed the field.

The final yellow flag set up a short sprint to the finish. Truex was being chased by Byron. Remembering what happened in last year’s race, Truex never allowed the #24 car to get to his bumper. Taking the win after leading 464 of the 500 laps.

Logano and Hamlin came together for a short conversation about what happened late in the race. It looked civil until Joey gave Denny a little shove at the end and the fight was on. Order was quickly restored, however, the two continued to jaw at each other as the emotions of the day boiled over.

#### Playoff Implications

Truex becomes the first driver to qualify for the Championship 4 and clearly looks to be the early favorite. Hamlin improved his position moving 24 points above the cut line. Logano also added to his bubble lead going up by 14.

Harvick lost ground, Blaney moved from eighth to sixth and Elliott was forced into a must-win position if he expects to contend at Homestead.

### Stage results

**Stage One**
*Laps:* 130

**Stage Two**
*Laps:* 130

### Final stage results

**Stage Three**
*Laps:* 240

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 3 among 3 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 11 for 69
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes and 9 seconds
* Average speed: 75.448 miles per hour (121.422 km/h)

## Media

### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

 **Lap-by-lap:** Rick Allen**Color-commentator:** Jeff Burton**Color-commentator:** Steve Letarte**Color-commentator:** Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Parker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast

### Radio

MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

 **Lead announcer:** Alex Hayden**Announcer:** Jeff Striegle**Announcer:** Rusty Wallace | **Backstretch:** Dave Moody | Winston KelleySteve PostKim CoonDillon Welch

## References

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