2021 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500

The 2021 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 10 and 11th, 2021, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the 0.526 mile paperclip-shaped short track, it was the eighth race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Background
Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 mi in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

Entry list

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

Qualifying
Joey Logano was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.

Stage 1
Logano drove off into Turn 1 with the lead but it was short-lived. Hamlin took over the top spot and held onto it until the race was red-flagged for rain after just 42 laps. Although the track was dry at the start, the race began under a fine mist. When James Davison spun off the bumper of Cody Ware in Turn 4 on Lap 36 the caution came out.

Before the race could be restarted, the rain returned and soaked the track. The red flag displayed after 42 laps and the race gave way to showers for the remainder of the evening.

After the NASCAR Xfinity Series race completed their event, which was rain-delayed from Friday, the track was well rubbered up and set for the Cup Series restart shortly after 4 pm Sunday. Hamlin retained the lead as the race went back to green.

Kurt Busch and Erik Jones collided racing side-by-side for position and Busch went spinning on Lap 50 bringing out the caution again. NASCAR had scheduled a competition caution for Lap 60, but with the early incident Saturday night they scrapped that scheduled service and let crews refuel their cars during the overnight stoppage. So no takers on the Busch caution, everyone looked to maintain their track position.

Ryan Blaney drove past Hamlin on Lap 76 and held the position for the Stage 1 win.

Stage 2
Blaney and Hamlin led the field back to green, Hamlin prevailed in the one-lap heat race for the top spot. Blaney, Martin Truex Jr.(19), William Byron(24), and Kyle Busch(18) made up the Top 5.

As more laps were put on the fresh tires, Blaney’s car came to life and Hamlin faded. New leader on Lap 175, Blaney back to the front. Ware blew a right rear tire with 20 laps to go in the stage bringing out the caution just as the pole sitter, Joey Logano, was about to go a lap down. All the leaders took the opportunity to pit for fresh tires.

Again, it’s Blaney and Hamlin leading to the restart.

With 10 laps to go, Ryan Newman got loose in Turn 2. Matt DiBenedetto tore up the right front of his car after making contact with the left side of Newman’s machine.

Two laps remain in the stage when the race resumes. Ryan Blaney holds off Denny Hamlin by half a car length for the Stage win, despite a “bump and run” attempt by the 11 car off Turn 4. Stage-ending pit stops are a mixed bag as some teams choose to come in for service, while others stay on the track.

The Final Stage
Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski lead the field to begin the final stage. As drivers settle into position Byron, Kurt Busch, and Logano complete the Top 5. Blaney chose to pit at the end of Stage 2 and restarted back in the pack.

Multiple cautions to start the Final Stage scrambled the line-up further. Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, Daniel Suárez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Chris Buescher take a turn at the front with just over 200 laps to go.

Three wide racing resulted as cars with fresher tires mixed it up with those that did not pit. Wallace led for 23 laps, William Byron went to the front for 7 laps, then Kyle Busch spun and the caution brought everyone to pit road for fresh Goodyear tires. After pit stops, Hamlin was back out front. Byron, Ryan Newman, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, and Chris Buescher held the Top 10 positions.

With 130 laps to go, Ross Chastain got into the back of Brad Keselowski who hit the rear of Jones sending the 43 car into a spin. The resulting caution gave everyone a chance to pit for fresh tires and fuel that will get them to the end of the race.

Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Suarez stayed out. But, they quickly succumbed to the speed of Hamlin as he moved back to the front.

With 115 laps to go, Chris Buescher and Kyle Busch got together out of Turn 2 and turned the backstretch into a parking lot of wrecked race cars. NASCAR put out the red flag to clean up the mess.

Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott are the front four when the race restarted with 104 laps to go. No surprise, Denny Hamlin and Blaney begin to pull away from the rest of the lead pack. Michigan’s Erik Jones, took his car to the garage as a result of damage from the big melee finishing in 29th.

Martin Truex Jr. began to close on the top 2 to make it a 3-way battle for the lead. With 50 laps to go, Briscoe spins and brings out a caution that will set the stage for the final laps.

The Finish
The most important thing on the last pit stop is don’t make a mistake and beat yourself. That’s exactly what happened to Ryan Blaney’s crew. While changing tires an air hose gets hung on the car’s undercarriage, Blaney drags it out of the pit box incurring a penalty. Restarting at the rear of the field eliminates one of the fastest cars from a shot at the win.

Truex beats Hamlin out of the pits but the short-run speed of Hamlin’s car kicks in at the restart and he retakes the lead. When Truex’s tires heat up he is right back into a battle for the top spot. Teammates racing each other can sometimes have disastrous results, see Logano and Keselowski at Daytona. Truex runs Hamlin straight up as they go at each other for multiple laps.

With 15 to go, Martin Truex Jr. manages to get around Hamlin and begins to pull away. Hamlin falls into the clutches of Chase Elliott and they go side-by-side for several laps. After leading for 276 of the 500 laps, Denny Hamlin falls to 3rd at the finish. Martin Truex Jr. becomes the first repeat winner of 2021 after a string of 7 different drivers took the checkered flag in the first 7 races of the year.

Playoff Standings
The biggest surprise 8 races into the 2021 season is Aric Almirola in 28th place in the points standings. A playoff driver last year, Almirola sits 84 points below the cut line. Hamlin holds a 61 point lead over Joey Logano for the regular-season championship but has yet to record a victory in 2021.

Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 130

Stage Two Laps: 130

Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 240

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 18 among 7 different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 15 for 102
 * Red flags: 2 for 18 hours, 42 minutes and 31 seconds
 * Time of race: 3 hours, 54 minutes and 25 seconds
 * Average speed: 67.316 mph

Television
Fox Sports covered their 21st race at the Martinsville Speedway. Mike Joy, nine-time Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon and 2018 Martinsville winner Clint Bowyer called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race in the booth as the cars raced down the frontstretch. Dave Moody called the race from atop the turn 3 stands as the field raced down the backstretch. Pit lane was manned by Steve Post and Kim Coon.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
 * . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.