Martin Truex, Jr. Wins at Martinsville in Confederate Flagless NASCAR Race

Martin Truex, Jr. earned his first win of the season on June 10th in the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (where do they come up with these names?) at Martinsville, Virginia. Truex, who led for 132 laps, beat pole sitter Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski; Joey Logano, who led for 234 of the 500 laps, finished fourth.

The race was another one run in front of empty stands due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also historic in that, earlier in the day, NASCAR had banned the presence of the Confederate battle flag at all of its events. Earlier in the week, Bubba Wallace, an Alabama native and the only African American driver on the circuit, had requested the ban. Wallace drove a Chevrolet with a Black Lives Matter paint design; he finished 11th.

The Confederate Flag has been ubiquitous at NASCAR events for 70 years. There are times when we see history rapidly changing before our eyes. This is one of those times.