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NASCAR fans and bettors don’t have to wait until Sunday again this week for a race as the Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. The scheduled start time is 7 p.m. ET. Hey, in this time of financial devastation due to the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR will name its events just about anything for a few dollars.
This is the first of two races this year at Martinsville, with the track also scheduled to host the November 1 Xfinity 500, which is the penultimate race of the playoffs. At 0.526 miles in length, Martinsville is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. Thus, average speeds will be in the high 70s.
Wednesday will be historic, too, as it’s the first Cup night race in the 73-year history of The Half-Mile of Mayhem (was originally scheduled for the night of May 9). Martinsville opened in 1947, making it the oldest on the circuit, and is the only track to host NASCAR Cup Series races every year since its inception in 1949. Once again, there will be no fans in attendance at this race and no qualifying.