A lot of people look at racing and think it’s easy. Drive in circles. Press down the gas pedal. Left turn. So basic. But when someone watches Martinsville for the first time, all that goes out the window. The skill required to go about a hundred miles an hour for 500 laps (1000 turns), while bumping and grinding the whole time with 37 other drivers, is beyond belief. Martinsville is the oldest track on the circuit, and it has become the hardest test for drivers.

Due to rain canceling qualifying, the starting order was set based on points position. This put Kyle Larson on the pole, with Chase Elliot beside him. On the initial start, Larson jumped out to the lead, but quickly began to fade. Apparently having the points lead doesn’t mean you have the best car. he was replaced out front by Martin Truex Jr, who had started third.

From the get go, contact between drivers had been nonstop, but it became a little o intense for Jamie McMurray. While racing Jimmie Johnson in the top-ten, young gun Ryan Blaney dive bombed the two veterans, and sent Johnson sliding into McMurray, cutting Jamie’s tire and sending him hard into the outside wall.

This caution came late in segment one, and another spin with less than ten laps remaining set up a three lap dash for the segment win. However, while Brad Keslowski, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin dueled behind him, Truex pulled away from the pack, and easily claimed the first segment. For a guy with no past success at Martinsville, that’s a pretty good start,

However, segment two was a little different in terms of who ran out front. Both Brad Keslowski and his teammate Joey Logano had pit road penalties, sending them to the back of the pack. Truex wasn’t that impressive at the start, and Kyle Busch took the lead. Now when Kyle Busch comes to the track, he comes to race. And he brought his A game in Martinsville. Busch pulled away from the pack over the course of the 130 laps segment, and seemed to have it easily in hand, mainly because second place Chase Elliot was 3 seconds behind him.

But, in racing, it’s not over until it’s over. Busch was in the middle of lapping drivers, when he came up on a knot of cars consisting of Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. With less than 15 laps left in the segment, all of them were fighting hard to maintain their position on the lead lap, and Busch was held up. With about seven to go, he pushed Stenhouse up the track, barely able to pass him. However, he was still trying to get by Dillon and Bowyer as the white flag waved on segment two. And because they held him up, Elliot was now right behind Busch. Busch tried to go around the outside of Dillon in the final turn, but then, the most unexpected thing happened. Stenhouse drove hard into the corner, and pulled a bump and run on Busch. Kyle slid up the track, and Ricky went by, keeping himself on the lead lap. And letting Chase Elliot slide inside of Busch. The two crossed the finish line side by side, with Elliot winning the segment, and the playoff point that comes with it.

While Busch’s radio was far from PG, Stenhouse was elated at staying on the lead lap. Ricky eventually finished 10th, a career best at Martinsville by a long shot. He was so thrilled that he exited his car like he’d won the race, standing on the window frame and raising his fists in the air. While he was hesitant with his discussing the incident, Stenhouse was clear that he did what he had to do to save his race day. And I do agree with him. Hats off to you Stenhouse!

Thus began the final segment. Brad Keslowski had caught back up with Elliot and Busch, and these three established themselves as the class of the field. A Ford, a Chevy, and a Toyota. Quite the mix. However, there was no separation here. The third segment was a wreck fest. Lap after lap, drivers would spin, bang, and crash, all jockeying for the win, trying to gain as much position as possible. Meanwhile, a pattern began to form at the front. Busch would take the lead on restarts, and hold it for a few laps. Then Keslowski would catch up him, and fight for the lead, eventually claiming it. Meanwhile, Elliot would just hang behind them, occasionally challenging the two.

However, when the final caution of the day flew with about fifty laps remaining, something very unexpected happened. Keslowski had the lead at the time, and restarted on the outside. However, the man in fourth, young driver Austin Dillon, somehow managed to pass Elliot through turns one and two, and began fighting Busch and Keslowski for the lead. It was suddenly a four car battle for the lead. All four rode in a line, and each would try to pass the one in front of him. And Busch did pass Keslowki for the lead.

And then Brad started pounding his bumper. Dillon and Elliot couldn’t keep pace, and the two leaders pulled away. Busch tried to keep Bra behind him, but finally Brad got around him, and slowly pulled away. Both driver had raced their hardest, but there was little doubt that the best car was leading.

Brad Keslowski and his no. 2 team won their second race of the year, and became the first two time winner this season. It was the first win for Ford and Penske racing at Martinsville since 2004 with Rusty Wallace. Remember him? Yeah, that long ago. It was Brad’s first win here, and it came in what I believe was Penske Racing’s 1000th start. And of course, it is Martinsville’s 70th anniversary. While I’m not Brad’s biggest fan, it seems almost fitting that he would win the 70th anniversary race at Nascar’s most aggressive track. It suits him, and his retro driving style. That’s win no. 2 for car no. 2, and he’s going for championship no. 2. Needless to say, 2 is the prominent number here. Congrats Brad!