2023 NASCAR Cup Series Race Nine Martinsville

Cars in race: 36
Pole: Ryan Preece (41)
Outside pole: Daniel Suarez (99)
Stages: 80-100-220
Weather: Cloudy, 73 degrees, feels like 67 degrees, 6 mph winds with 12 mph gustsIt’s very cloudy at the track. The lights are on. It does not look like a comfortable day at the track.

Chase Elliott (9) returns to the track after a six week absence due to breaking his tibia in a snowboarding incident.

Ryan Preece (41) wins his first Cup series stage leading all laps.

MRN reports Kyle ‘KyBu’ Busch (8) will start at the rear to serve a penalty for equipment interference.

Caution on lap 132 of 400 for a spin by Harrison Burton (21).

Speeding penalties exiting pit road for Ryan Preece (41), Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace (23), Martin ‘MTJ’ Truex Jr (19). The speed limit is 30. NASCAR gives a five mph overage, Preece was clocked at 39.5 mph. Todd Gordon in the MRN booth said you couldn’t get a speeding penalty from the first pit stall. He was proven wrong.

On lap 137 of 400 the sun is shining on the track.

MRN is calling racing. Television is showing cars going around single file. They switched from that to a slo-motion tag of the wall, so they’re probably showing something other than live action at the moment, though it’s hard to tell what or why. The NASCAR broadcasts are just awful this season; as bad as NBC broadcasts. Like NBC they are showing everything but the relevant on-track action. I’m going to check if the IndyCar race is still on. 1609

It was on, so I got to see the remainder of the IndyCar race.

So, back to the Cup race restarting on lap 354 of 400 with Joey Logano (22) in the lead. Since the choose rule is getting used everywhere the rest of the field is a mystery.

There’s a battle for the lead and for some reason we get a split-screen of the two cars battling for the lead and the grandstands. Why? Why does the television viewer care to see people in the grandstands during a battle for the lead with less than 30 laps to go in the race at a track where it’s hard to pass? Seriously, they need someone controlling the camera shots that understands what a race fan wants to see.

Kyle Larson wins.

What I saw of the race was not interesting, like the Xfinity series race. I’m sure some of it was a problem with the television coverage. I believe some of it was the event itself. I’m not a short-track fan to begin with because generally the races are boring.

Bubba (23) is squatting beside Chase Elliott (9) who is sitting on the ground by his car. They are talking. It was shown during Joey Logano’s post race interview. Bubba just walked away from his conversation with Chase Elliott.

The race did not look intense, exciting, and it was definitely not memorable.

Chase said the leg was about what he expected which is a good thing. he said it was warm and he’s been sitting on the couch for six weeks, so that probably hurt him more than anything. He finished tenth. He said the car wasn’t good until the final run and he was pleasantly surprised at the improvements the team was able to make during the race.

Mike Joy said Ryan Preece (41) led a third of the race. Chase Briscoe (14) led more than 100 laps. ‘Desperate’ Denny Hamlin (11) then looked to be the winner. Then Joey Logano (22) led for a while until he was overtaken by Kyle Larson (5). Mike Joy also noted the weather was ever-changing saying they started with clouds, had a fifty-fifty mix, then full sunshine. He also mentioned there were very few cautions. Clint Bowyer said in the end the race was won in the pits. Bobby Labonte, who was in the booth this week, said he hoped he didn’t talk too much, or not enough. He’s saying this to Clint Bowyer who always talks too much. That was kind of amusing.

Jamie McMurray is a trip. He said typically when he got out of the car he wouldn’t sit beside the car because he didn’t want to show weakness. He went on to say usually when you see guys do that they sit down because they know they can either do that or fall down. McMurray did add that he applauded Chase for doing that.

Motorsport News:

1. 1. 1. Kirkwood shows promise with first IndyCar pole.
      2. Wet weather tires ready if needed at Martinsville.
      3. Sheldon Creed Criticizes Lack of Respect in Xfinity Series Races.
      4. 2-Race Suspensions on Tap for Live Fast Motorsports.
      5. IndyCar Long Beach: Newgarden leads race day warm-up.
      6. IndyCar Long Beach: Kirkwood scores first win, leads Andretti 1-2.
      7. “I needed this win,” says Kirkwood after Long Beach victory.
      8. Cruz Pedregon Scores Back to Back No. 1 Qualifiers , J.R. Todd Misses Field.
      9. Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa Claim 6 Hours of Portimao Victory.
      10. Kyle Larson Spoils Dominant Day for Stewart-Haas Racing at Martinsville.
      11. Chase Elliott’s return resonates through NASCAR Cup Series garage.
      12. NASCAR learns lessons with wet weather tires after Martinsville Truck race.
      13. Stone Cold Steve Austin had “time of my life” in off-road racing debut.
      14. Nissan Announce Reigning F3 World Champion Victor Martins for Rookie Test.
      15. MotoGP: Alex Rins claims victory in Austin after Francesco Bagnaia mistake.
      16. Kyle Larson Claims First Victory at Martinsville Speedway.
      17. John Hunter Nemechek cashes in on dominating Martinsville performance.

Next Race: Talladega

GO 48 & 9!!!!