MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Martin Truex Jr. using the trip to NASCAR’s shortest path to end a long streak defeat on the day of the stock car series finally banned the Confederate flag.

Truex slid down and won its first NASCAR Cup race this season on Wednesday night in the first race under the lights at Martinsville Speedway.

Truex, the 2017 Cup champion, has been one of NASCAR’s biggest winners over the past three years, but failed to find a winning track for Joe Gibbs Racing during the first 10 races of the season. He won 19 times from 2017-2019.

“I know we will get it soon,” said Truex. “Hopefully we can play.”

Tick ​​tock. Time’s almost up.

Truex won Martinsville’s grandfather clock on a paperclip-shaped track only 0.526 miles. He won for the first time with the new crew chief James Small.

“This is very big for him and his beliefs and the way people look at him,” Truex said. “I think this is very big. I know all this time that he is capable, I know he will be an outstanding crew chief for a long time.”

Ryan Blaney, Brad Sesowski, who has two wins this season, and Joey Logano made it 2-3-4 for Tim Penske.

The race starts as soon as NASCAR says the Confederate flag will be banned from all NASCAR events and properties.

This issue was brought to the fore this week by Bubba Wallace, the only black racer NASCAR and a native of Alabama who called for raising the Confederate flag and said “there is no place” for it in sports. Wallace drives a Chevrolet No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports with the #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme. Wallace, wearing an American flag mask, applauded when asked about the decision before the start of the race.

“It’s been a stressful few weeks,” Wallace told FS1. “This is undoubtedly the biggest race of my career tonight. I am excited about this evening. There are many emotions on the race track. “

Wallace wore a black T-shirt “I Can’t Breathe” but didn’t kneel during the national anthem. The Chevy has “Compassion, Love, Understanding” on the hood. He finished 11th in Martinsville.

“Our Black Life Material Chevrolet – that’s very good to say, really – is very good in the long run,” Wallace said.

26-year-old Wallace, who came second in the 2018 Daytona 500, also received a dose of newly discovered fame. Already blatantly talking about social issues at NASCAR, Wallace denounced the flag and his message spread to all sports. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted “BIG S / O” for Wallace and retired NFL star Deion Sanders tweeted he was proud of NASCAR “recognizing the sensitivity of our country when facing racial injustice.”

Wallace even made some new NASCAR fans – for the night, at least – from other athletes. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara responded to NASCAR’s statement with a tweet asking “when is the next race ??” with popcorn emojis. He follows on social media, as does Carolina Panthers Tre Boston’s safety. Boston tweeted the question about the race and seemed to enjoy the action at Martinsville: “Are you pinned to TV. I watch standing more than the driver I feel. Is this ok? Am I doing this right? Are you all flipping the channel?”

Former NFL safety Bernard Pollard Jr. join in social media action and have questions about caution that are answered on FS1 broadcasts.

But NASCAR’s decision angered the flag loyalist contingent, who boiled on social media. NASCAR helmet artist Jason Beam, who painted designs for some of the biggest sports stars, was among the loudest critics. He released a series of tweets that condemned the move, writing, “You can’t delete history by selecting and choosing which parts you want to save and can’t be saved.”

Reese Witherspoon gave her decision to emoji high-five on Twitter.

Martinsville ended seven races in a row since the World Cup resumed without fans on the track. The streak ends on Sunday when 1,000 Florida service members, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and the U.S. Southern Command at Doral, allowed to attend the Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway as an honored guest and watch the race from the stands. The following week at Talladega Superspeedway, up to 5,000 fans will be allowed to attend the race. NASCAR said all fans will be screened before entering, are required to wear face coverings, are mandated for a social distance of six feet, and will not have access to midfield.

“I want to say hello to all the fans at home, we will definitely miss you,” Truex said. “This doesn’t feel right, but it sure is interesting to win.”