The 2019 First Data 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 27, 2019, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 33rd race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, seventh race of the Playoffs, and first race of the Round of 8.
Report
Background
Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.
Entry list (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points. (R) denotes rookie driver.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Matt Crafton (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 53 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 77 Timmy Hill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Matt Tifft was supposed to drive No. 36 car but he was hospitalized after suffering “a medical condition”. Matt Crafton was called to replace Tifft in the No. 36 car. Tifft has not raced in NASCAR since the hospitalization.
Practice
First practice Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.591 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 19.591 96.657 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.689 96.176 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.732 95.966Official first practice results
Final practice Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.667 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 19.667 96.283 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 19.774 95.762 3 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.786 95.704Official final practice results
Qualifying Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.354 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.354 29 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.383 319 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.429 410 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.453 534 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.471 612 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 19.487 714 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.488 820 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.492 941 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.506 1022 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 19.509 1124 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.525 1295 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 19.545 1318 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.547 1442 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.547 152 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 19.579 1617 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 19.593 1738 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.619 188 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.641 1988 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.650 2037 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19.669 2147 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 19.686 224 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.688 233 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.732 2448 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.742 251 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 19.745 2643 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 19.756 276 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 19.762 2832 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 19.796 2913 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 19.821 3021 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 19.900 3136 Matt Crafton (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 20.031 3200 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 20.070 3351 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 20.141 3427 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 20.150 3553 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 20.292 3615 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 20.401 3777 Timmy Hill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 20.449 3852 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 20.477Official qualifying results
Race
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 130
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 84 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 75 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 66 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 130
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage Three Laps: 240
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 602 11 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 453 15 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 500 354 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 455 6 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 500 486 25 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 317 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 308 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 500 429 14 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 500 3710 35 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 500 2711 17 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 500 2612 20 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 500 2513 26 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 500 2414 13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 2915 16 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 500 2216 12 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 500 2117 18 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 2018 36 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 500 1919 21 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 500 1820 8 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 499 1921 28 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 499 1622 23 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 499 1523 5 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 499 1424 27 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 498 1325 29 36 Matt Crafton (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 495 026 30 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 495 027 38 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 494 028 32 53 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 494 029 33 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 494 030 19 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 494 731 9 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 488 732 34 52 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 487 033 31 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 452 434 37 77 Timmy Hill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 450 035 7 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 449 936 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 445 437 4 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 363 1138 24 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 361 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 3 among 3 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 11 for 69 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes and 9 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Parker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and 7 time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace had the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covered the action for MRN when the field raced down the backstraightway into turn 3. Winston Kelley, Steve Post, Kim Coon, and Dillon Welch had the call for MRN from pit lane.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Backstretch: Dave Moody Winston KelleySteve PostKim CoonDillon Welch
Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points 1 1 Martin Truex Jr. 4,102 1 2 Denny Hamlin 4,082 (–20) 2 3 Kyle Busch 4,075 (–27) 4 Joey Logano 4,072 (–30) 5 Kevin Harvick 4,058 (–44) 2 6 Ryan Blaney 4,057 (–45) 7 Kyle Larson 4,048 (–54) 2 8 Chase Elliott 4,028 (–74) 9 Brad Keselowski 2,264 (–1,838) 10 William Byron 2,226 (–1,876) 1 11 Clint Bowyer 2,190 (–1,912) 1 12 Alex Bowman 2,172 (–1,930) 1 13 Kurt Busch 2,161 (–1,941) 1 14 Aric Almirola 2,159 (–1,943) 15 Ryan Newman 2,148 (–1,954) 16 Erik Jones 2,091 (–2,011)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 1,207 2 Ford 1,161 (–46) 3 Chevrolet 1,128 (–79) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References