Martinsville Speedway is a much beloved circuit on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, but Saturday’s race was generally considered a letdown. Due to factors like colder track and tyre temperatures, rain washing away rubber accumulated on the racing surface, and perhaps the Next Gen car itself, the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 was a very tame event with just five lead changes, all of which came during cautions or pit cycles. Hendrick Motorsports team-mates Chase Elliott and William Byron led all but six of the 403 laps, with the latter doing so for 212 circuits en route to his first win at Martinsville and second of 2022.
Elliott won the pole ahead of Aric Almirola, but Almirola and much of the field were non-factors. Save for a rain delay, the first two stages were completely free of incident as Elliott led every lap to win both. Byron beat Elliott out of the pits on lap 186 to finally mark the first lead change of the race.
Ryan Blaney finally broke the Hendrick stranglehold on the lead when he inherited the lead from a pitting Byron on lap 304. He pitted himself five laps later and Byron reclaimed the lead before Denny Hamlin brought out the caution after falling off pace. Austin Dillon got to lead a lap under yellow before Byron re-assumed the top position.
Almost as if a last-ditch effort by the racing deities to spice up the race, Todd Gilliland slammed into the wall with five laps remaining to set up overtime. Byron and Logano led the field to start the session, and the former had the run on the inside to clear Logano though Logano remained close after Byron briefly ran wide. Despite a shot to Byron’s rear on the final lap, Logano could not get by him.
Byron, who won the Camping World Truck Series race on Thursday, is the first Cup driver of 2022 to win multiple races after triumphing at Atlanta in March. He also continues a decorated legacy for the #24 at Martinsville; current Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon has nine wins at the track with the number.
“I couldn’t ever relax,” said Byron in his post-race press conference. “I saved tyre by just not sliding the tyres, but I never could back up and save tyre and things like that. But I think it’s just really cold temps. Anytime it’s below forty degrees (Fahrenheit), I’d say the tyres don’t even lay rubber. That was definitely a factor all night.”
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 2 | 14 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 3 | 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 4 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 5 | 27 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 6 | 18 | 45 | Kurt Busch | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 403 | Running |
| 7 | 11 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 403 | Running |
| 8 | 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 9 | 19 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 10 | 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 11 | 13 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 12 | 15 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 13 | 24 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 14 | 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 15 | 4 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 16 | 21 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 403 | Running |
| 17 | 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 403 | Running |
| 18 | 22 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 19 | 8 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 403 | Running |
| 20 | 7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 402 | Running |
| 21 | 3 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 402 | Running |
| 22 | 20 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 401 | Running |
| 23 | 34 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 401 | Running |
| 24 | 36 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 401 | Running |
| 25 | 16 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 400 | Running |
| 26 | 29 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | Running |
| 27 | 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | Running |
| 28 | 25 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | Running |
| 29 | 30 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 399 | Running |
| 30 | 10 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 399 | Running |
| 31 | 17 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | Running |
| 32 | 26 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | Running |
| 33 | 35 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 394 | Running |
| 34 | 32 | 15 | J.J. Yeley* | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 392 | Running |
| 35 | 31 | 77 | Josh Bilicki* | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 391 | Running |
| 36 | 33 | 78 | B.J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 132 | Handling |
* – Ineligible for Cup points