Martinsville Speedway deserves better than this.

Having appeared on every schedule since the creation of what is now the NASCAR Cup Series in 1948, the crown jewel of short track racing and those who flock to the southernmost portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia twice a year are entitled to better.

This is also a rare moment in NASCAR’s history that the sanctioning body can easily fix it.

Through two races at the Half-Mile of Mayhem this season, Martinsville produced just three green flag on-track lead changes with race winners Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. leading a combined 910 of 1,000 laps.

That’s not a series of ass-kickings.

This is a technical glitch.

And listen, this yearlong package argument is wearing on literally everyone in the sport, but this is one of the few instances in which it shouldn’t come down to subjectivity or a personal opinion. This rules package and what it has done to short track (and road course) racing is unacceptable.

It doesn’t take looking at the loop data to realize there is a problem. You saw William Byron, arguably faster than Truex, in the closing stages of the First Data 500 completely unable to execute a pass. Restart after restart through two Martinsville races this season, the leader held serve on equal tires, one pass on Sunday only taking place because Kyle Larson stayed out on much older tires before the second stage break.

Remember Tony Stewart, Ricky Stenhouse and David Ragan staying out on old tires in front of a dominant Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon in 2014 and how they quickly drove around them? Those guys would arguably have a chance to hold on under these circumstances.

That’s a technical glitch.

At the root of the problem is the same old polarizing 8-inch-by-61-inch rear spoiler that generates so much turbulence on tracks that aren’t high speed and wide-open.

If you don’t believe it, just take Keselowski’s word for it from Sunday night.

"It's really tough to pass," the 2012 Cup Series champion said. "You get behind someone you are way faster than and this big spoiler just kills you."

Many of the same elements that have made for the subjectively more entertaining intermediate track racing has absolutely gutted the on-track product everywhere else.

And again, if the visual doesn’t sell you, the statistics will.

GREEN FLAG ON-TRACK PASSES FOR THE LEAD IN 2019

Martinsville: 2

Dover: 1

Sonoma: 0

Watkins Glen: 0

Dover: 2

Martinsville: 1

(We had this same conversation after Watkins Glen, by the way)

If NASCAR wants to take a victory lap for fixing intermediate track races by limiting off-throttle time in advance of the lower horsepower next-generation engine, doubling the downforce year over year and giving crew chiefs multiple options for trimming their cars out, then so it be it.

That argument can and will be waged for perpetuity. There are valid points on both sides.

But it is inarguable that this package has done nothing but ruin short track and road course racing. And the reason why was best described by Denny Hamlin two weeks ago at Talladega when Autoweek asked him about the next-generation race car.

"I really do believe that this package has been better for the intermediate race tracks," Hamlin said. "But it has taken its toll on Martinsville, Richmond, Dover and the road courses. It is very, very tough to pass there. I can’t say this enough. You don’t need a drafting spoiler for a short track or a road course because we don’t draft. All that does is hurt the second place cars on back."

Say that last part again, but louder, for everyone in the well upstairs offices at Charlotte and Daytona Beach.

You don’t need a drafting spoiler for a short track or a road course because we don’t draft.

There are some of you holding Goodyear responsible for coming up with a better compound for these races, but even after testing here during the summer, the company’s racing director, Greg Stucker, pretty much told Autoweek that it’s in NASCAR’s hands here too.

"We made some gains, but not what we expected to," Stucker said. "We might have found some things we can take back there next year. There is only so much that can be done with the tires and more that can be done with the race cars."

Louder again for everyone upstairs in Charlotte and Daytona Beach.

There is only so much that can be done with the tires and more that can be done with the race cars.

Again, this fix is fairly straightforward and that’s a relief if NASCAR is willing to take action before next season.

To NASCAR’s partial credit, their engineers and executives suspected this would be a problem. The original plan this season was for the rules package to feature a high downforce, 550-hp rules package for the speedways and a lower downforce, 750-hp package for the short tracks and road courses.

The teams with their combined might in the modern NASCAR rallied against it, not wanting to research and develop two different downforce configurations in addition to the two different tapered spacer settings.

But NASCAR has already solved that problem, even after extending the current 2019 rules into 2020. The sanctioning body is limiting wind tunnel time in advance of the next-generation car’s arrival in 2021.

With teams incentivized to spend less time in the wind tunnel in 2020, NASCAR needs to revise its 2020 rules for short tracks and road courses to 2018 specs. After all, teams already have a notebook on that general direction and the racing would improve greatly.

It would be the best of both worlds for proponents of the current direction and those who pine for what they’ve had the previous four seasons.

Next year is an important one for Martinsville Speedway, specifically. It will host its first summertime night race in May with a significant increase in crowds as a result. The fall event will be the penultimate race of the season, and the one that determines who competes in the Championship Race the following weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

And instead of trying to figure out where is best to place the sticky stuff (TrackBite) for that championship race, NASCAR can just let their championship contenders battle without talk of dubious cautions, dirty air and drafting.

Because for God’s sake, they aren’t drafting on short tracks and road courses.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io