Martin Truex Jr.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns from Easter break refreshed and ready to restart its 2021 schedule at the oldest track on the circuit, Martinsville Speedway. For the first time in over 70 years, the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 will run as a Saturday night showdown under the lights at this .526-mile paperclip in southern Virginia.

NASCAR's version of March Madness makes its way down to Georgia for the running of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. It's one of two dates for Atlanta Motor Speedway this year, doubling its presence on the Cup Series schedule for the first time since 2010.

Las Vegas is the town of Cinderella stories born at midnight, a place where one roll of the dice turns the moneyless into millionaires. It's the type of rags-to-riches story that's defined NASCAR's 2021 season, Michael McDowell's Daytona 500 triumph sparking three straight first-time winners heading into this year's Pennzoil 400.

For years, NASCAR President Steve Phelps promised changes in the season schedule, evolving the sport's national landscape in response to underwhelming competition at 1.5-mile, cookie-cutter ovals. The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to accelerate those plans, leading to quirks like three events at Darlington Raceway during a 2020 season defined by survival.

The theme of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is new heading into the Daytona 500: new drivers, new teams, new schedule, new numbers. We also have a new writer, Frontstretch.com's Zach Sturniolo, to preview the latest installment of the "Great American Race."