Martinsville Speedway
Discover the history of Martinsville Speedway, including NASCAR race winners for the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series, detailed track facts, and a full gallery of past race images.
Martinsville Speedway NASCAR Race History
CUP Race Winning Drivers
9
Jimmie Johnson
5
Denny Hamlin
3
Martin Truex Jr
2
Ryan Blaney
2
Kyle Busch
2
William Byron Jr
2
Brad Keselowski
1
Christopher Bell
1
Alex Bowman
1
Chase Elliott
1
Kyle Larson
1
Joey Logano
Cup Race Recaps
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Blaney gets second straight walk-off win at Martinsville to join Championship 4
He did it again.
For the second straight year, defending series champion Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4.
And as Blaney took the checkered flag to win Sunday’s Xfinity 500, Christopher Bell made a kamikaze move into the final corner in a futile attempt to deprive William Byron of the final spot in the next Sunday’s title event at Phoenix Raceway.
Bell drove hard into Turn 3 on the final lap, passed Bubba Wallace for the one point he needed, slipped up into the outside wall and rode the fence through Turn 4, committing what NASCAR deemed a safety violation. Bell was penalized four positions to 22nd as Byron advanced by four points.
Blaney passed Chase Elliott for the lead on Lap 486 of 500 and pulled away to win by 2.593 seconds over the Hendrick Motorsports driver, who was eliminated from the Playoffs along with teammate and third-place finisher Kyle Larson.
“I’m worn out out—I’ve got nothing left,” said Blaney, who ran down both Elliott and Larson from three seconds back after a restart on Lap 414.
“Oh, my God, I’m tired. Good battle, and this car hung on longer than most, and I could really make some ground.”
The victory was his third of the season, his second at the 0.526-mile short track and the 13th of his career.
Blaney joins Team Penske teammate Joey Logano in the Championship 4 after triumphing in a race that featured Goodyear’s option tire on the right sides of the cars and a softer compound on the left.
“The last 70 or so laps I tried to save my rear (tires) the best I could, because that’s where I started struggling later in the runs,” said Blaney, who led 32 laps. “I hated I had to lay the bumper to some guys, but I had to do it. It was nice to pass the 9 (Elliott) clean. I laid the bumper to a couple guys that I wish I didn’t have to, but I needed to get going, so it was a long night.
“I appreciate everybody for getting (the No. 12 Ford) better through the night. Thank goodness. I think that’s the most tired I’ve been after a race in a long time.”
Byron came home sixth behind Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin, as the Chevrolets of Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain ran side-by-side behind him on the closing laps, boxing in the Ford of Brad Keselowski, who led a race-high 170 laps and won the second stage.
After the race, before Bell’s penalty, Byron was adamant that Bell had committed a violation by riding the wall in the final corner.
“He rode the wall, and there’s a clear rule against riding the wall,” Byron said, referring to the prohibition instituted after Ross Chastain shot around the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 at Martinsville to advance to the Championship 4 in 2022.
“In my eyes, that’s what counts… We all sat in meetings and talked about whether there should be a rule against it. His (Bell’s) front tires were off the ground coming off (Turn) 4 there, against the fence.”
After the ruling, Bell congratulated Byron on his advancement to the Championship 4. Bell had recovered from an early spin in Turn 2 and an unscheduled pit stop to tighten a loose wheel to make his last-ditch bid for the final Playoff spot.
Had Bell retained his 18th-place finish, he would have edged Byron for the Championship 4 berth on a tiebreaker.
“It was Martinsville, and it was a Round of 8 cutoff race,” Bell said. “Unfortunately, I was on the bad side of it. Made a lot of mistakes, ran a sloppy race. It is a shame that it comes down to a ball-and-strike call like that.
“You can look at both sides of the fence—the Chevy organization had a lot of blocking going on so that the 24 (Bryon) didn’t lose positions. I slid into the wall (on the final lap) and kept my foot into it. I guess that is a losing move.”
Along with Larson, Elliott and Bell, Hamlin failed to make the Championship 4, finishing 24 points below the elimination line.
Dillon finished seventh on Sunday, followed by Chastain, Keselowski and Logano.
Elliott won the first stage and led 129 laps. Larson led 71 laps and Byron 51 in a race that featured nine cautions for 66 circuits.
Championship 4 driver Tyler Reddick, who won last Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, fell put of the race after completing 458 laps and finished 34th.
However, Reddick, Logano, Blaney and Byron will start on even terms in next Sunday’s Championship 4 Race at Phoenix.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
William Byron leads Hendrick Motorsports’ podium sweep at Martinsville
William Byron has a penchant for milestones, and in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, he got another.
Last year Byron picked up the 300thNASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway.
On Sunday, in a race that went to overtime, Byron led an unprecedented 1-2-3 finish for owner Rick Hendrick at the 0.526-mile short track, as the organization celebrated its 40thanniversary in NASCAR’s premier division.
In front of a throng of employees and supporters gathered in tents overlooking Turn 2, Hendrick became the only organization to sweep the podium positions in a Cup race at Martinsville. Byron’s victory was the 29th for Hendrick Motorsports at the track, most for an organization at a single NASCAR venue.
“Just so proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports,” Byron said. “Grew up a big Hendrick fan. To be here for the 40th anniversary, all that goes into just this organization, all the people, it’s all about the people. Just want to thank Mr. Hendrick and (wife) Linda and everyone involved.
“It’s pretty awesome. Bad-ass to win at Martinsville. We’ve been struggling at the short tracks. Just kept inching up on it. I’ve got a great team. They just kept my head in it. It stunk to do a restart there at the end like that, but that’s the way it goes.”
An early green-flag pit stop proved the difference for the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, who earned his third victory of the season, his second at Martinsville and the 13thof his career.
With Denny Hamlin in the lead, crew chief Rudy Fugle called Byron to pit road on Lap 297 as the first of the lead-lap drivers to get fuel and fresh tires. Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson, the pole winner, and Chase Elliott followed a lap later.
The early stops allowed the Hendrick drivers to leap-frog Hamlin, who pitted on Lap 299 and could not advance past the fourth position before caution for John Hunter Nemechek’s accident in Turn 4 on Lap 398 of 400 sent the event to overtime.
On Lap 310, Byron passed Elliott for the ninth position, and as the drivers ahead of him made pit stops, he worked his way forward, passing Daniel Suarez for the lead on Lap 327 before Suarez came to pit road.
Byron led the next 86 laps, and after Elliott was credited with leading Lap 413 at the overtime restart, Byron surged ahead for the final two circuits and crossed the finish line 0.550 seconds ahead of Larson.
“Congratsto William,” said Larson, who won the first 80-lap stage wire-to-wire. “He did a really good job. Kind of schooled us all there after that green flag stop. Did a really good job passing all of us. He was able to set a good pace, still get through traffic good.
“My car felt really good. I think we were all kind of the same speed, honestly. Just lost a little bit of track position there in the second stage. Was never able to overcome it.”
Byron held a lead of more than two seconds before the fifth and final caution of the race. On the overtime restart, he survived a bump from Elliott, who slipped to third behind Larson at the finish.
Bubba Wallace ran fourth, followed by reigning series champion Ryan Blaney. Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe completed the top 10. Hamlin pitted for fresh tires before the overtime, restarted 10thand came home 11th.
“We were just trying to do anything we could to steal one with our Sport Clips Toyota,” Hamlin said. “The tires didn’t wear enough to matter. We saw that when Joey (Logano) stayed out on those 80-lap lefts and led most of the stage (Stage 2).
“Tires didn’t wear, and we just struggled to pass all day. Once I came out of that cycle, third or fourth, that’s kind of just where I stayed.”
Larson, who led 86 laps, took over the series lead by 14 points over Martin Truex Jr., who finished 18thon Sunday, and by 17 over Hamlin.
The only negative aspect of the Hendrick party was the absence of the team owner, who underwent knee replacement surgery and couldn’t attend. But NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon was there to serve as grand marshal and represent the organization.
“These guys, these three guys, as well as Bowman, they drove their butts off,” Gordon said. “How about that William Byron, the 24 car? Every time we have a milestone day or opportunity or moment, he steps up.
“He got number 300. This is going to be a huge win for him and the whole organization.”
By Holly Cain - NASCAR Wire Service
Kyle Larson Claims First Victory at Martinsville Speedway
Kyle Larson's Hendrick Motorsports team gambled on a late race two-tire pit stop to give him a fighting chance for the victory, and he took the opportunity and drove away to a commanding 4.142-second win in Sunday's NOCO 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
It was the 2021 Champion's first victory at the famed half-mile track; making the pass for the win in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy with 30 laps remaining, but then having to hold off another past champion Joey Logano, whose runner-up finish Sunday was also impressive considering he started at the rear of the field after a post-qualifying adjustment to his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
"I feel like [crew chief] Cliff [Daniels] and everybody did a great job all day on pit road, making the right calls and having great pit stops and it all kind of worked out for me there at the end, we had a great car, that was the best my car had been," said Larson, whose final 30 laps out front were the only laps he led on the day.
It marks the second win of the season for the 30-year-old Californian Larson who joins his teammate William Byron as the only multiple race winners on the year.
That late-race pit gamble for Larson was indicative of a dramatic final few laps when pit strategy played a big role in the race. Logano was one of four drivers who did not pit on a caution flag with 56 laps remaining, choosing to take track position instead after he'd gone down a lap not once but twice earlier in the afternoon.
"Solid recovery for what the start of the race looked like," Logano said, joking that at one point he would have been happy just to finish on the lead lap.
"Stayed out at the end when everyone pitted, which put us on the front row and had a shot to win the race," he continued. "I tried to hold off Larson as long as I could. But overall there's some days when you're mad about second [place]. Today's not one of those."
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin finished third and fourth – the first top-five finishes for both drivers this season. Stewart-Haas Racing's Chase Briscoe finished fifth just in front of his teammate Aric Almirola.
The SHR team was especially strong Sunday with three of its four drivers combining to lead 264 of the 400 laps. Ryan Preece, who started from the pole position for the first time in his career, collected his first stage win and led a race best 135 laps, but was penalized for speeding on pit road and had to go to the rear of the field. He recovered to finish 15th. Briscoe led 109 laps and Kevin Harvick, who claimed his first stage win since 2020, was out front for 20 laps, but a late race issue left him 20th.
Logano's Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney was seventh, followed by this year's DAYTONA 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace – who also had to recover from a pit road speeding penalty.
Perhaps the most noteworthy Top-10 finish of the day belonged to Hendrick Motorsports' driver Chase Elliott who was making his first start since suffering a broken leg in a snowboarding accident seven weeks ago.
"It was pretty good, honestly, about what I expected, so that was a good thing," Elliott said of his leg after the long day. "Just it was warm [temperatures] and I've been sitting on the couch for six weeks so that probably hurt me more than anything.
"We struggled every run but the last one and finally got it going there at the end and I was able to start making some passes and do things I didn't really think I was going to be capable of doing. So, I was pleasantly surprised by that and got a top 10 of our first day back so that was definitely nothing to be too bummed out about."
Elliott acknowledged the earnest and warm welcome he received at the race track all weekend – the first time he's been to a track since his injury six weeks ago.
"The people, honestly, from my peers to my teammates just the competitive nature of being here and wanting to be better," Elliott said of what he missed most being away from the track during his recovery.
"Really nice to be back and I appreciate the warm welcome this weekend by everybody. I appreciate that and it didn't go unnoticed.”
With the win, Larson moves to fourth in the championship standings – only 17 points behind leader Christopher Bell, who finished 16th on Sunday. Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain is second, five points behind Bell. He finished 13th at Martinsville.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain claim Championship 4 spots in unbelievable Martinsville finish
Christopher Bell had another miracle in his pocket, but Ross Chastain stole the show with a scarcely believable video-game move in the final corners of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
For the second time in as many rounds in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Bell won a race he had to win. After beating pole winner Kyle Larson to the finish line by .869 seconds, Bell will race for the series title next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
"Mom and dad, we did it—wow," an emotional Bell said after the race. "I can't believe it, man. To come here in Martinsville, this place has always been so tough on me. Just pre-race looking up, seeing all the fans, this place is packed... I don't even know what to say.
"Man, I say it all the time, but the driver is just a small piece of the puzzle for these races. The reason why this car won today is because it was the best car on the race track. (Crew chief) Adam Stevens... this entire 20 group, they just never give up. When our back is against the wall, looks like it's over, they show up and give me the fastest car out here."
The victory was Bell's third of the season and his second in a must-win situation. On Oct. 9, he won the Bank of America ROVAL 500 at Charlotte to stave off elimination from the Playoffs.
But it was Chastain who added most significantly to the lore of the historic .526-mile short track with a shocking trip around Turns 3 and 4 that knocked veteran Denny Hamlin out of the Playoffs.
Running 10th and facing elimination on the last lap, Chastain pinned his No. 1 Chevrolet to the outside wall entering Turn 3, kept his throttle open and rocketed around the fence as if he had just ignited an afterburner.
The amazing move carried Chastain past Hamlin into fifth place and into the Championship 4. Chastain completed the final lap in 18.845 seconds, .864 seconds faster than Larson's pole-winning time.
"I made the choice, grabbed fifth gear down the back," Chastain said. "Fully committed. Basically let go of the wheel, hoping I didn't catch the Turn 4 access gate or something crazy. But I was willing to do it.
"I just cannot believe that we have a chance to go fight for a championship. All we ask for is a chance. We kept our world small this year so far. We'll do the same thing going to Phoenix."
Chase Elliott came home 11th and secured a Championship 4 berth by four points over Hamlin, the same margin Chastain enjoyed. Elliott, Chastain, Bell and Las Vegas winner Joey Logano will race for the series championship at Phoenix.
Tenth-place finisher Chase Briscoe was eliminated from the Playoffs, but not for lack of effort. Briscoe stayed out on old tires during the final caution and restarted in the lead with 24 laps left. But Briscoe gave up the top spot to Bell, who had pitted for four fresh tires, on Lap 496 of 500.
"Yeah, we were obviously on a lot older tires there," Briscoe said. "Thought there for a little bit I was going to be OK. I just fell off a cliff pretty hard. I should have used the wall. Pretty good deal to use there."
Also ousted from the Playoffs were William Byron, who couldn't overcome a 25th-place starting position, and Ryan Blaney, who finished third but couldn't overcome a deep points deficit entering the race.
The Hendrick Motorsports duo of Larson and Elliott dominated the early going. Larson led the first 68 laps before Elliott passed him for the top spot in traffic and stayed out front for the next 52 laps.
But Hamlin, who had started 11th, drove through the top 10 and took the lead on Lap 121, with nine laps left in the first stage. Hamlin stayed at the point for 203 laps, winning the first two stages. He didn't relinquish the lead until Bell won the race off pit road on Lap 276, under caution for Austin Dillon's hard crash into the Turn 4 wall three laps earlier.
Hamlin lost positions on three consecutive pit stops in the final stage of the race. He restarted 13th, one spot behind Chastain, after a 14.5-second stop under caution on Lap 470.
Hamlin advanced to fifth and had the final Championship 4 spot in hand until Chastain rocketed around the wall through the final corners.
"You got to execute all day," Hamlin said. "We just didn't control the race when we had control of it. Each caution we just kept losing some spots. That's the way it is."
Brad Keselowski, who, like Larson, took right-side tires only on his final pit stop, came home fourth, getting a bump from Chastain at the finish line. Hamlin was sixth, followed by Logano, Byron and Bubba Wallace.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
William Byron is NASCAR Cup’s first double winner with victory at Martinsville
The first night race for the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway was a cakewalk for Hendrick Motorsports—until a late caution sent the race to overtime, that is.
But William Byron survived a final restart and a mistake on the white-flag lap to win Saturday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at the .526-mile short track.
Byron led 212 of the 403 laps. Teammate and pole winner Chase Elliott led the first 185 circuits, as Hendrick Motorsports surpassed 10,000 laps led at Martinsville, becoming the first Cup organization to hit that prodigious number at a single track.
At the end of the two-lap overtime, Byron crossed the finish line .303 seconds ahead of runner-up Joey Logano, who couldn’t get close enough to Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet in the final corner to make a move for the win.
Byron, who also won Thursday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, is the first driver to win two events this season. Saturday night’s Cup victory was his first at Martinsville and the fourth of his career.
With his parents on his pit box for the entire race, Byron dedicated the win to his mother.
“When that last caution came out (for Todd Gilliland’s brush with the Turn 4 wall on Lap 393), I thought everyone behind us would pit,” Byron said. “Luckily, we stayed out—we were aggressive. We felt like we could refire on the tires and be OK.
“You’ve got one of the most aggressive guys behind you with Logano. I chattered the tires in (Turns) 3 and 4 (on the white-flag lap) and left the bottom open, but I was able to kind of block my exit to get a good drive off (the corner).
“This one’s for my mom. This same weekend last year, she had kind of a mini-stroke and was diagnosed with brain cancer. It means a lot to have her here, and it’s been a crazy year, but she’s doing great, and thanks, everybody, for the support. I kind of felt like she was riding in there with me. It’s cool to have her here, and I’m definitely going to enjoy this one.”
Logano had mixed emotions after the race. The strong second-place run was gratifying, but it was second place, not first, and it extended his winless streak to 37 races.
“That final restart there, had a front row,” Logano said. “That’s what you can ask for. Got cleared to second, and Willy kind of messed up off of (Turn) 4 and let me get to him, and he did a really good job of brake-checking… He did what he was supposed to do, and kind of got me all stuffed up behind him, and I couldn’t accelerate off the corner and be as close as I needed to be down into 3 to execute the ol’ bump-and-run.
“Couldn’t get quite to him, but his corner entry was really strong, too, which I think allowed him to get in there pretty strong. Overall, the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang had a solid run. Just hate being that close to winning and not making it happen. But big points today, and it just stings. Second just sucks sometimes, that’s all.”
Austin Dillon ran a strong third behind Logano, with Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain claiming the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Chase Briscoe and Elliott completed the top 10. Elliott leads the series standings by three points over second-place Blaney. Byron is third, 12 points back.
Leading the first 185 laps, Elliott won the first two stages in the process. But Byron won the race off pit road under caution at the second stage break and remained out front for 118 laps until he came to pit road during a cycle of green-flag stops midway through the final stage.
Blaney held the top spot for five laps before making his final stop, and Byron regained the lead when Blaney came to pit road on Lap 308.
After completion of the green-flag cycle, NASCAR called the third caution of the race when Denny Hamlin’s ill-handling car stopped on pit road. Byron retained control of the race after the subsequent Lap 325 restart, with Austin Dillon moving past Joey Logano into the second position.
That was the last yellow flag until the final caution on Lap 393. The four cautions total—with two for stage breaks—were the fewest in a Cup race at Martinsville since 1997. Then again, Saturday night’s race was shortened from 500 to 400 laps.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Alex Bowman triumphs at Martinsville, as Martin Truex Jr. gains Championship 4
Denny Hamlin provided the perfect capstone to a day of banged-up stock cars, hurt feelings and crushed dreams.
Alex Bowman took the checkered flag in Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after sliding up into Hamlin's race-leading Toyota on Lap 494 of 501 and knocking Hamlin's car up the track and into the outside wall.
As Bowman tried to start a burnout to celebrate his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and his first at the .526-mile short track, Hamlin drove to the frontstretch and expressed his displeasure by twice blocking the progress of Bowman's No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
"I just got loose in," Bowman said of the accident that gave him the lead. "I got in too deep (into Turn 3), knocked him out of the way and literally let him have the lead back. For anybody that wants to think I was trying to crash him, obviously that wasn't the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him.
"He's been on the other side of that. He's crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. Obviously, I don't want to crash somebody. I just got in, got underneath him, spun him out...Regardless, we get a free grandfather clock (trophy), which is pretty special."
By the time Bowman took the checkered flag, his teammate, defending Cup champion Chase Elliott already had clinched a spot in next Sunday's Championship 4 race at Phoenix by sweeping the first two stages of the event.
Elliott joins another teammate, two-time Round of 8 winner Kyle Larson, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. in the quartet that will vie for the series title at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert.
With a damaged car that had slapped the outside wall at the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 471, Truex eked out his berth in the championship race by three points over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, who finished second to Truex's fourth but lost his slim pre-race advantage in the first two stages.
Eliminated from the Playoff with Busch were the Team Penske Fords of Brad Keselowski (third Sunday and eight points below the cutoff), Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.
Hamlin, who started from the rear after his car twice failed pre-race inspection, had enough of a margin entering the race that his 24th-place finishing position didn't cost him a chance at the championship. But that was little consolation for the lost opportunity to add to his collection of five grandfather clocks.
"He's just a hack," Hamlin said of the race winner. "Just an absolute hack. He gets his ass kicked by his teammates every week. He's (expletive) terrible. He's just terrible. He sees one opportunity, he takes it.
"Obviously, he's got the fast car of the week and he runs 10th. He didn't want to race us there. We had a good, clean race. I moved up as high as I could on the race track to give him all the room I could - he still can't drive."
Lane choice helped Truex gain the final four after Aric Almirola got loose and forced him up the track on Lap 471, costing Truex positions and the eventual scrape with the wall. Truex gained spots on the subsequent restart on Lap 478 and chose the outside lane—directly behind Busch—for the final restart on Lap 500.
"I have no idea how we finished fourth," Truex said of the contact with the wall. "I'm going to buy a lottery ticket on the way home."
Even though Busch struggled with the handling of his No. 18 Toyota throughout the afternoon at Martinsville, he blamed his 28th-place finish last weekend at Kansas for his failure to advance to the Championship 4 Round.
"We just missed last week," said the two-time series champion—and the only active driver with more than one title. "That's where we lost all the ground. Could have come in here with 15 more points, we would have been fine on the cut. Just wasn't it. Wasn't meant to be. Obviously, it was Truex's day. We had a Hail Mary opportunity there at the end. Just didn't materialize.
"All in all, just proud of the effort for sure. We slung everything and anything at this thing today, couldn't really make it come alive. Great effort. That was there, for sure. We've just got to get better, everybody included, the whole team, in order to be able to go race with the best and race for a championship. We're not going to do that this year."
Neither will Bowman, who was eliminated from the Playoffs in the Round of 12. But the victory at NASCAR's most venerable track, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year, was ample compensation.
Not to mention the free clock.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Late pass gives Martin Truex Jr. third NASCAR Cup victory at Martinsville
Martin Truex Jr. passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin on Lap 485 of Sunday's rain-delayed Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway and pulled away to win for the third time in his last four starts at the .526-mile short track.
The victory was Truex's second this season, ending a streak of seven straight different winners to start the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. The driver of the No. 19 Toyota triumphed for the 29th time in his career and for the fifth time in his last 11-short track starts.
Truex finished 1.972 seconds ahead of runner-up Chase Elliott, who passed Hamlin for the second spot on Lap 495 of 500. Hamlin held third, 2.364 seconds behind, to post his seventh top-five finish (including four third-place results) in his eight starts this season.
"I can't believe we won again here, after not having the dominant car today, for sure," said Truex, who led for the first time when he beat Hamlin out of the pits on Lap 455 but surrendered the top spot to Hamlin's short-run speed after a restart on Lap 459. "It was a lot of fun there at the end racing with Denny.
"We raced clean, and we were able to come out on top. It's definitely difficult. We try to race hard, race clean. He was making it difficult on me—I was loose coming off the corners. His car got tight, so we kind of had opposite things going on, and it made it difficult to pass. We played nice. (Team owner) Coach (Joe Gibbs) will be happy. It'll be a cordial meeting tomorrow."
In a race that produced 15 cautions for 102 laps, the 42-lap green-flag run to the finish proved Hamlin's undoing. The driver No. 11 Toyota didn't have the long-run speed to hold off his teammate.
"It's just the cards we were dealt," said Hamlin, who led 276 laps. "We had a really good short-run car. We just didn't have a good long-run car. We just couldn't get our car to turn in the long run. That was the bugaboo of it, I guess you could say.
"We had a really fast car for 20 laps or so, and then it would just kind of go away."
Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch completed the top 10.
Ryan Blaney won the first and second stages and led 157 laps, but his No. 12 Team Penske Ford dragged an air hose out of the pit box on his final stop, earning a penalty that sent him to the back of the field for the Lap 459 restart. He fought back for an 11th-place finish.
"We've had an issue the last three times we've been here with a car to win, so that's frustrating, but I'm real proud of the effort," Blaney said. "I just wish we could close one out."
A 15-car pileup worthy of a "Big One" at Talladega thinned the field of potential winners and blocked the track as effectively as the forlorn container ship stopped traffic in the Suez Canal. Then melee started with side-to-side contact between the cars of Chris Buescher and Kyle Busch and collected a baker's dozen of cars behind them—and setting the Chevrolets of Daniel Suarez and Ryan Preece on fire.
The wreck, which stopped the race under a red flag that lasted 21 minutes, 47 seconds, was the coup de grace for two-time Martinsville winner Brad Keselowski, who had sustained damage in two earlier accidents.
"It's just unfortunate that we got caught up in it," Keselowski said. "The track was blocked. I think I was just barely going to get stopped in time, and somebody clobbered me from behind and just tore us up. It's a bummer. I think we were really good.
"We drove up into the top five and lost the power-steering. I was able to manhandle it around the race track, but I couldn't get down pit road where you go to turn in your pit box… Just one of those compounding, frustrating short-track days, but we had decent speed."
The race was halted by rain after 42 laps on Saturday night and resumed under caution at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
XFINITY Race Winning Drivers
2
Aric Almirola
1
Justin Allgaier
1
Josh Berry
1
Harrison Burton
1
Ty Gibbs
1
Noah Gragson
1
Brandon Jones
1
John Hunter Nemechek| DATE | RACE | WINNER | # | MAKE | ST | TEAM | CREW CHIEF | LAPS | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11-2024 | National Debt Relief… | Aric Almirola | 20 | Toyota | 9th | Joe Gibbs Racing | Tyler Allen | 250 | 02:11:30 |
| 04-2024 | Dude Wipes 250 | Aric Almirola | 20 | Toyota | 6th | Joe Gibbs Racing | Tyler Allen | 251 | 02:07:48 |
| 10-2023 | Dead On Tools 250 | Justin Allgaier | 7 | Chevrolet | 2nd | JR Motorsports | Jim Pohlman | 256 | 02:26:07 |
| 04-2023 | Call 811 Before You … | John Hunter Nemechek | 20 | Toyota | 2nd | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore | 250 | 02:12:50 |
| 10-2022 | Dead On Tools 250 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Toyota | 4th | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gayle | 269 | 02:20:32 |
| 04-2022 | Call 811 Before You … | Brandon Jones | 19 | Toyota | 12th | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jeff Meendering | 261 | 02:26:50 |
| 10-2021 | Dead On Tools 250 | Noah Gragson | 9 | Chevrolet | 9th | JR Motorsports | Dave Elenz | 257 | 02:10:48 |
| 04-2021 | Cookout 250 | Josh Berry | 8 | Chevrolet | 29th | JR Motorsports | Taylor Moyer | 250 | 02:12:02 |
| 10-2020 | Draft Top 250 | Harrison Burton | 20 | Toyota | 10th | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore | 250 | 02:07:56 |
Xfinity Race Recaps
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Aric Almirola completes season sweep in Martinsville elimination race
Tickets punched and punches thrown—it was Martinsville after all, and in Saturday’s National Debt Relief 250, Aric Almirola made Martinsville Speedway his personal playground.
Leading 150 of 250 laps in a No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that was the clear class of the field, Almirola won his second race in his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 0.526-mile short track and earned a spot for his car in the series owners’ Championship 4.
In the process, Almirola denied JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith and JGR’s Chandler Smith a chance to advance to the Championship 4 Race for the drivers’ title.
Pulling away after a restart on Lap 235, the part-time Xfinity Series driver beat runner-up Sammy Smith to the finish line by 0.587 seconds, with Chandler Smith trailing in third.
With Almirola winning the race, Justin Allgaier (fifth Saturday) and defending series champion Cole Custer (fourth) qualified for the Nov. 9 Championship 4 Race at Phoenix on points, joining Round of 8 race winners AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill.
Jesse Love (12th Saturday) and Sam Mayer (30th) were eliminated from the Playoffs along with the two Smiths, though Chandler gave a parting shot in the form of a punch to Custer, with whom he had tangled on the race track.
For Almirola, who won at Martinsville in April in his first Xfinity attempt, the victory was the third of the season in 13 starts and the seventh of his career.
“We had an amazing car here in the spring, and we made a few tweaks to it,” said Almirola, who also swept the first and second stages. “I wasn’t totally happy with it, honestly, in the spring. And we showed up (Friday) and we were awful. I was like ‘Oh, no, what did we do?’
“They went to work last night and came up with a lot of changes to make to the car, and it was so hooked up today. It would just do everything I wanted it to. This is such a special place. This is by far my favorite race track. I’m just so thankful.”
After Chandler Smith executed a bump-and run on Custer for a pass on Lap 220, Custer lined up behind Smith on the outside for a restart on Lap 227. In a race that produced 13 cautions for 84 laps, Custer shoved Smith’s Camry toward the wall in Turn 1, perhaps denying the latter a chance to race for the win.
After the race, Smith confronted Custer and threw a punch at the reigning champion.
“I was planning to do a lot more than that, to be completely frank with you,” Smith said. “I was extremely pissed off. I gave him five laps before that caution came out (for Brandon Jones spin on Lap 220). I beat his bumper off and never shipped him or anything. The laps were winding down, and I was in a must-win. The 20 (Almirola) started to drive away—he was really good all day—I can’t waste any more time with him.
“I finally had a good enough run and pushed him up the race track and went on our way. But I gave him a chance for five laps before that. I think he was the first guy all day that chose the outside lane from third place (for the Lap 227 restart). That was very interesting, and he didn’t even give me a chance to make the corner when we got to Turn 1.”
Custer thought that made the drivers all-square, though Smith disagreed.
“Obviously, he wasn’t happy, but what goes around comes around,” Custer said. “He put us in the wall a few times this year. He used the bump-and-run on me. I used the bump-and-run on him…
“I don’t know how we’re not even. And then he punched me in the face. I couldn’t really tell if he even punched me in the face, it was so soft.”
Along with Almirola, Hill and Allmendinger, Allgaier put his No. 7 Chevrolet in the Championship 4 for the owners’ title.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Aric Almirola claims emotional NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Martinsville
With a dramatic victory Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway, Aric Almirola removed an asterisk from his career record and collected a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus in the process.
With considerable help—perhaps unintentional—from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sheldon Creed after an overtime restart, Almirola grabbed the lead from Sam Mayer and won the DUDE Wipes 250 under caution when Riley Herbst, pole winner Brandon Jones and Ryan Ellis wrecked in Turn 2 on the final lap.
The victory was Almirola’s first since retiring from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition and rejoining Joe Gibbs Racing this season. The record book will show that the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota has five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins to his credit, but Almirola has always considered his first one tainted.
In 2007, he won the pole at the Milwaukee Mile and started the race but turned the car over to Denny Hamlin, who was late in his commute from a Cup date at Sonoma Raceway. Hamlin won the race, but Almirola got credit for the victory as the driver of record.
“Man, this is so awesome,” Almirola said. “To win for Joe Gibbs Racing. I’ve had an asterisk next to a win for Coach (Joe Gibbs) for 17 years, and this is so awesome to finally put a real win banner up inside the shop at Joe Gibbs Racing.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Coach for calling me and giving me this opportunity to have some fun and still scratch the itch of racing but still get to spend a lot of time with our family.”
Though Almirola led 148 of 251 laps, the outcome was in doubt until he took command after the final restart. Race runner-up Sam Mayer held the lead at that point, but when Almirola’s JGR teammate Sheldon Creed took Almirola and Mayer three-wide in Turn 2 on the penultimate lap, contact slowed Mayer’s progress and allowed Almirola to break clear for the lead.
“Man, those restarts here are just ruthless,” said Mayer, who wrested the top spot from Almirola on Lap 243, moments before a five-car pileup on the frontstretch caused the 10th caution of the race.
“Painful. Obviously, the 20 was really, really good today. It was good that I was able to keep up and be as fast as them and pass all those JGR cars there at the end and march up to the front. That’s the first time I’ve done that here…
“But at the end of the day, we needed a ‘W’, and I got one I feel like stolen from me there a little bit.”
Mayer’s pass on Lap 243 was one of four lead changes over the final 12 laps. On Lap 239, JGR’s Chandler Smith, who started from the back of the field after crashing in practice on Friday, muscled past Almirola, who returned the favor by moving his teammate into the top lane for a pass on Lap 241.
“Chandler, I felt like used me up pretty good, so when I got back to him, I was going to make sure he knew it,” Almirola said. “From there the race was on. Mayer did a great job of getting to me and moving me out of the way.
“And then on that restart I knew it was going to be tough. I was really thankful to be able to hold on to it. They drilled me in the left rear, and I was able to hold on to it and get a good run off (Turn) 2.”
Smith ran third, followed by Carson Kvapil, who finished fourth in his Xfinity Series debut. Justin Allgaier came home fifth after starting from the rear. Creed, Sammy Smith, Cole Custer, Sunoco rookie, Jesse Love and Josh Williams completed the top 10.
New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen was 11th in his first trip to Martinsville.
Almirola was won the Dash 4 Cash bonus as the highest finisher among four eligible drivers. Since he is not competing at Texas next weekend, the four Dash 4 Cash drivers in Fort Worth are Mayer, Smith, Allgaier and Creed.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Justin Allgaier avoids last-lap melee to win NASCAR Xfinity race at Martinsville
At the end of Saturday’s chaotic Dead on Tools 250, Justin Allgaier rescued his season with an improbable victory that earned the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet a berth in the Nov. 4 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway.
Allgaier’s Camaro crossed the finish line glued to the side of Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, scoring his first win at Martinsville, his fourth of the season and the 23rd of his career by 0.032 seconds over Creed, who needed a victory to advance to the title race.
Repeated contact between Creed’s car and the Chevrolet of teammate Austin Hill during two overtime laps eventually victimized Hill, the regular-season champion, in a chain-reaction wreck in the final corner and deprived Hill of a chance to race for the championship next weekend.
Before the final restart, Allgaier’s chances of qualifying for the title race had dimmed, as both Hill, the race leader at the time, and Cole Custer (seventh for the restart) had control of the final two Championship 4 spots.
Though Custer was collected in the last-lap wreck, which produced the 16th caution of the race, he was credited with a 19th-place finish to Hill’s 21st and bumped the RCR driver out of the Playoffs by seven points.
But no one benefited from the closing mayhem more than Allgaier, who got repeated encouragement from spotter Eddie D’Hondt and crew chief Jim Pohlman during the late stages of the race.
“Both of those guys kept telling me, ‘It’s not over,’” Allgaier said. “Coming to the start/finish line, I don’t think I saw a single person sitting down. I was just hanging on… This car has been lights-out fast all year.
“We’ve got a shot at going for a championship at Phoenix. This is an emotional one. I’ve wanted to win at Martinsville for a long time, and I’ve been on the other end of that (pointing at the crashed cars on the frontstretch) too many times.”
The overtime restart was a recipe for disaster. Hill had lane choice and picked the bottom, with Creed lined up to his outside. Hill initially cleared Creed’s Chevrolet, but the driver of the No. 2 Chevy used his bumper to force Hill up the track and draw alongside.
As the cars ran through Turns 3 and 4 for the final time, John Hunter Nemechek turned Hill’s Camaro and ignited the last-lap wreck that ultimately settled the field for the Championship 4.
Creed, who is leaving RCR at the end of the season, was subdued but unapologetic.
“I’m not proud of racing like that, but I didn’t blast him,” Creed said. “He was still with me (on the final lap)… I feel like I raced pretty fair for the situation, and he’s going to be mad, but it’s for a Championship 4 spot, and I’m going to fight for my guys all the way to the end.”
As might be expected, Hill had a different view of the final two laps.
“Man, it’s uncalled for for that to happen, and then for neither of the RCR guys to make it to the final four,” Hill said. “It’s frustrating. I’m pretty excited for him to go to his next adventure over at Gibbs, and I don’t have to put up with him anymore.”
(Hill may have anticipated Creed’s next move, which is yet to be announced.)
Pole winner Sammy Smith, another driver in a must-win situation to continue in the Playoffs, led 147 of the 256 laps and finished third. But Smith also left Martinsville with a grudge against a teammate—John Hunter Nemechek, who had clinched a Championship 4 berth on points by the end of the second stage.
In Smith’s view, Nemechek made it impossible for him to fight for the win in overtime.
“They were telling me that he wasn’t going to make any enemies,” Smith said. “I asked him if he was going to choose the top, and he said he wasn’t going to do that. I had a good run on him, and he went to block me down to the bottom.
“He didn’t want to make any enemies, but I’m really frustrated right now. He definitely made one. I’m not going to let that one go, and we will see how things go.”
In a race that started in daylight and ended under a full moon after a 28-minute stoppage to clear the track after a 12-car wreck on Lap 244, Riley Herbst ran fourth, followed by Josh Berry and Daniel Hemric.
Parker Retzlaff, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton and Parker Kligerman completed the top 10.
Sam Mayer, already part of the Championship 4 by virtue of last week’s victory at Homestead, was knocked out of the race in the Lap 244 wreck and finished 25th. Playoff driver Chandler Smith completed 187 laps before being sidelined by an accident and eliminated from the postseason.
By Holly Cain - NASCAR Wire Service
John Hunter Nemechek Wins with Dominating Performance in Martinsville
John Hunter Nemechek led a dominating 198 of 250 laps to win Saturday night's Call811.com Before You Dig 250 – besting his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith by 1.518-seconds to earn his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2023 season and first win in his first series-start at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
The 25-year-old Nemechek, of Mooresville, N.C., took the lead for good on a race restart with 32 laps remaining after winning the first two stages of the race. He, Smith and third place finisher Cole Custer were easily the class of the field all night running some version of 1-2-3 for most of the race.
Smith was able to nudge his way past Custer on the final lap for that runner-up showing.
As Nemechek took his No. 20 JGR Toyota to the front stretch to do a traditional burnout celebration, he literally set the track on fire briefly – perhaps a fitting finale to his hot night behind the wheel. Not only did he win the race, he won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash incentive prize awarded by series sponsor Xfinity.
"I can't say enough about this whole team, if you would have asked me yesterday if we would have won, I thought we were a 10th place car in practice," said Nemechek, whose car was ironically sponsored by a fire extinguisher company (Pye Barker Fire & Safety). "Just grateful the guys made the right adjustments.
"Let's celebrate."
While Nemechek's car was so good on the night, there was still a lot of compelling wheel-to-wheel competition behind him. Fourth place finisher Josh Berry, for example, led the next highest number of laps (27) – his No. 8 JR Motorsport Chevrolet looking especially strong until a tire situation forced a long pit stop midway through the race. He rallied back through the field, however, to take his seventh-consecutive top-10 finish on the year tying the the longest stretch of his career.
Berry's JR Motorsports teammate Brandon Jones finished fifth – his first top 10 of the season in the No. 9 JRM Chevrolet – followed by another teammate, Justin Allgaier, who was able to keep his No. 7 JRM Chevy in the lead group of cars despite not feeling well himself and finishing the race on much older tires than the rest of the lead group.
Nemechek – who swept both stage wins – Smith, Custer and Berry are now eligible for the next installment of the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash $100,000 award – next week at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The top finishing driver from among that four gets the big check.
"Congrats to them, they were the best car all night," Smith said.
Kaulig Racing teammates Daniel Hemric and Derek Kraus, AM Racing's Brett Moffitt and Kaulig's Chandler Smith rounded out the top 10.
Austin Hill – who leads all drivers with three wins this season – finished 16th and with Nemechek's win the second-generation driver takes over the points lead by 21 points over Hill.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Ty Gibbs wrecks teammate Brandon Jones for Xfinity win at Martinsville
Ty Gibbs took no prisoners Saturday with a race-winning move that dramatically altered the composition of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 field.
On the final lap of the third attempt at overtime, Gibbs rammed soon-to-be-ex-teammate Brandon Jones so hard the contact buckled the hood of Gibbs No. 54 Toyota.
The contact sent Jones, who had taken the lead on the previous lap, into the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2, and Gibbs had the lead when NASCAR called the 14th caution of the race because of wreck.
By then Gibbs already had clinched one of the two remaining spots in the Championship 4 Round, but the bulldozing move deprived Jones of an opportunity to race for the series title next Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.
As a chorus of boos rained down from the grandstand, Gibbs was unapologetic for that tactic that made him a race winner for the sixth time this season, for the first time at Martinsville and for the 10th time in 50 Xfinity Series starts.
"It was definitely not a clean move, for sure," Gibbs said. "I definitely didn't want to wreck him, but I definitely wanted to move him out of the groove so I could go win. I felt like we lost the spring race getting moved by him.
"He's my teammate, but definitely want to get the win here. It's important to get the win. And now we're going to the championships. It's cool. Hopefully, I don't get hit by any cans or anything right here.
"We got moved out of the way earlier this year so, it's part of it."
Jones won the pole and led 98 laps to Gibbs 102, but finished 23rd, the last driver on the lead lap.
"I know Ty enough to where I know he doesn't care about what he did," said Jones, who will move to JR Motorsports next season. "He's pretty much, well - he wasn't ‘pretty much' - he was locked into the next round. So really, what did that do?
"I don't really understand the move. I understand trying to get aggressive - you want to win the race. But to just destroy the race car, I don't see it. I don't get any satisfaction from it. Maybe he does. Maybe he likes to win that way? But I never have and never felt strong about racing that way. So we'll just take it and go for it."
Jones' misfortune elevated veteran Justin Allgaier, his soon-to-be-teammate at JR Motorsports into the final Championship 4 berth. Jones needed a victory to claim the spot, but Allgaier was in a position to advance on points, which he did by 12 points over Regular Season Champion AJ Allmendinger.
Allgaier finished fifth and Allmendinger 16th after contact between their cars cut Allmendinger's left rear tire as the drivers played bumper tag and swapped positions during the closing stages of the race. Allgaier was happy to advance but less than thrilled with the way it happened.
"I can't even describe it," Allgaier said. "It's disappointing that it's gotten to the point where it's - unfortunately easier to drive through somebody than it is to pass them. Really proud of our team. We never gave up until the checkered flag fell. Had a ton of damage right there (from a collision on Lap 262 in the second overtime) but made it to the final round."
After the race, Allmendinger sought Allgaier out on pit road and congratulated him.
"You get down to the end, (Allmendinger) was pushing pretty hard," Allgaier said. "He chose to run into us enough times that you get to the point where you have to go for it. He knew when he turned back left that we were going to hit.
"I hate it for those guys. I don't know if we could have run 25 laps battling as hard as we did there at the end. They've had a great season. We've had a great season. It's just so hard when it comes to the last race, especially at a place like Martinsville."
Gibbs and Allgaier will race for the series championship at Phoenix against Josh Berry and Noah Gragson, who earned their spots in the Championship 4 with respective victories at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami in the Round of 8.
Non-Playoff drivers Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst finished second and third after the late-race melee, followed by the JR Motorsports trio of Gragson, Allgaier and Sam Mayer. Nick Sanchez, Daniel Hemric, Austin Hill and Blaine Perkins completed the top 10.
Along with Allmendinger and Jones, Hill and Mayer were eliminated from the Playoffs.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Brandon Jones snatches victory from Ty Gibbs in Martinsville brawl
On older tires, Brandon Jones stole an Xfinity Series win from the scion of the owner of his race team on Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway.
Jones dived to the inside of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs as the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 went to a second overtime. Jones cleared Gibbs on the second circuit (Lap 261) and got to the finish line .677 seconds ahead of Landon Cassill, as Sam Mayer bumped Gibbs’s Toyota and squeezed it into the outside wall off the final corner.
While Mayer and Gibbs tangled, AJ Allmendinger took third and the $100,000 Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus that goes to the highest finisher among four eligible drivers, a group that also included Mayer and Gibbs.
Gibbs led 198 of the 261 laps in a race that was scheduled for 250. Jones led 28. But Gibbs was too busy fighting Mayer on pit road after the race to worry about the lap count.
While Jones was performing a celebratory burnout on the frontstretch, Gibbs strode to Mayer’s car, and heated words soon led to punches—Mayer with helmet off, Gibbs with helmet still on.
“I tried to talk to him, and he got in my face, and that’s when I had to start fighting,” Gibbs said.
“The only thing I’m mad about is that he (Mayer) wasn’t going to get by the 16 (Allmendinger), and I got hit in the left rear. It’s just frustrating, but I was on the other side of it last week (moving John Hunter Nemechek for a win at Richmond), so that’s just part of it.”
The dust-up on pit road did nothing to dampen the elation of Jones, who picked up his first Xfinity Series win since 2020 and the fifth of his career.
“It’s fun to beat him (Gibbs),” Jones said. “He’s hot right now.”
If Gibbs was hot, in another figurative sense, Mayer was unapologetic after the incident, which left him with a swollen left eye.
“With a hundred grand on the line, I put the bumper to him—that’s what short-track racing’s all about,” Mayer told FoxSports’ Bob Pockrass. “He got upset… he threw a couple of punches that were weak… But I just put the bumper to him for a hundred grand, and he got upset, but he’s been doing that to everyone else every week so far.”
Long before the chaotic ending, the race got off to a rocky start. Rain began falling right after the command was given to start engines and the green flag was delayed until a small storm cell left the area.
And before the field could complete a lap, the engine in Brennan Poole’s No. 47 Chevrolet exploded, sending a plume of smoke into the cool night air and dropping a trail of oil on the track.
The smoke was an appropriate metaphor. For the rest of Stage 1, Gibbs smoked the rest of the field, leading 59 of the 60 laps.
By pitting early under caution on Lap 42, Noah Gragson inherited the lead when Gibbs brought his No. 54 Toyota to pit road at the Stage 1 conclusion, but it didn’t take Gibbs long to prevail on new tires. (Gragson’s winning chances would evaporate in a wild multicar wreck that stopped the first attempt at overtime almost before it started.)
On Lap 88, the 19-year-old Gibbs passed Gragson for the top spot and began to pull away until Stefan Parsons’ spin in Turn 2 on Lap 101 caused the fifth caution.
Undeterred, Gibbs maintained his advantage, but the restart on Lap 108 gave Jones the opportunity to slip past Gragson for second. Gibbs elected to pit under caution on Lap 117 after contact from Anthony Alfredo’s Chevrolet turned the Toyota of Derek Griffith in Turn 1, causing the sixth caution.
That handed the stage win to Jones, who surrendered the lead to Parsons—with Gibbs running fourth—by pitting during the stage break, along with other drivers who had stayed out to collect stage points.
It took Gibbs fewer than two circuits to regain the lead after a restart on Lap 129. But at that point, barely past halfway, there were still nine cautions, two overtimes and a fistfight to go.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Noah Gragson snags Championship 4 spot with dramatic Martinsville victory
To get to the Championship 4, you have to drive like a champion.
That's what Noah Gragson did on Saturday night in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
Faced with the necessity of winning the race to keep his NASCAR Xfinity Series title hopes alive, Gragson did just that, pulling off a dramatic pass of Daniel Hemric from the outside lane in the first attempt at overtime and holding off series leader Austin Cindric in the second extra period.
With Cindric's Ford to his inside, Gragson won a drag race off Turn 4 to the finish line by .064 seconds, the closest Xfinity Series finish ever at Martinsville Speedway.
Gragson, who led a race-high 153 of 207 laps, got the lead after a restart on Lap 201, when he spun then-race-leader Ty Gibbs in a chain-reaction collision in Turn 4. After surrendering the top spot to Hemric on Lap 232, Gragson took advantage of a Lap 243 caution to regain the lead on the first overtime restart.
"This team, this Bass Pro Shops team," said Gragson, who won for the third time this season and the fifth time in his career. "It's been a rough, rough season. We had a couple of wins there, at Darlington and Richmond. After that deal last weekend (crashing out in 35th place at Kansas), I was pretty fired up. I told my guys we still have an opportunity. We're still in it.
"I'm just so thankful. It's just such an awesome opportunity. My second win here at Martinsville (his first came in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series). Get to take home another clock…This team is unbelievable. How about these badass fans out here?
"After the contact with the 54 (Gibbs) - I didn't mean to get into him, I got hit in the back by the 22 (Cindric) - it was just a bad deal."
Gragson's victory was bittersweet for JR Motorsports. Though Gragson clinched a spot in next Saturday's Championship 4 race at Phoenix, his victory simultaneously eliminated teammate Justin Allgaier, ending a string of three straight appearances in the final four.
"We played the safe strategy," said Allgaier, who finished fifth and would have advanced if Cindric or Hemric had won the race. "We talked about it before the race and thought that was the smart strategy… Hats off to the 9 guys—same shop—so at least we've got one car going to the Playoff."
Hemric came home third to earn the final Championship 4 berth by six points over Allgaier. Regular Season Champion AJ Allmendinger ran seventh, qualified on points and will race against defending series champion Cindric, Gragson and Hemric for the title.
Eliminated from the Playoff along with Allgaier were Brandon Jones (sixth), Harrison Burton (who suffered damage in a wreck with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Gibbs and finished 20th), and Justin Haley (who fell out of the race with brake problems after completing 222 laps).
Burton's waterloo came in the same Lap 201 incident when Gragson inadvertently turned Gibbs. With no way to avoid his teammate, Burton ran into Gibbs's Toyota and severely damaged the nose and front-left quarter panel of his Supra.
"We had a winning car today," Burton said. "Just so many things have to go right in racing to win that it makes it challenging to do on the drop of a dime. We just had a couple things go wrong. It's just a bummer deal that we didn't get to show our speed at the end.
"Wish we could have won this thing. I felt like we were definitely capable of it. Our times were better than the 9 (Gragson) and he won. We just needed to show it."
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Josh Berry claims first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Martinsville
Josh Berry had to wait nearly two days for the Sunday conclusion of the Cook Out 250 at Martinsville Speedway, but it was a worthwhile delay for the late model ace.
Driving for JR Motorsports car owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Berry took the lead from Ty Gibbs on Lap 223 of 250 and held it the rest of the way to win his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race in his 13th start.
In a race that was halted by rain after 91 laps on Friday night and restarted at noon on Sunday, Berry beat JR Motorsports teammate Noah Gragson to the finish line by .590 seconds. Both Gragson and Daniel Hemric passed Gibbs during the closing run to finish second and third, respectively.
For Gragson, that meant an extra payday of $100,000 as the highest finisher among four eligible Xfinity Dash 4 Cash drivers.
But the day belonged to Berry, who led a race-high 95 laps, 10 before the rain arrived on Friday and 85 on Sunday. Berry is the first driver to win an Xfinity race in the No. 8 car since Earnhardt Jr. prevailed at Michigan in 2006.
"Oh, gosh, I have so many people I could thank I could be here until tomorrow morning," Berry said after climbing from his car on the frontstretch at the .526-mile short track. "Just Dale, L.W. (Miller), Kelley, everybody for believing in me, everyone on this No. 8 team.
"Man, they've been through a lot the last couple of years. Had a ton of different drivers. Man, I wanted to win so bad for these guys. They're such a great group. I knew this would be a good opportunity to win. (Crew chief) Taylor (Moyer) called a perfect race. The car was good, and we just kept tweaking on it. The tires were pretty worn out there at the end. I was struggling a little bit with wheel-hop...This is just unbelievable."
Gragson had good reason to feel mixed emotions about finishing second to a driver he called "a legend in short-track racing." The driver of the No. 9 JRM Chevrolet had to play defense during the final run to keep Hemric behind him.
"I really wanted to win there," Gragson said, "but I was having to protect the bottom to keep the guys behind me from moving me out of the way. I couldn't open up my arc the way I needed to and make speed with that."
The Dash 4 Cash bonus was a welcome consolation.
"One hundred thousand dollars richer," Gragson said, displaying the big check. "I'm pumped up. Great 1-2 finish for our team at JR Motorsports."
Gibbs held the fourth spot, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones, who had just taken the lead from Berry when storms stopped the action on Friday night.
Series leader and defending champion Austin Cindric ran sixth, with Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett completing the top 10. All four JR Motorsports drivers finished in the top 10 (Berry, Gragson, Allgaier and Annett).
Though he's not driving in the series full-time, Berry also earned eligibility for the Dash 4 Cash bonus in the April 24 Xfinity race at Talladega, along with Gragson, Hemric and Jones.
TRUCKS Race Winning Drivers
2
Kyle Busch
2
Christian Eckes
2
Johnny Sauter
1
William Byron Jr
1
Matt Crafton
1
Chase Elliott
1
Grant Enfinger
1
Todd Gilliland
1
Noah Gragson
1
Corey Heim
1
Joey Logano
1
John Hunter Nemechek
1
Zane SmithTruck Race Recaps
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Christian Eckes wins at Martinsville after drama-filled closing laps
Christian Eckes wasn’t about to lose a race he had dominated, even if it meant using the front bumper on his No. 19 Chevrolet—twice.
After a restart with five laps left in Friday night’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Eckes first moved the Toyota of Taylor Gray and then the Ford of Ben Rhodes—both of which were rolling on 40-lap fresher tires—to win the race and earn a spot in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ Championship 4 Race.
Six-time winner Corey Heim ran seventh and Ty Majeski came home 11th, as both earned berths in the Championship 4 on points, eliminating Gray, Nick Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum and Rajah Caruth in the final event of the Playoffs’ Round of 8.
Eckes, Heim, Majeski and Grant Enfinger will race for the title next Friday at Phoenix Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
After the restart on Lap 196 of 200, Gray used his better tires to squeeze past Eckes to the inside. Eckes regained the top spot by moving Gray up the track. A lap later, Rhodes passed Eckes, who completed the fourth lead change in the final five laps by shoving the No. 99 Ford on Lap 198.
Free of his competitors, Eckes crossed the finish line two laps later, 1.191 seconds ahead of Rhodes. Chase Purdy and Gray were third and fourth, followed by Sanchez.
“Like I told everybody, I wasn’t going to lose this race—this truck was too good,” Eckes said. “The 17 (Gray) was hard racing. I feel bad about the 99 (Rhodes). I just got way too loose entering the corner.
“(Hearing boos from the crowd). Everybody’s really happy with me—but I don’t really care. I’m proud of everybody for working hard, and we’re going to Phoenix.”
The victory was Eckes’ fourth of the season, his second at Martinsville and the ninth of his career, but it came with a price.
After climbing from his truck, Gray walked angrily toward Eckes and expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms.
A victory would have landed Gray in the Championship 4 at the expense of Majeski, who instead claimed the last spot by 28 points over Gray.
“I got sent to the fence when I raced him perfectly clean in (Turns) 1 and 2,” Gray said. “What goes around comes around. I have to race him next year all year long (when both move up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series).
“The 19 (Eckes) was the class of the field, right? But it’s not my fault we had better strategy than he did. We came out on tires; we drove through the field and we drove to him. I raced him clean, and he drove me in the fence. I guess the only thing I could have done is wreck him like he wrecked me.”
Eckes swept the first two stages, his series-best 10th and 11th of the season and led 187 of the 200 laps. He held a substantial lead before a six-car accident in Turn 2 on Lap 190 caused the sixth and final caution and set up the frenetic finish.
For practical purposes, Gray, Sanchez, Ankrum and Caruth entered the race in must-win situations. Ankrum finished eighth, and Caruth came home 31st after losing 21 laps in the garage as his team repaired a brake issue on his No. 71 Chevrolet.
Despite finishing third in each of the first two stages, Sanchez was 39 points out of a Championship 4 position when the race ended.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Christian Eckes claims masterful Martinsville victory in NASCAR Trucks
It was indeed a special night for NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver Christian Eckes, who dominated Friday night’s Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
Eschewing a trip to pit road between the first and second stages at the 0.526-mile short track, Eckes led the first 104 laps, swept the stages and worked his way back through the field from 19th after pitting at the Stage 2 break.
Undeterred by the chaos that produced 11 cautions for 81 laps, Eckes took the lead for the final time on Lap 172 in a side-by-side battle against pole winner Ty Majeski, who regained the top spot when Eckes came to pit road for the only time during the 200-lap event.
“Something really special,” Eckes said of the effort of his No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing team and the quality of his Chevrolet. “We came here last year, and we weren’t really that great… we were maybe a sixth-place truck (started sixth and finished 15th).
“And we worked really hard on it, and here we are in Victory Lane. So just super proud of this entire team.”
The victory was the second of the season for Eckes, who won from the pole at Bristol last month. It was his first triumph at Martinsville and the seventh of his career.
Starting from the top spot on the grid, Majeski gave up the lead on the first lap as Eckes powered past him.
“The 19 (Eckes) was tough tonight,” Majeski said. “He was just a little but better than us. He had better tires (in the final stage), and I just could not launch on restarts…
“But I think we left here with the points lead today. Really solid day. Obviously, you want to win. I wanted that grandfather clock (trophy), but I’m super proud of this team. We’ve been working hard at getting our trucks better, and just a little but short tonight.”
Majeski leaves Martinsville as the series leader, with a seven-point edge over Corey Heim and Tyler Ankrum.
Chase Purdy ran third to post his fourth top-five finish in 81 Truck Series starts. Nick Sanchez was fourth, followed by Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Sammy Smith, Kaden Honeycutt and Heim.
Australian Supercars star Cam Waters finished 30th in his NASCAR debut, a casualty of a chain-reaction collision on Lap 177 that left his No. 66 ThorSport Racing Ford spewing hot vapor like a geyser.
“I had so much fun tonight and all day today,” Waters said. “It is totally different racing from what I usually do, and I just wanted to learn. I learned so much.
“There at the end I just had nowhere to go and knocked the radiator out of it. It is a shame, but I was having fun and learning and had some awesome battles, too.”
By Holly Cain - NASCAR Wire Service
Corey Heim's Time in Martinsville
Corey Heim prevailed at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway late Friday night to earn his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory of the season after persevering through both rain and dry conditions, two red flag periods for weather and multiple charges by the highly-motivated veteran Kyle Busch.
The 20-year old Georgia-native, Heim, led his first laps of the 2023 season at exactly the right time – holding the point for an impressive 82 of the 124 laps of the Long John Silver's 200. Including the most important lap.
An accident with 85 laps remaining brought out the yellow flag and after several circuits under caution, NASCAR brought the trucks to pit road where the red flag flew for rain and the race was declared official on lap 124 of the scheduled 200 laps.
"Rain, rain, come on," Heim told his TRICON Garage crew on the radio, just before climbing out of his No. 11 Toyota truck during that final red flag period.
"This race was cut short and that's definitely unfortunate, but this truck was fast all night," he said adding, "I couldn't ask for a better group of guys."
Heim had to work for this, holding off Busch – who was racing for Kyle Busch Motorsports' 100th win – and reigning series champion Zane Smith on four different re-starts to claim the famed one-of-a-kind grandfather clock Martinsville trophy only minutes before that clock would strike midnight.
"We just didn't have a good enough short run truck," said Busch, who finished second. "Being a little bit loose and free that we were, we were hoping that would pay off in the long run but never had a long run. The longest run of the race was on rain tires.
"It did not go our way today, unfortunately."
Heim swept both stage wins – his first of the season as well.
"I bring a 100-percent effort to every race every week so to be able to sit here and have it pay off is phenomenal," Heim said.
Smith finished third in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford with ThorSports Racing's Ty Majeski and Heim's TRICON teammate Tanner Gray rounding out the top five.
Ben Rhodes, Matt DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray, William Sawalich and Chase Purdy completed the top 10. It was the 16-year old Sawalich's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut – helping the TRICON team to four top-10 finishes.
Majeski maintains the points-lead after Martinsville by 26 points over Smith and 49 over Rhodes.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
William Byron takes decisive win in return to NASCAR Trucks at Martinsville
William Byron proved emphatically Thursday night that he hadn't forgotten how to drive a truck.
Making only his second start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since 2016—after a blown engine knocked him out of last year's Nashville race—Byron parlayed perfect pit strategy into a decisive victory in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
In his last full season in the series in 2016, Byron won seven races before moving on to the Xfinity Series and finally to the Cup Series.
With Kevin "Bono" Manion on his pit box, and with input from Cup crew chief Rudy Fugle, Byron brought his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road for the final time on Lap 83 of 200 and took over the lead when the trucks ahead of him pitted at the end of Stage 2 on Lap 104.
The 24-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., led all but two of the final 96 laps and beat runner-up Johnny Sauter to the finish line by 1.138 seconds. Kyle Busch ran third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek and defending series champion Ben Rhodes.
"It was a lot of fun," said Byron, who already has a Cup victory at Atlanta in hand this season. "Great crowd here at Martinsville. I've never won a race at Martinsville and struggled here when I was in late models.
"Yeah, just awesome to get the win tonight—a great truck tonight, the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Thanks to Spire, all the guys back at their shop. They don't have a lot of guys, and they do it right, obviously. It was fun to work with Bono, have a little help from Rudy. Obviously, he knows the trucks pretty well."
The race was a homecoming for Sauter, too. Making his second start of the season, the 2016 series champion was driving a ThorSport Racing Toyota for the first time since last year, his last full-time season with the organization.
Junior Joiner, long-time crew chief for Matt Crafton, returned to call the race for Sauter after retiring from full-time competition at the end of the 2021 season.
"I told Joiner today, I said don't listen to me when I give you feedback on the first run," Sauter said. "I called for an adjustment, and I shouldn't have. I thought we fired off tremendous and just got a little too tight there at the two-thirds mark of the corner…
"It was the first in-house chassis, in-house body for ThorSport. To come home second was pretty solid."
Sauter chased Byron after the final restart with 36 laps left but couldn't match the speed of Byron's Silverado.
The race featured 11 cautions for 71 laps. Zane Smith won the first stage wire-to-wire, and Rhodes claimed the second-stage win.
Chandler Smith, Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrun finished sixth through 10th, respectively. Rhodes leads the NCWTS standings by four points over second-place Chandler Smith.
340 Speedway Road
Ridgeway, VA, 24148
877-RACE-TIX
Martinsville Facts
- Backstretch Banking: 0-degrees (flat)
- Backstretch Length: 800 feet
- Frontstretch Banking: 0-degrees (flat)
- Frontstretch Length: 800 feet
- Surface: Asphalt (straightaways) and Concrete on Asphalt (turns)
- Track Width: 55 feet
- Turns 1 & 2 Banking: 12-degrees
- Turns 3 & 4 Banking: 12-degrees
Accupredict Similar
Track groupings used in my driver projections.
Compare the degree of track banking at this and other groups of tracks.
Martinsville Trivia
- Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.
- Opened in September of 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.
- The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.
- The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Sept. 25, 1949 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks.
- The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville was on July 4, 1948.
- The track was paved during the summer months of 1955. The first race at the track that season was on dirt (May 15) and the second race of the year was the first on the paved track (Oct. 16). Prior to paving the track, the Cup Series ran 12 races total on the dirt at Martinsville (1949-1955).
Martinsville History
Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation owned NASCAR stock car racing short track located in Henry County, Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (847 m) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by partners H. Clay Earles , Henry Lawrence and Sam Rice per Virginia House Joint Resolution No. 76 on the death of 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.
The track is often referred to as paper clip-shaped and is banked only 12° in the turns. The combination of long straightaways and flat, narrow turns makes hard braking going into turns and smooth acceleration exiting turns a must. The track was paved in 1955 and in 1956 it hosted its first 500-lap event. By the 1970s, a combination of high-traction slick tires and high speed was putting excessive wear on the asphalt surface. In 1976 the turns were repaved with concrete (a rare concept in the 1970s). By 2004, the then 28-year-old concrete had shown significant wear. On April 18, 2004 a large chunk of concrete had become dislodged from the track's surface and caused severe damage to the body of Jeff Gordon's car. In reaction to this, the track was fully repaved with new concrete and asphalt.
Until 1999, Martinsville was notorious for having two pit roads. The backstretch pit road was generally avoided because if a team had to pit there during a caution, any car pitting on the front stretch had the advantage of pitting first and not having to adhere to pace car speed upon exiting their pit road. This was rectified when pit road was reconfigured to extend from the entrance of turn 3 to the exit of turn 2. This move allowed for a garage to be built inside the track, and leaves Bristol Motor Speedway as the only active NASCAR track with two pit roads.
Source: Wikipedia