The official 2021 Cookout 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series entry list features top NASCAR drivers set to compete at Martinsville Speedway, highlighting the full lineup of race participants and teams.
Friday, April 9th, 2021
Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, VA
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.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Los Gatos, CA | Dec 16, 1981 | 39 | Chevrolet | Ellsworth Advisors | Kaulig Racing | Jason Trinchere |
2 | 3 | Andy Lally | Northport, NY | Feb 11, 1975 | 46 | Chevrolet | Robert B Our Co Inc | Our Motorsports | Ronnie Osmer |
3 | 17 | JJ Yeley | Phoenix, AZ | Oct 5, 1976 | 44 | Ford | Alcova / DBAutomotivePlus.com | Rick Ware Racing | Jason Miller |
4 | 4 | Landon Cassill | Cedar Rapids, IA | Jul 7, 1989 | 31 | Chevrolet | TeamJDMotorsports.com | JD Motorsports | Tommy Machek |
5 | 61 | David Starr | Houston, TX | Nov 11, 1967 | 53 | Toyota | MBM Motorsports | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Sebastian Laforge |
6 | 66 | Timmy Hill | Port Tobacco, MD | Feb 25, 1993 | 28 | Toyota | MBM Motorsports | Motorsports Business Management | Mark Hillman |
7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Riverton, IL | Jun 6, 1986 | 34 | Chevrolet | Walmart Fight Hunger | JR Motorsports | Jason Burdett |
8 | 1 | Michael Annett | Des Moines, IA | Jun 23, 1986 | 34 | Chevrolet | Pilot Flying J | JR Motorsports | Mike Bumgarner |
9 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Grimes, IA | Aug 7, 1992 | 28 | Chevrolet | Destiny Homes | Our Motorsports | Joe Williams |
10 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Halifax, VA | Aug 6, 1992 | 28 | Chevrolet | PurYear Tank Lines | Kaulig Racing | Bruce Schlicker |
11 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Mooresville, NC | Jun 22, 1989 | 31 | Chevrolet | TeamJDMotorsports.com | JD Motorsports | Kase Kallenbach |
12 | 52 | Gray Gaulding | Colonial Heights, VA | Feb 10, 1998 | 23 | Chevrolet | Panini America | Means Motorsports | Tim Brown |
13 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Tucker, GA | Jun 20, 1987 | 33 | Ford | CMR Construction and Roofing | RSS Racing | Kevin Starland |
14 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Wentzville, MO | Aug 28, 1997 | 23 | Chevrolet | LOF Defence Systems LTF | Mike Harmon Racing | Teddy Brown |
15 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Kannapolis, NC | Jan 27, 1991 | 30 | Toyota | Poppy Bank | Joe Gibbs Racing | Dave Rogers |
16 | 78 | Jesse Little | Sherrills Ford, NC | Apr 15, 1997 | 23 | Chevrolet | Tufco Flooring | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Adam Brooks |
17 | 74 | Bayley Currey | Driftwood, TX | Oct 29, 1996 | 24 | Chevrolet | Lerner & Rowe | Mike Harmon Racing | Ed Jewett |
18 | 11 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 21 | Chevrolet | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | Kaulig Racing | Alex Yontz |
19 | 36 | Alex Labbe | Saint-Albert, Canada | Apr 29, 1993 | 27 | Chevrolet | Larue Industrial Snowblowers | DGM Racing | Mario Gosselin |
20 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Columbus, OH | Sep 2, 1998 | 22 | Ford | Menards / Richmond | Team Penske | Brian Wilson |
21 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Woodbridge, VA | Sep 14, 1993 | 27 | Chevrolet | Original Larry's Hard Lemonade | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Doug Randolph |
22 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Atlanta, GA | Feb 18, 1997 | 24 | Toyota | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jeff Meendering |
23 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Huntersville, NC | Oct 9, 2000 | 20 | Toyota | DEX Imaging | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jason Ratcliff |
24 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Spartanburg, SC | Jan 16, 1985 | 36 | Chevrolet | First Pacific Funding | Jeremy Clements Racing | Mark Setzer |
25 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr | Mahwah, NJ | Jul 12, 1998 | 22 | Chevrolet | Bucked Up Energy | SS Green Light Racing | Mike Tyska |
26 | 92 | Josh Williams | Port Charlotte, FL | Aug 3, 1993 | 27 | Chevrolet | DGM Racing | DGM Racing | Eddie Troconis |
27 | 5 | Matt Mills | Lynchburg, VA | Nov 14, 1996 | 24 | Toyota | J.F. Electric | BJ McLeod Motorsports | David Ingram |
28 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Charlotte, NC | Dec 30, 1994 | 26 | Chevrolet | TaxSlayer | Richard Childress Racing | Andy Street |
29 | 9 | Noah Gragson | Las Vegas, NV | Jul 15, 1998 | 22 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber Camo BRCC | JR Motorsports | Dave Elenz |
30 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Las Vegas, NV | Feb 24, 1999 | 22 | Ford | Monster Energy | Stewart-Haas Racing | Richard Boswell |
31 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Como, MS | Dec 7, 1986 | 34 | Chevrolet | Diamond Gussett Jeans | Martins Motorsports | Dan Stillman |
32 | 15 | Colby Howard | Simpsonville, SC | Oct 28, 2001 | 19 | Chevrolet | Project HOPE Foundation | JD Motorsports | Wayne Carroll Jr |
33 | 126 | Brandon Gdovic | Pittsburgh, PA | Feb 28, 1992 | 29 | Toyota | SnapMobile.shop | Sam Hunt Racing | Andrew Abbott |
34 | 48 | Jade Buford | Brentwood, TN | Feb 15, 1988 | 33 | Chevrolet | Big Machine Spiked Coolers | Big Machine Racing | Patrick Donahue |
35 | 77 | Ronnie Bassett Jr | Winston-Salem, NC | Dec 21, 1995 | 25 | Chevrolet | Bassett Gutters & More | Bassett Racing | Nathan Kennedy |
36 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | La Miranda, CA | Sep 23, 2000 | 20 | Chevrolet | TeamJDMotorsports.com | JD Motorsports | Ricky Viers |
37 | 99 | Stefan Parsons | Cornelius, NC | Jun 15, 1998 | 22 | Chevrolet | SOKAL Digital | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Keith Wolfe |
38 | 31 | Jordan Anderson | Forest Acres, SC | Apr 15, 1991 | 29 | Chevrolet | Bommarito Automotive Group | Jordan Anderson Racing | Arthur Haire |
39 | 8 | Josh Berry | Hendersonville, TN | Oct 22, 1990 | 30 | Chevrolet | Cheverolet Accessories | JR Motorsports | Taylor Moyer |
40 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Charlotte, NC | Oct 4, 2002 | 18 | Toyota | AutosByNelson.com | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gayle |
41 | 23 | Blaine Perkins | Bakersfield, CA | Feb 28, 2000 | 21 | Chevrolet | Raceline | Our Motorsports | Daniel Johnson |
42 | 13 | Matt Jaskol | Thousand Oaks, CA | Oct 15, 1984 | 36 | Toyota | Auto Parts 4 Less | Motorsports Business Management | Patrick Magee |
43 | 90 | George Gorham Jr | Charlotte, NC | Apr 5, 1970 | 51 | Chevrolet | Blackburn's BBQ / Francisco's | DGM Racing | Ryan London |