Saturday, October 30th, 2021
Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, VA
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."
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Los Gatos, CA | Dec 16, 1981 | 42 | Chevrolet | Hyperice | Kaulig Racing | Jason Trinchere |
2 | 17 | JJ Yeley | Phoenix, AZ | Oct 5, 1976 | 48 | Toyota | Alcova Mortgage | SS Green Light Racing | Jason Miller |
3 | 61 | Stephen Leicht | Asheville, NC | Jan 9, 1987 | 37 | Toyota | Jani-King | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Michael Contarino |
4 | 104 | Landon Cassill | Cedar Rapids, IA | Jul 7, 1989 | 35 | Chevrolet | Voyager | JD Motorsports | Tommy Machek |
5 | 66 | David Starr | Houston, TX | Nov 11, 1967 | 56 | Toyota | BretBaier.com / Books | Motorsports Business Management | Johnny Roten |
6 | 13 | Timmy Hill | Port Tobacco, MD | Feb 25, 1993 | 31 | Toyota | Unsponsored | Motorsports Business Management | Sebastian Laforge |
7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Riverton, IL | Jun 6, 1986 | 38 | Chevrolet | Hellman's Fridge Hunters | JR Motorsports | Jason Burdett |
8 | 1 | Michael Annett | Des Moines, IA | Jun 23, 1986 | 38 | Chevrolet | PFJ Veterans Salute | JR Motorsports | Mike Bumgarner |
9 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Grimes, IA | Aug 7, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Dead On Tools | Our Motorsports | Pat Tryson |
10 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Halifax, VA | Aug 6, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Nutrien Ag Solutions | Kaulig Racing | Bruce Schlicker |
11 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Mooresville, NC | Jun 22, 1989 | 35 | Chevrolet | TeamJDMotorsports.com | JD Motorsports | Paul Clapprood |
12 | 199 | Ryan Ellis | Torrence, CA | Nov 29, 1989 | 34 | Chevrolet | Keen Parts | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Keith Wolfe |
13 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Tucker, GA | Jun 20, 1987 | 37 | Ford | CMR Construction and Roofing / A-Game | RSS Racing | Kevin Starland |
14 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Wentzville, MO | Aug 28, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | Daa Bin | Mike Harmon Racing | Mike Tyska |
15 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Kannapolis, NC | Jan 27, 1991 | 33 | Toyota | Poppy Bank | Joe Gibbs Racing | Dave Rogers |
16 | 15 | Bayley Currey | Driftwood, TX | Oct 29, 1996 | 27 | Chevrolet | TeamJDMotorsports.com | JD Motorsports | Wayne Carroll Jr |
17 | 11 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | Kaulig Racing | Alex Yontz |
18 | 52 | Spencer Boyd | Creve Coeur, MO | Jun 26, 1995 | 29 | Chevrolet | Sparrow Dynamics | Means Motorsports | Tim Brown |
19 | 36 | Alex Labbe | Saint-Albert, Canada | Apr 29, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Rousseau / Prolon Controls / Globocam | DGM Racing | Mario Gosselin |
20 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Columbus, OH | Sep 2, 1998 | 26 | Ford | Carquest Auto Parts | Team Penske | Brian Wilson |
21 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Woodbridge, VA | Sep 14, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Larry's Lemonade | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Doug Randolph |
22 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Atlanta, GA | Feb 18, 1997 | 27 | Toyota | Menards / Dupont Air Filtration | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jeff Meendering |
23 | 26 | Colin Garrett | Paces, VA | Jul 6, 2000 | 24 | Toyota | Veterans Grow America | Sam Hunt Racing | Andrew Abbott |
24 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Huntersville, NC | Oct 9, 2000 | 24 | Toyota | DEX Imaging | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jason Ratcliff |
25 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Spartanburg, SC | Jan 16, 1985 | 39 | Chevrolet | Spartan Waste / FOX Sports | Jeremy Clements Racing | Mark Setzer |
26 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr | Mahwah, NJ | Jul 12, 1998 | 26 | Chevrolet | CoverSeal | SS Green Light Racing | Joe Williams |
27 | 92 | Josh Williams | Port Charlotte, FL | Aug 3, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Alloy / Sleep Well / StarTron | DGM Racing | Nathan Kennedy |
28 | 105 | Matt Mills | Lynchburg, VA | Nov 14, 1996 | 27 | Chevrolet | JF Electric | BJ McLeod Motorsports | David Ingram |
29 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Charlotte, NC | Dec 30, 1994 | 29 | Chevrolet | TaxSlayer | Richard Childress Racing | Andy Street |
30 | 9 | Noah Gragson | Las Vegas, NV | Jul 15, 1998 | 26 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / BRCC | JR Motorsports | Dave Elenz |
31 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Las Vegas, NV | Feb 24, 1999 | 25 | Ford | Monster Energy | Stewart-Haas Racing | Richard Boswell |
32 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Como, MS | Dec 7, 1986 | 37 | Chevrolet | AAN Adjusters | Martins Motorsports | Dan Stillman |
33 | 48 | Jade Buford | Brentwood, TN | Feb 15, 1988 | 36 | Chevrolet | Big Machine Spiked Coolers | Big Machine Racing | Patrick Donahue |
34 | 90 | Preston Pardus | New Smyrna Beach, FL | Feb 15, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | Danus Utilities | DGM Racing | Tony Furr |
35 | 106 | Ryan Vargas | La Miranda, CA | Sep 23, 2000 | 24 | Chevrolet | Swann Communications | JD Motorsports | Kase Kallenbach |
36 | 31 | Josh Berry | Hendersonville, TN | Oct 22, 1990 | 33 | Chevrolet | Bommarito.com / Solid Rock Carriers | Jordan Anderson Racing | Arthur Haire |
37 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Charlotte, NC | Oct 4, 2002 | 22 | Toyota | Smile Coin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gayle |
38 | 23 | Natalie Decker | Eagle River, WI | Jun 25, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | The Manson Brothers | Our Motorsports | Ronnie Osmer |
39 | 8 | Sam Mayer | Franklin, WI | Jun 26, 2003 | 21 | Chevrolet | Big Machine John 5 Sinner | JR Motorsports | Taylor Moyer |
40 | 178 | Akinori Ogata | Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan | Aug 14, 1973 | 51 | Toyota | Pneumatic Tools | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Adam Brooks |