NASCAR Xfinity Series News & Notes - Martinsville Speedway

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NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: National Debt Relief 250

The Place: Martinsville Speedway

The Date: Saturday, November 2

The Time: 4 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,441,088

TV: CW, 3 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 131.5 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads back to the 'Paperclip‘ of short tracks

As the NASCAR Xfinity Series winds down the 2024 season, the drivers and teams will now be heading to Martinsville Speedway for the Playoffs‘ penultimate race, the National Debt Relief 250, on Saturday, November 2 at 4 p.m. ET on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

This will be the 43rd NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway. The previous 42 races have produced 28 different race winners and 22 different pole winners. Only six races have been won from the pole or first starting position, but it‘s been over 35 years since a driver was able to accomplish the feat — most recently by Jimmy Hensley in 1987.

A few drivers have been able to etch their names in the Martinsville Speedway record books in the Xfinity Series — Sam Ard (most wins — five), Brett Bodine (most poles – five), Dale Jarrett (most top fives — 11), Jimmy Hensley and Tommy Houston (tied for most top 10s — 17), and Tommy Ellis (most laps led — 713).

This season will be the fifth consecutive year that Martinsville Speedway serves as the penultimate, or sixth race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, the elimination race of the Round of 8 (2020 — 2024). The track was not on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule from 2007 to 2019.

Three drivers entered in this weekend‘s National Debt Relief 250 have taken the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway‘s 0.526-mile track — Aric Almirola (2024), Playoff contender Justin Allgaier (2023) and Brandon Jones (2022).

Drivers will hit the track on Friday, November 1 for practice at 3:35 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 4:10 p.m. ET on the NBC Sports App.

Time‘s up: Xfinity Series clinch scenarios at Martinsville 

There‘s one race to go before the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for the season finale.

With only two drivers clinched into the Championship 4 Round, the other six Playoff drivers will be competing for the remaining two spots.

As the series heads to Martinsville, let‘s take a look at what it‘ll take for drivers to clinch their spot:

Already Clinched

The following two drivers have clinched a spot in the four-driver field of the next round: Austin Hill and A.J. Allmendinger.

Can Clinch Via Points

If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the third winless driver in the standings.  The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Justin Allgaier or Cole Custer.

• Justin Allgaier: Would clinch with 21 points
• Cole Custer: Would clinch with 28 points
• Chandler Smith: Could only clinch with help
• Jesse Love: Could only clinch with help
• Sam Mayer: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Chandler Smith or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the second winless driver in the standings.

• Justin Allgaier: Would clinch with 49 points
• Cole Custer: Could only clinch with help
• Chandler Smith: Could only clinch with help
• Jesse Love: Could only clinch with help
• Sam Mayer: Could only clinch with help

Can Clinch Via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith.

Playoff Bubble: Two spots are still open heading to Martinsville

With a win by Richard Childress Racing‘s Austin Hill last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a win by Kaulig Racing‘s A.J. Allmendinger two weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, two spots in the Championship Four are clinched.

The other two drivers currently above the cutline are JR Motorsports‘ Justin Allgaier (+35) and Stewart-Haas Racing‘s Cole Custer (+28).

Just outside the cutline and hoping to work their way into the top four are Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Chandler Smith (-28), Richard Childress Racing‘s Jesse Love (-35) and JR Motorsports teammates Sam Mayer (-47) and Sammy Smith (-95).

Unfortunately for the drivers below the Championship 4 Round cutline this season, the 28-point deficit is the largest in the Playoff Era (2016-2024) heading into Round of 8 elimination race. But don‘t count any of the Round of 8 until the checkered flag falls on Saturday, because a Playoff driver has won the Round of elimination race in six of the last seven seasons.

Scouting the Playoff field: Martinsville edition

With one race to go before the series heads to Phoenix Raceway for the final race of the season, the playoff field will be sure to charge to the finish line.

Let‘s take a look at how they have performed at Martinsville Speedway:

Austin Hill (Clinched):

Austin Hill has made five starts at Martinsville Speedway, posting one top-five, two top-10 finishes. He has also led 30 laps at the short track. Hill clinched his spot in this season‘s Championship 4 Round with his win at Homestead-Miami last weekend. It will be his first Playoff appearance in the final round.

A.J. Allmendinger (Clinched):

A.J. Allmendinger heads to Martinsville with six starts, one top five, two top 10s and 68 laps led under his belt. The California native, with his win at Las Vegas, has already clinched his spot in the Championship 4 Round for the second-time in his career (2021, 2024).

Justin Allgaier (+35 Points):

Justin Allgaier is the only active Playoff driver with a victory at Martinsville Speedway (2023). The veteran has made a total of eight starts at the 0.526-mile track, posting five top fives and seven top 10s — all the most among the Playoff contenders this weekend. He has also led 47 laps. Allgaier leads the Xfinity Series in Championship 4 Round appearances with six (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023).

Cole Custer (+28 Points):

Defending series champion, Cole Custer, has made three starts at Martinsville Speedway, posting one top-five and two top-10 finishes. Custer has also led 33 laps.  Custer has three previous Championship 4 Round appearances (2018, 2019, 2023).

Chandler Smith (-28 Points):

Chandler Smith has made three starts at Martinsville Speedway, posting one top five, two top 10s, and has led three laps. Smith is looking to make the Championship 4 Round for the first time in his Xfinity Series career.

Jesse Love (-35 Points):

Jesse Love made his series track debut at Martinsville Speedway earlier this season, he qualified 11th and posted a ninth-place finish. Love is also hoping to make the Championship 4 Round for the first time in his Xfinity Series career. If Love were to earn a spot in the Championship 4 Round, he would become the sixth different rookie to make an appearance in the final round; joining Erik Jones (2016), William Byron (2017), Daniel Hemric (2017), Christopher Bell (2018) and Tyler Reddick (2018).

Sam Mayer (-47 Points):

Sam Mayer has made six starts at Martinsville Speedway, posting three top fives and four top 10s. The Wisconsin native has also led 11 laps. Mayer is looking to make the Championship 4 Round for the second-time in his Xfinity Series career (2023).

Sammy Smith (-95 Points):

Sammy Smith has made four starts at Martinsville Speedway, collecting two top fives and three top 10s. He has also led 196 laps (most among Playoff drivers). Smith is looking to make the Championship 4 Round for the first time in his Xfinity Series career.

NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.

Hot Streak: 14 different winners in as many races at Martinsville — The NASCAR Xfinity Series is riding a different winners streak at Martinsville Speedway that has seen 14 different winners in the last 14 races, dating back to the 1992 event. Note: The NASCAR Cup Series didn‘t race at Martinsville from 1995-2005 and 2007-2019.

Bubba Pollard to run at Martinsville — Sam Hunt Racing announced that Andrew "Bubba" Pollard will make his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series start on this weekend at the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

The 37-year-old Senoia, Georgia, native made his Xfinity Series debut earlier this season at Richmond Raceway where he finished sixth after starting at the tail of the field. Pollard has over 100 late model wins and has collected 15 championship trophies from various late model championships.

"I‘m thrilled to have the opportunity to race at Martinsville with SANY and SHR," Pollard said. "I really enjoyed the experience racing at Richmond earlier this season. Thanks to SANY, I‘m excited to be back in an Xfinity car and can‘t wait to hit the track again."

— NASCAR —