The NASCAR Xfinity Series wrapped up at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend and is now heading into its penultimate race of the season, the Dead On Tools 250 taking place at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 29 at 3 p.m. on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.
The half-mile track located in Virginia has hosted 38 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, producing 24 different race winners and 19 different pole winners. The inaugural Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on March 28, 1982 and was won by Sam Ard.
Ty Gibbs sits as the track’s youngest Xfinity Series pole winner, claiming the award earlier this season at 19 years, six months and four days old. With the pole award, he also set the track’s qualifying record at 95.985 mph. Harrison Burton became the youngest winner at 20 years and 22 days old but it’s Sam Ard who set the race record in 1982 with a speed of 79.607 mph.
Only six Xfinity races have been won from the pole or first starting position at Martinsville, most recently by Jimmy Hensley on Nov. 1, 1987. Hensley also holds the record for most lead lap finishes (14) and is tied with Tommy Houston for most top 10s at 17.
Playoff driver Brandon Jones is the most recent winner at the track, snagging the checkered flag by a margin of victory of .677 seconds earlier this season. Playoff drivers AJ Allmendinger, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs also finished inside the top-10 when the series ran at Martinsville earlier this year.
This season will be the third 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 – 2022). The track was not on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule from 2007 to 2019. Two drivers have won the two previous NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff races at Martinsville – Harrison Burton grabbed the victory in 2020 and Noah Gragson won in 2021.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will hit the track for practice on Friday, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 4:35 p.m. ET on the USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports App.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
- Next Race: Dead On Tools 250
- The Place: Martinsville Speedway
- The Date: Saturday, October 29
- The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- The Purse: $1,339,357
- TV: NBC, 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)
Down To The Wire: Martinsville Speedway to determine the 2022 Championship 4 contenders
JR Motorsports teammates Josh Berry and Noah Gragson have each clinched their spots in the Championship 4 Round with their respective wins in the Round of 8 (Berry at Las Vegas and Gragson at Homestead-Miami). With only one race remaining to determine which two drivers will be joining Berry and Gragson in Phoenix, the remaining six Playoff drivers will be sure to put on a show as they fight to the finish line. Keep in mind, with two spots still available at least one will advance on points. Let’s take a look at what it’s going to take for each driver to race their way into the Championship 4 Round:
Already Clinched
The following two drivers have clinched a spot in the four-driver field of the next round: Noah Gragson, Josh Berry.
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 Ty Gibbs or AJ Allmendinger.
- Ty Gibbs: Would clinch with 26 points
- AJ Allmendinger: Would clinch with 51 points
- Justin Allgaier: Could only clinch with help
- Austin Hill: Could only clinch with help
- Sam Mayer: Could only clinch with help
- Brandon Jones: Could only clinch with help (cannot clinch on points if AJ wins)
If there is a new winner from Justin Allgaier 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.
- Ty Gibbs: Would clinch with 31 points
- AJ Allmendinger: Could only clinch with help
- Justin Allgaier: Could only clinch with help
- Austin Hill: 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: Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Brandon Jones.
Put it all on the line
The six postseason challengers who have not clinched their spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Championship 4 Round will have to go big or go home this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. With Noah Gragson’s win at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend, he sits as the standing’s leader with 3,169 points. Josh Berry ranks second in the Playoff standings outlook with his win at Las Vegas and has 3,095 points. Sliding into third is Ty Gibbs with 3,138 points with AJ Allmendinger right behind him in fourth 3,113 points.
Justin Allgaier lies just outside the final round’s cutline with 3,108 points (-5 points back). Just two points behind Allgaier is rookie Austin Hill (-7), Sam Mayer (-28) and Brandon Jones (-38).
This season will mark the second-time in Gragson’s career he has qualified for the Championship 4 Round in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2021, 2022) and this will be his JRM teammate Berry’s first career appearance in the series’ final round. Justin Allgaier is looking to make the Championship 4 Round for a series leading fifth-time in his career (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020), and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger is looking to make the final round for the second straight season (2021). The remaining four drivers – Ty Gibbs, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones are all looking to earn their first appearance in the Championship 4.
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following Homestead-Miami Speedway | |||||||
| Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | +/- Cutoff |
| 1 | Noah Gragson | 3,169 | 31 | 8 | 16 | 56 | In On Wins |
| 2 | Josh Berry | 3,095 | 31 | 3 | 6 | 22 | |
| 3 | Ty Gibbs | 3,138 | 31 | 5 | 7 | 38 | 30 |
| 4 | AJ Allmendinger | 3,113 | 31 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 5 |
| 5 | Justin Allgaier | 3,108 | 31 | 3 | 8 | 33 | -5 |
| 6 | Austin Hill | 3,106 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 18 | -7 |
| 7 | Sam Mayer | 3,085 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -28 |
| 8 | Brandon Jones | 3,075 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 11 | -38 |
| 9 | Daniel Hemric | 2,162 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 3 | Eliminated From The Playoffs |
| 10 | Riley Herbst | 2,128 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 11 | Ryan Sieg | 2,103 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Jeremy Clements | 2,039 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
Evaluating the Xfinity Playoff field for Martinsville Speedway
Two spots are still up for grabs to make the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Championship 4 Round and considering a few of our Playoff drivers have posted wins at the Martinsville half-mile track, anyone could end up in Victory Lane this weekend.
Noah Gragson: The driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has already clinched his spot in the Championship 4 Round, but he could very well rack up another Playoff win this weekend. In his four starts at Martinsville Speedway, he has posted one win (2021), three top fives and three top 10s. He has led 211 laps and has an average start of 5.5 and an average finish of 6.5. Plus, he is the defending winner of this Playoff race last season.
Josh Berry: The driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was the first Round of 8 Playoff driver to clinch his spot for the Championship 4 Round at Phoenix Raceway next weekend, but he could once again take the checkered flag this weekend. In his three starts at Martinsville, he has posted one win (2021), one top five and one top 10. He has led 95 laps with an average start of 22.7 and an average finish of 16.0.
Ty Gibbs: The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has three starts at the Martinsville short track and has posted one top five, two top 10s and one pole (2022). He has led 241 laps and has an average start of 6.3 and an average finish of 13.0.
AJ Allmendinger: The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet has given Martinsville Speedway a go four times in his Xfinity career. He has posted one top five, two top 10s and has led 68 laps. He has an average start of 13.8 and an average finish of 12.3.
Justin Allgaier: The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has four starts at the half-mile Virginia track, posting two top fives and three top 10s. He has an average start of 3.8 and an average finish of 11.3.
Austin Hill: The driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet made his first start at Martinsville Speedway earlier this season. He finished in fourth.
Sam Mayer: The driver of the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has two starts at Martinsville with two top fives and two top 10s. He has an average finish of 16.0 and an average finish of 4.5.
Brandon Jones: The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has posted four starts at Martinsville Speedway with one win (2022), two top fives and four top 10s. He has led 44 laps and has an average start of 12.8 and an average finish of 5.3.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update – The only rookie in the 2022 Playoffs, Austin Hill continues to lead the Sunoco Xfinity Series rookie class with 3,106 points. Richard Childress Racing teammate Sheldon Creed slides in next with 674 points.
Kyle Sieg sits in third with 182 points and Jesse Iwuji takes the final rookie spot with 94 points.
Manufacturer Update – Chevrolet is leading the competition with 24 wins coming from Austin Hill (two) Noah Gragson (eight), AJ Allmendinger (five), Josh Berry (three), Justin Allgaier (three), Tyler Reddick (one), Kyle Larson (one) and Jeremy Clements (one).
Toyota has racked up six wins in the Xfinity Series from Ty Gibbs (five) and Brandon Jones (one).
Ford has had one Xfinity Series win this season that came from Cole Custer.
