Last weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway served as the qualifier for the first round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Dash 4 Cash program, and this weekend’s DUDE Wipes 250 at Martinsville Speedway (Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the first chance for drivers to win the big bonus check.
Chandler Smith, Aric Almirola, Jesse Love and Parker Kligerman are the four highest-finishing series regulars from Richmond that will be competing for a $100,000 bonus at Martinsville Speedway.
Let’s take a look at how the competition has performed at the famed 0.526-mile short track:
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith (No. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) has made two starts at Martinsville posting one top-10 finish.
Smith’s Joe Gibbs Racing’s teammate Aric Almirola (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) will be making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Martinsville this weekend. Almirola will have to lean on his experience from the 30 NASCAR Cup Series starts he has made at the track posting nine top-10 finishes to help him navigate the weekend.
Richard Childress Racing’s rookie Jesse Love (No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) will be making his series track debut at Martinsville Speedway this weekend.
Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman (No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet) has made two Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville posting one top-10 finish.
For more information on the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program, click here.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith does it again at Richmond
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith posted his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win last season at Richmond Raceway and then managed to go back to Victory Lane yet again in last weekend’s ToyotaCare 250 catapulting him into the driver standings lead by 10 points over second place Austin Hill.
The victory at Richmond was Smith’s second win of the 2024 season – the first being at Phoenix Raceway a few weeks ago. The 21-year-old driver has had a standout season, posting a top-five finish in all but one race this season thus far. His only finish outside the top-five was at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) where he finished in eighth.
Smith will look to keep this early momentum going as the series heads to the “paperclip” of short tracks this weekend, Martinsville Speedway. The Georgia native has only made two starts on Martinsville’s 0.526-mile track. He posted a 10th-place finish in his debut at the track last season and in last year’s fall race, he fell victim to an incident and ultimately finished 36th.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: DUDE Wipes 250
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: Saturday, April 6
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,507,074
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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 to the ‘paperclip’ of short tracks
Staying in the short track groove, the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will now be making their way to Martinsville Speedway for the DUDE Wipes 250 on Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio).
Martinsville Speedway has hosted 41 NASCAR Xfinity Series races since 1982, producing 27 different race winners and 22 different pole winners. It seems it’s difficult to win at Martinsville from the pole position as the feat has only been accomplished six times and the last time it was done was by Jimmy Hensley in 1987.
A few drivers hold records at the 0.526-mile track:
- Most wins: Sam Ard (five)
- Most top fives: Dale Jarrett (11)
- Most top 10s: Jimmy Hensley and Tommy Houston (17)
- Lead lap finishes: Jimmy Hensley (14)
- Laps led: Tommy Ellis (713)
- Race Record: Sam Ard (79.607 mph) – 9/25/1982
- Qualifying Record: Ty Gibbs (95.985 mph) – 4/8/2022
NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will kick off their weekend with practice at 5:05 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 5:40 p.m. ET on Friday, April 5. Both sessions will be streamed on FS1.
Battle of the JR Motorsports teammates
JR Motorsports drivers are still looking for their first win of the season, but the organization must be optimistic about this weekend at Martinsville Speedway because there are only two drivers entered in the DUDE Wipes 250 that have conquered ‘paper-clip’ track formerly – teammates Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones.
Jones, who pilots the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, has made seven starts at Martinsville posting one win (2022), three top fives, five top 10s and has led 142 laps.
Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, also has seven starts under his belt with one win (2023), four top fives, six top 10s and 33 laps led.
The competition will be sure to heat up as both drivers will be looking to post their first win of the 2024 season and break the different winners streak at the track which is currently 13 drivers deep.
Streaking! Martinsville Speedway has reached 13 different winners in as many races
It’s alive! The different streak in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Martinsville Speedway that is, alive and well, and has reached a staggering 13 different winners dating all the way back to 1992.
The current streak at Martinsville started with Bobby Labonte’s win in 1992 and has since been followed by Ward Burton (1993), Chuck Bown (1993), Terry Labonte (1994), Kenny Wallace (1994), Kevin Harvick (2006), Harrison Burton (2020), Josh Berry (2021), Noah Gragson (2021), Brandon Jones (2022), Ty Gibbs (2022), John H. Nemchek (2023) and Justin Allgaier (2024).
Allgaier and Jones are the only former Martinsville winners this weekend that could snap the streak.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Ryan Truex returns at Texas Motor Speedway – Ryan Truex will be back with Joe Gibbs Racing at Texas Motor Speedway for his third Xfinity Series start of the 2024 season.
He will pilot the No. 20 Toyota at Texas for the first of three straight races (Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway to follow).
He’s made two other starts with the team this season. The first at the season-opener in Daytona where he finished 21st and the second at Atlanta Motor Speedway where he finished ninth.
Truex earned his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career win at Dover Motor Speedway last season.
