Race 32 of 33: National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway
Track Specs: .526-mile oval / 250 laps
Race Winner: Aric Almirola
Smith’s finish: 2nd
Allgaier’s finish: 5th
Jones’ finish: 29th
Mayer’s finish: 30th
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, knew what the mission was in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway: win to advance to the Championship 4. He and his JR Motorsports team fought valiantly all race long, charging to the second position before running out of laps at the end. Smith had a strong qualifying run, coming out seventh on the grid for the National Debt Relief 250. He quickly made his way into the top five and remained there for the majority of the evening, vying for the two open Championship 4 spots. The yellow flag few with 30 laps remaining to bring the field back together. Restarting from seventh, Smith wasted little time moving through the pack, as the young driver powered up to the third position. Smith remained on the hunt from there, utilizing a late-race restart to make his way into second where he would hold stead for the final laps. In the end, Smith came home with a second-place finish.
“It’s tough that this team fought so hard today and we ended up just one spot short. But it was a really good day for this Pilot Flying J team. Everyone put in their all and I’m proud of that. I feel fortunate to be in the position that I’m in and the opportunities I’ve had this year, so we’ll go to Phoenix and try to end this year with a win.”
Justin Allgaier
For the seventh time in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career, Justin Allgaier punched his ticket into the Championship 4 following a strong fifth-place finish on Saturday evening at Martinsville Speedway. Allgaier now joins Austin Hill, AJ Allmendinger and Cole Custer as the final four drivers competing for the NXS title when the circuit heads to Phoenix Raceway next weekend. Phoenix has historically been a strong track for the driver of the Jarrett Chevrolet, as Allgaier has twice gone to Victory Lane at the desert oval, including the fall event in 2019. Allgaier additionally appeared poised to capture the checkered flag earlier this year at the 1-mile track, leading with less than five laps remaining before a tire failure ended his day shy of the finish.
“What a great day. It means the world to be going to Phoenix with a shot at the championship and I can’t thank Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on this No. 7 team enough. We know what awaits us now heading into next week and I know that everyone in this group will be ready to go and give it all we have to bring home the title. I can’t wait to get to Phoenix.”
Brandon Jones
Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 9 Menards/Dawn Chevrolet, took the green flag in 14th for Saturday afternoon’s 250-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series feature at Martinsville Speedway. The 27-year-old Georgia native avoided several multi-car incidents throughout the day and maintained position within the top-20 for much of the first two stages. Unfortunately, with less than 30 laps remaining, Jones was involved in an on-track incident that badly damaged the nose of his Menards/Dawn Camaro and rendered him unable to continue. In the end, Jones was scored with a 29th-place finish.
“Martinsville is a track I have had a lot of success at in the past, so we were hoping to have similar speed this weekend. This Menards/Dawn No. 9 team worked so hard to keep us in the fight and I hate that our day was ended that way. I have one more chance to give these guys a great finish so we are going to give it our all this weekend in Phoenix.”
Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet, battled hard in the final race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway where he set his Camaro 12th in line to start the Saturday-evening event. The young driver fought to find track position throughout the opening stage, until a caution with 13 laps to go allowed Mayer to hit pit road for the first time. From there, Mayer methodically worked his way forward, rejoining the top 15 by the conclusion of the second stage. The JR Motorsports driver’s climb didn’t stop there, as Mayer quickly joined the top 10 once the final stage went green. However, as a flurry of cautions arose in the closing laps, the driver of the No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet was left with nowhere to do, causing damage to the nose of his Camaro and ultimately punching a hole in the radiator. That brought an abrupt end to Mayer’s evening shy of the finish. In the end, Mayer was scored in the 30th position.
“This 10X Health team fought so hard today and I can’t thank them enough for all their hard work this entire season. Things happen when everyone is battling hard for a spot in the final four and unfortunately it happened to us. Thankful for this team and all JRM has done for me over the past years, but we have one race left together and I plan to make it a memorable one.”
