Preview: Draft Top 250 at Martinsville

JR Motorsports | 10/28/2020

Bass Pro Shops Black Rifle Coffee Jeb Burton Justin Allgaier Martinsville Speedway Michael Annett News Noah Gragson State Water Heaters TMC TrueTimber Unilever XFINITY Series

The NASCAR Xfinity Series makes the return to the famed Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon for the first time since 2006 for the final race in the Round of 8.

TRACK: Martinsville Speedway
RACE: Draft Top 250 (250 laps / 131.5 miles)
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC
RADIO: 3 p.m. ET on MRN and SiriusXM Ch. 90


Quotes:

Michael Annett: “I’m looking forward to going back to Martinsville for the first race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in quite some time. It’s a unique track, and we have a lot of experience on the crew side there, with Travis Mack having been at Hendrick Motorsports. We’ve been on a good run lately, with good speed and good strategy, and having TMC Transportation on the car this year has seen some good finishes for us.”

Justin Allgaier: “I think the race at Martinsville is going to be challenging. You’re going into a race track that a lot of us have been to, but not in an Xfinity Series car. There’s a lot on the line this weekend. I think you’re going to have to be careful and not do anything crazy and just get the stage points you can get and hope that it all goes well. We had a great car at Richmond, the last short track we went to, and I’m excited about getting to Martinsville, that’s for sure. I’m also really proud to have Unilever’s United for America initiative on the car this weekend and to be able to give thanks to all the essential workers out there. They don’t get the credit they deserve.”

Jeb Burton: “I love racing at Martinsville. It is my favorite track to go to and it is a place that really suits my driving style. I’ve had some strong runs there in the past and I feel extremely confident that we will be in contention for the win with our State Water Heaters Chevrolet. This weekend is my last start of the season and I want to go out and end it on a high note and get this No. 8 team the win that they deserve.”

Noah Gragson: “The way last week ended has definitely fueled a fire to go out to Martinsville and try to dominate the race to get us into the Championship 4. This team deserves to be fighting for a championship and I am going to do everything possible on the track to get it done. It definitely gives me more confidence that we are heading to Martinsville, a place where I have had success in the past in the Truck Series. I’m just ready to get out there and do what we have to do to get to Phoenix.”


Notes:

• Michael Annett has made six starts at Martinsville Speedway, all in the NASCAR Cup Series. His best finish is 23rd, in the fall race of 2015. He has completed 95 percent of the laps run in those six starts.

• On tracks less than a mile this season, Annett has finished seventh twice in four starts, both coming at Richmond Raceway.

• At Texas Motor Speedway last week, Annett set a personal best for top-10 finishes in a season with his 20th.

• Annett’s No. 1 Chevrolet will feature the black and gold colors of TMC Transportation at Martinsville this weekend.

• Justin Allgaier heads into the final race in the Round of 8 as the third seed, eight points above the cut line to advance to the Championship 4 in the NXS Playoffs.

• Allgaier has four Cup Series starts at Martinsville with a best finish of 13th coming in the fall of 2015.

• Allgaier has a strong history on tracks measuring 1 mile or less in length, with eight victories at those facilities in the NXS. Three of those wins came this season after he captured the victory at Dover in August and swept both races at Richmond in September.

• The Illinois native has led a career-high 932 laps this season.

• Jeb Burton and the No. 8 team enter the final race in the Round of 8 eighth in the playoff grid for the owner’s championship.

• In 12 combined starts at Martinsville across the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Burton has earned two top fives and three top 10s.

• This will be the fifth primary race of 2020 for State Water Heaters.

• In addition to State Water Heaters, the Halifax, Va. native will also have God’s Pit Crew on board the No. 8 this weekend in Martinsville. God’s Pit Crew is a non-profit, faith-based crisis response team based in Danville, Va.

• Noah Gragson currently sits seventh in the playoff standings and is 24 points below the final cutoff position for the Championship 4 with one race remaining in the Round of 8.

• Gragson has one win (2017) in four starts in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway.

• At tracks that are less than 1 mile in length, Gragson holds an average finish of 8.0 with one win, four top fives and nine top 10s in 11 total short track races in the NXS.

• In his last 10 NXS starts, Gragson has tallied five top fives, eight top 10s and has led 90 laps.

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XFINITY Series Schedule

  • March 30 01:30 PM ET
    ToyotaCare 250Richmond Raceway
  • April 6 07:30 PM ET
    NXS Spring Race at MartinsvilleMartinsville Speedway
  • April 13 01:30 PM ET
    Andy’s Frozen Custard 300Texas Motor Speedway
  • April 20 04:00 PM ET
    Ag-Pro 300Talladega Superspeedway
  • April 27 01:30 PM ET
    A-GAME 200Dover International Speedway

XFINITY Series Standings

After Dead On Tools 250

Martinsville Speedway | 10/28/2023
Results are not available.