RICK WARE RACING
Xfinity 500
Date: Nov. 3, 2024
Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps)
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing (Ford)
RWR Race Finish:
● Kaz Grala (Started 33rd, Finished 27th. / Running, completed 497 of 500 laps)
● Corey LaJoie (Started 34th, Finished 35th / Running, completed 365 of 500 laps)
RWR Points:
● Corey LaJoie (33rd with 484 points)
● Kaz Grala (35th with 203 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was Grala’s second NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville. His best finish remains 26th earned on April 7.
● This was LaJoie’s 14th NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville. His best finish remains 18th, earned twice – in October 2019 and June 2020.
Race Notes:
● Ryan Blaney won the Xfinity 500 to score his 13th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Martinsville. His margin of victory over second-place Chase Elliott was 2.593 seconds.
● This was Ford’s 739th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its 11th of the season.
● This was Ford’s 32nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville. Ford won its first race at the track on April 9, 1961 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen.
● There were nine caution periods for a total of 66 laps.
● Only 17 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● This was the last race in the penultimate Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs. Blaney, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano secured their spots in the Championship 4 via their respective wins while William Byron earned his place on points. Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Elliott did not advance to the final, winner-take-all Championship 4 next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series season finale is Sunday, Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
