Xfinity 500: Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville, Virginia – November 3, 2024
NASCAR TRACKS – MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY – NASCAR 101
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/CARDELL CABINETRY FORD MUSTANG
START: 24TH STAGE ONE: 18TH STAGE TWO: 15TH FINISH: 4TH POINTS: 11TH
RACE RUNDOWN: The resiliency of the No. 2 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry team was on full display Sunday night at Martinsville Speedway as driver Austin Cindric battled to a notable fourth-place finish after starting from the rear and overcoming a mid-race penalty. After suffering power steering issues in practice on Saturday, the team elected to replace the steering rack following qualifying. As a result, Cindric was forced to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race due to an unapproved adjustment despite qualifying 24th. The Team Penske driver patiently worked his way forward through the start of the event, up to 26th by Lap 77 when he made his first trip to pit road for a two-tire stop. After receiving service, he lined up 20th for the restart. By the end of Stage 1, Cindric had climbed to 18th. A bit on the snug side, crew chief Brian Wilson called the driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments before lining up 17th for the launch of the second segment. The 26-year-old racer navigated a series of cautions in the early goings, gradually gaining ground in the running order. At the conclusion of Stage 2, the Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford Mustang was 15th. Under the caution period, Cindric relayed that it was one of his better runs of the day despite still facing a tightness. He returned to pit road for four tires and fuel, but was assessed an equipment interference penalty that relegated him to the rear of the field for the restart. After making a green flag service stop on Lap 373, Cindric pressed forward, opting to stay out when a caution slowed the field on Lap 398. With valuable track position in sight, the No. 2 team elected to stay out, restarting solidly in fourth. Cindric held on strongly, maintaining his stance among the top five, ultimately finishing fourth to mark his fourth top-five finish of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “We started last. We had to go to the back to start Stage 3 and we had a really fast race car. It was a good strategy call there by Brian, putting it in my hands at the end with old tires. Honestly, probably a few more laps we would have had third, so I’m proud of everybody’s effort. The whole team collaboration this weekend and most importantly, getting Ryan in the Championship 4. We’ve got a 50 percent shot of Team Penske to win next week, so that’s awesome. It’s well-deserved by everybody on the team and after my last three weeks this feels nice, but we definitely had to work for it today.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG
START: 14TH STAGE ONE: 5TH STAGE TWO: 2ND FINISH: 1ST POINTS: 1ST (ADV)
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney came into Sunday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway in a must-win situation to continue his Cup Series championship defense and did just that, leading the final 19 laps to punch the No. 12 team’s ticket to the Championship 4 in Phoenix where Blaney will vie to become the series’ first back-to-back champion since 2010. The win marked Blaney’s third of the 2024 season and 13th-career Cup Series victory while Team Penske and Ford reached their milestone of 100 Cup Series victories together. Blaney joins Team Penske teammate Joey Logano in the Championship 4, marking the second time the organization has had two teams racing for the championship (2020). Blaney started 14th and powered the Discount Tire Ford Mustang to the front as the class of the field over the course of the long, green flag runs throughout the 500-lap event. He drove his way to fifth in Stage 1 before crew chief Jonathan Hassler’s call to leave Blaney on track following the caution on lap 184 resulted in a second-place finish in Stage 2. Following the 12 team’s final stop of the day, Blaney restarted ninth with 87 laps to go and drove his way back into the top-five just 20 laps later. As the leaders began to race around lapped traffic, Blaney’s strength on the long run was on full display as he closed the gap to the top-two with 25 to go. After making his way around the No. 5 for second on the leaderboard, Blaney set his sights on the No. 9 for the win and the chance to race for a championship in Phoenix. Only six laps later, Blaney took over the top spot out of turn two and built over a two-second lead before taking the checkered flag and solidifying the 12 team’s spot in the Championship 4 for the second-consecutive season.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “It was a week of, I don’t know, giving a race away at Homestead last week when it looked like we had a shot to get to Phoenix, definitely bummed us out on Sunday. Our group did a great job of Monday morning we’re going to go back in and do our jobs and figure out what we need to do to win Martinsville. That’s the way this team operates. That’s why I’m really proud to be a part of this group. They just understand the next job, what’s the next task, what do we have to do next, then we go do it, or at least give our best effort into doing it. That’s all I can ask for from a team. Special to be a part of this group. Awesome to do it here tonight. We did it last year. Feel like it was definitely a little bit different last year because we weren’t in a must-win scenario. We just had to have a good day. Winning that one obviously was huge momentum. Coming into tonight needing to win, I feel like that was definitely more excitement, at least for me, and I think our guys, too. Just super proud of everybody. It’s really fortunate that we get to go back and try to win another championship.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL/PARTNERS POWERING RECOVERY FORD MUSTANG
START: 12TH STAGE ONE: 9TH STAGE TWO: 13TH FINISH: 10TH POINTS: 2ND (ADV)
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano picked up his 12th top-10 finish of the season Sunday at Martinsville to conclude the Round of 8 as Logano and the No. 22 team set their sights on the Championship 4 in Phoenix to race for Team Penske’s third Cup Series title in as many seasons. After starting 12th, Logano worked his way into the top-10 in the latter stages of the opening segment to come away with a ninth-place finish in Stage 1. As the balance of Logano’s Ford Mustang began to settle in, he maintained top-10 pace throughout Stage 2 before a tight-handling condition set in, resulting in a 13th-place result in the second segment. The 22 team ripped off a quick four tire stop during the stage caution to gain Logano four spots on pit road prior to a long, green flag run to begin the final stage that saw him race in and around the top-10. Logano ultimately came away with a 10th-place finish as his attention turns to capturing a third Cup Series championship next Sunday in Phoenix. The result marked Logano’s 20th-career top-10 at Martinsville, becoming one of three active drivers to reach the feat (Denny Hamlin – 26, Kyle Busch – 21).
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It was a top-10. That’s what it was. The focus has been on Phoenix and hopefully it pays a dividend next weekend where we can unload with a lot of speed and have a race car that can go up there and run up front and win a championship.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for the season finale on Sunday, November 10. Coverage of the Cup Series Championship begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
