1. William Byron: Byron took charge late at Martinsville and survived an overtime restart to take the win in the Cook Out 400.
“At Martinsville,” Byron said, “it’s all about patience. And Martinsville is like the Ross Chastain of tracks because it will test your patience, time and time again.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 2 and was in contention all day on his way to an 11th at Martinsville.
“Any time the Sports Clips paint scheme adorns my No. 11 Toyota,” Hamlin said. “You know the car is in race trim.”
3. Kyle Larson: Larson started on the pole, won Stage 1, and finished second in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.
“Erik Jones was driving a car sponsored by Family Dollar,” Larson said. “Similarly, the reason Ty and Austin Dillon are in racing is because of Family Dollars.”
4. Ryan Blaney: Blaney surged in the final stage at Martinsville, grabbing a fifth-place finish.
“Every driver longs to win Martinsville’s famous grandfather clock trophy,” Blaney said. “It may be the coolest, and largest, single-race trophy in NASCAR. If you win that trophy, you know you’ve hit the ‘Big Time.'”
5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex was consistently in the top 10 at Martinsville on his way to an 18th-place finish in the Cook Out 400.
“I’m still pissed that Denny Hamlin wasn’t called for jumping the final restart at Richmond,” Truex said. “I’m absolutely positive he did. I’m as sure he jumped the restart as much as I’m sure he’s never won a Cup championship.”
6. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished third at Martinsville, following Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson across the line. It was the first time any team finished 1-2-3 at the Virginia short track.
“Congratulations to William,” Elliott said. “He gets Martinsville’s famous grandfather clock trophy, also known as the only trophy in NASCAR that requires a hand truck. And who’ll be operating that hand truck? Alex Bowman, the HMS driver who failed the assignment of a 1-2-3-4 Hendrick sweep.”
7. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished eighth at Martinsville on a magical day for Hendrick Motorsports, as William Byron led a 1-2-3 sweep, along with Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.
“This pretty much confirms the already firmly-held belief,” Bowman said, “that I’m the slowest of all Hendrick drivers.”
8. Bubba Wallace: Wallace started second and battled up front all day, eventually taking fourth at Martinsville.
“I had a spirited battle in Stage 2 with my car owner Denny Hamlin,” Wallace said. “And I think Denny got the best of me, which makes it a total boss move.”
9. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished seventh at Martinsville.
“That was my best finish ever at Martinsville,” Reddick said. “So I feel like a celebration is in order. And how do you properly celebrate when in a tiny hick town in Virginia? By leaving.”
10. Christopher Bell: Bell’s day at Martinsville ended early when he hit the wall on Lap 110 after a wheel nut fell off. He finished 35th, four laps down.
“That was a real gut punch,” Bell said. “Much like a Martinsville hot dog, which I understand is not good for your digestive system because it’s made from a pig’s digestive system.”
In Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary weekend at a historic venue where the team achieved its first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series division, Hendrick’s three of four competitors notched a historic 1-2-3 finish as William Byron prevailed in an overtime shootout amid a late battle against teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott to win the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, April 7.
Byron commented about the significance of the victory after the race.
“It’s awesome and it’s way bigger than me,” Byron said after the race. “There are so many men and women that this is a tribute to with all the hard work in the shop. It’s just a really good environment to work in. They have built something so special over the years, and I am thankful to be a part of it and drive the No. 24. It’s pretty special.”
The 2024 Daytona 500 champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, led twice for a race-high 88 of 415 over-scheduled laps in an event where he along with teammates Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson each sported commemorative ruby red paint schemes to their respective entries to celebrate the anniversary weekend. Despite qualifying in 18th place, Byron methodically worked his way up the leaderboard in his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and through the field, where he would eventually race his way into the top 10 and claim a pair of eighth-place runs during the event’s first two stage periods.
While battling in the top five with 103 laps remaining, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle utilized a strategic pit call as they were the first duo to pit under green before the front-runners pitted a lap later. This allowed Byron to gain momentum and competitive speed upon returning to the track as he would spend the proceeding laps overtaking teammates Elliott and Larson along with Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace on the track before he assumed the race lead from Daniel Suarez for the first time with 74 laps remaining.
After initially leading the race with a two-second advantage over teammate Elliott, Byron’s steady drive to victory was briefly halted with three laps remaining when John Hunter Nemechek wrecked and sent the event into overtime. Amid an extensive caution period and the start of the overtime shootout, Byron, who remained on the track along with a majority of the field on their current tires, was not to be denied. He fended off a late bump and challenge from Elliott along with teammate Larson in overtime to claim his third NASCAR Cup Series triumph of the 2024 season and lead a historic 1-2-3 finish to cap off Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary weekend of its first win.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, April 6, Kyle Larson secured his second consecutive Cup pole position of the 2024 season after he posted a pole-winning lap at 96.034 mph in 19.718 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Bubba Wallace, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 96.029 mph in 19.719 seconds, thus missing the pole position by 0.001 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Kyle Larson fended off Bubba Wallace on the inside lane through the first two turns to retain the lead, where he proceeded to lead the first lap in his ruby red No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while the field behind fanned out to two lanes while jostling for early spots. Larson would proceed to lead the second to fifth lap marks while Wallace retained second ahead of Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano amid the early on-track battles.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Larson was leading by half a second over Wallace followed by Elliott, Briscoe and Truex while Logano, rookie Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch followed suit in the top 10. Behind, Alex Bowman was in 11th ahead of Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric and Todd Gilliland while William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Carson Hocevar and rookie Zane Smith trailed in the top 25.
Ten laps later, as Larson was approaching the rear of the field, he stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over Wallace while Elliott, Briscoe and Truex continued to run in the top five. Meanwhile, Logano, Berry, Blaney, Hamlin and Busch also continued to run in the top 10 while Byron gained three spots as he was running 13th, two spots behind teammate Bowman.
Another 15 laps later, Larson extended his advantage to more than a second over Wallace despite being mired in lapped traffic. By then, Elliott, Briscoe and Truex remained in the top five ahead of Logano, Berry, Blaney, Hamlin and Busch while names that included Daniel Hemric, Austin Dillon, Josh Williams, Michael McDowell and Harrison Burton were lapped by Larson.
At the Lap 50 mark, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Wallace as Elliott, Briscoe and Truex continued to trail in the top five. Meanwhile, Byron, who had carved his way up to the top 10 earlier, was running ninth behind Logano, Berry and Hamlin, Bowman was running 11th behind Kyle Busch and Blaney had fallen to 12th.
Fifteen laps later, Larson continued to lead by more than a second over Wallace followed by Elliott, Briscoe and Truex while Byron moved up to eighth place as he was racing behind Logano and Hamlin. Behind, Bowman retained 11th ahead of Blaney, Chastain, Keselowski and Austin Cindric while Gilliland, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece and Erik Jones occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell was mired in 23rd in between Stenhouse and Hocevar, Noah Gragson was in 26th and running ahead of Chris Buescher and John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Dillon, who was racing while reunited with crew chief Justin Alexander, was down in 32nd.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Larson captured his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season after leading all the scheduled laps thus far from pole position. Wallace, who challenged Larson for the first stage victory on the final lap, trailed in second place ahead of Elliott, Briscoe and Truex while Logano, Hamlin, Byron, Berry and Busch were scored in the top 10. By then, 25 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap as Buescher, Gragson, Corey LaJoie and John Hunter Nemechek were lapped.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Joey Logano exited pit road first with the lead after only opting for a two-tire pit stop as Larson, Wallace, Elliott, Hamlin, Gilliland, Truex, Byron, Briscoe and Bowman followed suit in the top 10, with the majority of the field pitting for four fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Gilliland was penalized for taking a wedge wrench out of his pit box and onto the track while Stenhouse, who was penalized for speeding on pit road, was turned by Elliott while trying to enter his pit box. Soon after, Blaney, who nearly ran over one of his pit crew members, pitted for a second time to have a lug nut on his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse tightened and for a wedge adjustment.
The second stage period started on Lap 93 as Logano and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Logano rocketed ahead with the lead while Wallace and Larson, who struggled to launch in the restart zone, battled for the runner-up spot, with Wallace managing to move in front of Larson during the following lap. Soon after, Hamlin pressured Larson for third place, which he was able to do by Lap 97 as Larson was forced to settle in fourth in front of teammates Elliott and Byron. Amid the battles, Logano retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Wallace by the Lap 100 mark.
By Lap 110, Logano stabilized his advantage to half a second over Wallace while racing on two fresh tires while Hamlin, Larson and Elliott trailed in the top five ahead of Byron, Briscoe, Bowman, Truex and Busch. Meanwhile, Bell, who was running in the middle of the pack, limped his No. 20 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE to pit road after a wedged right-front tire due to a fallen lug nut caused Bell to run his car up the track twice a lap earlier, though he managed to keep his car off of the wall. Not long after, the caution returned due to debris reported on the track.
When the event restarted under green on Lap 119, Logano muscled his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse ahead from Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE through the first two turns to retain the lead as Hamlin challenged Wallace for the runner-up spot through Turns 3 and 4. Wallace, however, would fend off Hamlin entering the frontstretch to retain the runner-up spot while all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors, led by Larson, were running fourth through seventh on the track, with Elliott, Bowman and Byron following suit, respectively. As Briscoe and Chastain were racing in eighth and ninth, respectively, while Berry and Truex battled for 10th, Logano retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Wallace by the Lap 125 mark.
Just past the Lap 140 mark, Logano retained the lead by half a second over Wallace while Hamlin, Larson, Elliott, Bowman and Byron followed suit from third to seventh, respectively. Logano would stabilize his advantage to half a second over Wallace at the Lap 150 mark while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than a second. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports’ four-car organization led by Larson and followed by Elliott, Bowman and Byron continued to run fourth to seventh, respectively, while Briscoe, Chastain and Berry were racing in the top 10.
By Lap 160, Logano was mired in lapped traffic but continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Wallace, who was being pressured by Hamlin for the spot while Larson tried to join the battle in fourth place. Larson’s teammates Elliott, Bowman and Byron remained in fifth through seventh, respectively, along with Briscoe, who trailed the lead by two seconds as Hamlin moved his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE into the runner-up spot three laps later.
Then on Lap 170, Hamlin muscled his way around Logano for the lead while Wallace and Larson followed in close pursuit in third and fourth, respectively. Hamlin would quickly stretch his advantage to a second four laps later as Wallace battled and overtook Logano, who was beginning to struggle on his two fresh tires, for the runner-up spot another lap later, with Larson and Elliott following suit.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 180, Hamlin, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Richmond Raceway, captured his second stage victory of the 2024 season. Wallace followed suit in second along with Larson and Elliott while Logano fended off Bowman to claim fifth place as Briscoe, Byron, Chastain and Berry were scored in the top 10. By then, 26 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Logano returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin retained the lead after exiting pit road first. He was followed by Elliott, Wallace, Larson and Bowman while Briscoe, Logano, Blaney, Byron and Chastain exited in the top 10 amid a congested pit road, where Logano nearly got sandwiched in between Bowman and Byron while exiting pit road while Ty Gibbs rammed into the side of Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while exiting his pit stall. Amid the pit stops, Daniel Suarez was penalized for speeding on pit road.
With 207 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Hamlin and Chase Elliott occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin and Elliott battled dead even for the lead in front of Wallace and Larson through the first two turns and through the backstretch, where Elliott managed to use the outside lane to his advantage through Turns 3 and 4 and muscle his No. 9 ruby red UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead. With Elliott leading the event over Hamlin, Wallace started to challenge Hamlin for the runner-up spot as Larson, Logano, Bowman, Byron and Briscoe followed suit in the top eight.
At the halfway mark with 200 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Wallace, Larson and Bowman while Logano, Briscoe, Byron, Blaney and Reddick were running in a long single-file line in the top 10. Behind, Chastain was in 11th ahead of Truex, Gilliland, Ty Gibbs and Hocevar while Erik Jones, Busch, Preece, Cindric and Berry occupied the top 20.
Two laps later and with the field slowly fanning out to three lanes, the caution returned after Bell, who was running multiple laps down, spun in Turn 4 after getting loose underneath Kaz Grala. During the caution period, some including Truex, Gibbs, Busch, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Hemric, Grala and Josh Williams pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track.
As the event restarted under green with 191 laps remaining, Elliott retained the lead following a strong start on the inside lane while Hamlin also fended off Wallace, Larson and Bowman to retain the runner-up spot. As Elliott, Hamlin, Wallace, Larson and Bowman formed a single-file line towards the inside lane in the proceeding laps, Logano and Byron battled dead even for sixth place in front of Briscoe, who was being pressured by Gilliland and Blaney for more while Reddick, Chastain, Preece, Hocevar and Jones swapped battles within the top 15.
With less than 175 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Hamlin while third-place Wallace also trailed by more than two seconds ahead of Elliott’s teammates Larson, Bowman and Byron. Elliott, however, would have his advantage decreased to a second over Hamlin as he started to approach lapped traffic with 160 laps remaining.
With 150 laps remaining, Elliott slightly stretched his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Hamlin while third-place Wallace trailed by seven-tenths of a second. Behind, Elliott’s teammates Larson, Byron and Bowman trailed by within two seconds in fourth through sixth, respectively, while Logano, Gilliland, Briscoe and Blaney were racing in the top 10.
Two laps later, Hamlin ignited his challenge on Elliott for the lead. After Elliott got pinned behind the lapped competitor of Josh Williams, Hamlin managed to lead Elliott by a mere margin with 147 laps remaining. With Elliott and Hamlin still battling dead even for the lead through every corner and straightaway during the proceeding laps, Wallace and Larson battled for third in front of Byron and Bowman. After a long tussle, Hamlin managed to run Elliott up the track in between Turns 3 and 4 to muscle ahead of him with 142 laps remaining.
As the event was down to its final 125 laps, Hamlin, who weaved his way through lapped traffic, extended his advantage to more than a second over Elliott while third-place Wallace trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, Larson was trying to fend off teammate Byron for fourth place while teammate Bowman trailed by more than three seconds in sixth place. In the process, Logano, Gilliland, Briscoe and Blaney continued to run in the top 10.
Then with 103 laps remaining, green flag pit stops ignited as Byron pitted from fifth place. Not long after, Elliott, Wallace and Larson pitted together before the leader Hamlin pitted along with Bowman and more with 102 laps remaining. By the time Hamlin exited his pit stall and pit road, Elliott just managed to overtake Hamlin on the track while Larson, Wallace and Byron battled behind with 100 laps remaining.
Then with 96 laps remaining and with the front-runners mired in lapped traffic, Elliott shoved Stenhouse and Nemechek out of his path while trying to fend off Hamlin. Amid the battles, teammates Byron and Larson made their move beneath Hamlin and overtook him on the track during the next few laps, thus placing three Hendrick Motorsports competitors within close distance of one another while Hamlin was being blocked by the lapped competitor of Stenhouse. In the process and with green flag pit stops still ensuing, Briscoe, who was one of several competitors who had yet to pit, was leading ahead of Cindric before he pitted with 93 laps remaining as Cindric moved into the lead. Meanwhile, Byron started to pressure teammate Elliott for the position, where he succeeded in overtaking him in his No. 24 ruby red AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the track with 90 laps remaining.
With 74 laps remaining and with most of the field having made a pit stop under green, Byron overtook Suarez, who had yet to pit, for the race lead. Teammate Elliott would follow suit in second place while Larson moved into third place two laps later, thus placing three Hendrick Motorsports competitors in the top three on the track. Meanwhile, Hamlin trailed the race lead by more than two seconds in fifth place while Wallace trailed by more than four seconds in sixth place. In addition, Bowman, the fourth Hendrick Motorsports competitor in his No. 48 ruby red Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, trailed by more than five seconds in seventh place.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Byron was leading by more than a second over teammate Elliott and by two seconds over teammate Larson while Hamlin, Blaney and Wallace followed suit in the top six. Behind, Bowman trailed by six seconds in seventh place while Logano, Briscoe and Gilliland occupied the top-10 spots ahead of Reddick, Erik Jones, Preece, Chastain and Chris Buescher, all of whom were scored on the lead lap.
Fifteen laps later, Byron extended his advantage to more than three seconds over teammates Elliott and Larson while fourth-place Hamlin trailed by nearly five seconds. Behind, Blaney also trailed by more than five seconds in fifth place while Wallace, Bowman, Logano, Briscoe and Gilliland were racing in the top 10.
Another 10 laps later, Byron, who was trying to lap Buescher, stabilized his lead to two and three seconds over both teammates Elliott and Larson while Hamlin, Blaney and Wallace continued to trail in the top six by seven seconds. Byron would continue to lead by more than a second over teammate Elliott and by more than two seconds over teammate Larson with 15 laps remaining.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Byron, who was trying to lap Ross Chastain, retained the lead by over teammates Elliott and Larson within one and two seconds, with Byron slowly having his large advantage decrease amid the lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Hamlin trailed in fourth place by more than four seconds while Blaney, Wallace and Bowman trailed in the top seven by as large as eight seconds as Byron stabilized his lead to two seconds with five laps remaining.
Then with three laps remaining, the caution flew after John Hunter Nemechek, who was lapped by Byron a lap earlier, scrubbed the outside wall after losing the right front of his No. 42 Skip Barber Racing School Toyota Camry XSE, which ended up on fire, through Turns 3 and 4 as Byron’s steady advantage over teammates Elliott and Larson evaporated.
During the extensive caution period, some led by Hamlin and including Reddick, Erik Jones and Preece pitted for fresh tires and fuel while the rest led by Byron, Elliott and Larson remained on the track.
At the start of the first overtime period, teammates Byron and Elliott battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns until Byron managed to muscle ahead through the backstretch as he then withstood a bump from Elliott to maintain the lead through Turns 3 and 4.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron remained as the leader over teammate Elliott while Blaney challenged Larson for third place. With Elliott nearly running wide through Turns 1 and 2, Larson made his move beneath Elliott for the runner-up spot as Blaney and Wallace followed suit. In the process, Byron pulled away entering Turns 3 and 4 and was able to cycle back to the frontstretch victorious, where he claimed his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup season much to the delight of a bevy of Hendrick Motorsports’ fans and employees gathering and watching the event in tents above the backstretch.
With the victory, Byron, who delivered Hendrick Motorsports’ 300th Cup Series victory last September at Texas Motor Speedway, became the first three-time race winner of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season as he recorded his 13th career win in his 224th start in NASCAR’s premier series and his second at Martinsville. The Martinsville victory was the 29th overall for Hendrick Motorsports, which keeps the organization as the winningest one of all time at Martinsville, as the organization also racked up its 305th win in the Cup circuit and the fourth of the 2024 campaign.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I just want to thank Chase [Elliott] for racing me clean [in overtime],” Byron said on FS1. “He gave me a shot, which was expected, but we all finished it off. Just so proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. [I] Grew up a big Hendrick fan and to be here for the 40th anniversary and all that goes into just this organization, all the people, it’s all about the people, and just want to thank Mr. [Rick] Hendrick and [wife] Linda [Hendrick] and everyone involved. It’s pretty awesome, pretty badass to win at Martinsville. We’ve been struggling at the short tracks and just kept inching up on it and I got a great team. They just kept my head in it. It stunk to do a restart there at the end like that, but it’s the way it goes.”
“You just can’t script it any better,” Jeff Gordon, vice chairman and co-owner of Hendrick Motorsports, added. “The race the way it played out, to get that green flag stop was it. Our cars were just so good on the short runs. We just needed to get that track position. Then that last restart, oh my god, I did not want to see that. Then I was just so hoping we could get the 1-2-3 [finish]. These three guys as well as [Alex] Bowman, they just drove their butts off. Great race, but how about that William Byron and that No. 24 car? Every time we have a milestone day or opportunity or moment, he steps up. This is gonna be a huge one for him and the organization.”
Like Byron and Gordon, teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, both of whom ended up second and third, respectively, were left pleased with their top-three results and capping off the 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports’ historic victory. As an added bonus, Hendrick Motorsports also became the first organization to place three entries in the first three finishing results at Martinsville Speedway. In total, Byron, Larson and Elliott led a combined 238 of 415 laps en route to the 1-2-3 finish of today’s Martinsville event.
“[It’s] Really special to get a 1-2-3 [finish] there with William [Byron], Chase [Elliott] and I,” Larson said. “Just a great day for Hendrick Motorsports. It’s been a great 40 seasons for them. Really cool to have 1,500 people here from Hendrick Motorsports to celebrate. Congrats to William. He did a really good job. [He] Kind of schooled us all there after that green flag stop. He did a really good job passing all of us. Then, he was able to set a good pace and still get through traffic good. Solid day. Just an awesome day.”
“Obviously, number one, congrats to William and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports,…all the people that put this together for us,” Elliott added. “[Hendrick Motorsports] have an unbelievable program and I think we’re all proud to call it home. It was awesome hosting over a thousand folks from Hendrick today, employees and their families. Glad one of us could get it done. Obviously, I wished we could’ve gotten it done selfishly like anybody would, but nice to have a couple solid weeks and to be in contention there for a win. I haven’t been in contention to win one for a while, so it was fun to kind of get to that last restart and it actually mattered. [I] Enjoyed that aspect and certainly hungry for more.”
Bubba Wallace was the highest non-Hendrick competitor on the track in fourth place while Ryan Blaney rallied from struggling at the start to finish fifth. Logano and Reddick came home in sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Alex Bowman, the fourth Hendrick Motorsports competitor. Preece and Briscoe completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, Denny Hamlin ended up 11th. In addition, Kyle Busch finished 16th, Martin Truex Jr. ended up 18th behind rookie Carson Hocevar, Suarez ended up 22nd and Josh Berry ended up 25th behind Brad Keselowski after being penalized late for an uncontrolled tire violation.
There were 13 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 51 laps. In addition, 14 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the eighth event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by 14 points over Martin Truex Jr., 17 over Denny Hamlin, 48 over both William Byron and Ryan Blaney and 51 over Chase Elliott.
Results.
1. William Byron, 88 laps led
2. Kyle Larson, 86 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Chase Elliott, 64 laps led
4. Bubba Wallace
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Joey Logano, 84 laps led
7. Tyler Reddick
8. Alex Bowman
9. Ryan Preece
10. Chase Briscoe, eight laps led
11. Denny Hamlin, 66 laps led, Stage 2 winner
12. Erik Jones
13. Todd Gilliland
14. Ross Chastain
15. Chris Buescher, one lap down
16. Kyle Busch, one lap down
17. Carson Hocevar, one lap down
18. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down
19. Ty Gibbs, one lap down
20. Noah Gragson, one lap down
21. Michael McDowell, one lap down
22. Daniel Suarez, one lap down, 13 laps led
23. Austin Cindric, one lap down, six laps led
24. Brad Keselowski, one lap down
25. Josh Berry, two laps down
26. Kaz Grala, two laps down
27. Josh Williams, two laps down
28. Daniel Hemric, two laps down
29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down
30. Justin Haley, two laps down
31. Zane Smith, three laps down
32. Corey LaJoie, three laps down
33. Harrison Burton, three laps down
34. Austin Dillon, three laps down
35. Christopher Bell, four laps down
36. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident
37. David Starr – OUT, Steering
Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, April 14, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
RICK WARE RACING Cook Out 400 Date: April 7, 2024 Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 8 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 400 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/100 laps/220 laps) Note: Race extended 15 laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
● Justin Haley (32nd with 85 points) ● Kaz Grala (33rd with 82 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was Grala’s first career start at Martinsville. ● This was Haley’s seventh career start at Martinsville. His best finish remains 27th, earned in October 2022.
Race Notes:
● William Byron won the Cook Out 400 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 Kyle Larson was .550 of a second.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 51 laps.
● Only 14 of the 37 drivers in the Cook Out 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson leaves Martinsville as the championship leader with a 14-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.
Sound Bites:
“I thought we had a chance at getting a top-25 finish with that overtime restart, but I’m not really sure what was going on. It was tough to get the balance right, tough to pass and at the end of these races everyone races with so much urgency even in the back of the field. So, I’m not sure what to take away from it. We’ll have to debrief and see what we can learn from today.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“We really struggled with our handling in practice and qualifying, so I know the start of the race wouldn’t be great. We made big swings when we got the chance and it really helped, but we were already two laps down and there’s only so much you can do when you don’t get cautions to use to your advantage. We’ll keep trying, see what we have next week at Texas.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Ohanafy Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday, April 14 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Mechanical Issues at Martinsville Speedway Challenge Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Team
Finish: 34th Start: 28th Points: 31st
“Long day for the Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off-Road Chevrolet team at Martinsville Speedway. We had a problem with a left front tire locking up and I think the power steering was going out pretty much the whole race. When it went out with about 200 laps to go, I had to fight hard to gain positions. I can at least say I finished the race with no power steering, I’m going to be a little sore tomorrow, but we’ll keep fighting. It’s not the finish we wanted today, but we will go to Texas Motor Speedway next week to try and regain some momentum.” -Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch Claims 16th-Place Finish in Lucas Oil Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway
Finish: 16th Start: 11th Points: 15th
“We made an improvement this weekend from how we ran last year at Martinsville Speedway. The first run of the race the Lucas Oil Chevrolet got looser as went. We pitted for tires and adjustments and the next run we were a little free everywhere but tight at the three-quarter mark of Turns 3 and 4. At the end of Stage 2 we pitted again but the adjustments didn’t seem to work, and we lost track positions. Crew Chief Randall Burnett and the guys kept working and never gave up. We made the car better by the end of the race and we were able to get a decent finish, but we still have work to do to get to where we want to be.” -Kyle Busch
Josh Williams qualified 33rd for the Cook Out 400.
Williams reported no issues with his Alloy Employers Services Camaro ZL1 over the course of an uneventful stage one that saw no cautions. He finished the opening stage in 34th place, one lap down to the leaders.
The team pitted during the stage break for four tires and fuel with a rear track-bar adjustment. Williams started the second stage from the 35th position. The first caution of the day came out early in the second stage, and the No 16. pitted for four tires, fuel and a left-rear adjustment, restarting 33rd after a speeding penalty on pit road. Williams went on to close out stage two in the 31st position.
The No. 16 elected not to pit during the third and final stage break in an effort to get back on the lead lap. While on older tires, the gamble paid off, as an early caution came out that allowed Williams and the team to pit for four tires, fuel and a rear track-bar adjustment before restarting from the 28th position. As the field cycled under green-flag pit stops, Williams and the No. 16 climbed to a race-high 18th position before eventually pitting on lap 327 for four tires and fuel. Williams went on to finish 27th, as he did not pit during the caution that led to NASCAR overtime.
“We survived today and got to complete all the laps. Overall, it was an up-and-down day, but thankfully we gained a few spots during the green-white-checkered there at the end. Really proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing, as I continue to learn and compete at the highest level.” – Josh Williams
DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
Daniel Hemric qualified 36th for the Cook Out 400.
Hemric relayed his No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1 was tight in the front end and had already worn down the right-side tires with just under 15 laps complete. The opening stage remained caution-free, and Hemric went on to finish 35th and one lap down in stage one.
During the stage break, Hemric radioed that he lacked front grip and rear drive in his No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. He pitted with the lapped-down cars for fresh tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to help free up the car. The first caution of the second stage came out on lap 112. Hemric relayed he was still struggling with a tight-handling No. 31 Chevy and pitted during the caution for tires, fuel, and another air pressure adjustment. Firing off better that run, Hemric made it as high as 27th and earned the free pass when the second stage ended.
During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for more of the same adjustments, as he was much happier with the handling of the No. 31 Chevy and the direction the team was going. He started the final stage from the 25thposition. The first caution of the stage came out on lap 202, and crew chief, Trent Owens, made a strategy call to pit for tires. Hemric restarted 25th on lap 209. The race remained green, and Hemric made it as high as 10th, as the green-flag pit stops began. The No. 31 team ran long and gambled, hoping to catch a caution. The caution never came, and Hemric made his green-flag pit stop on lap 335 for tires and fuel. When he rejoined the field, he sat 28th, until a caution finally came out to go into NASCAR overtime. Unable to take the wave around, Hemric pitted for tires. He restarted 30th and went on to finish 28th.
“Today was a hard-fought one. We started out super tight, and I felt like I just killed the right-side tires early on. Trent [Owens] made some great calls, and we continued to get the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy close to where it needed to be during the second stage. We tried gambling a little and running long during the final stage, but unfortunately, we never caught a caution. I’m definitely proud of the hard work this team put in this weekend that we can bring back here in the fall. We definitely made the car more competitive and are going in the right direction.” – Daniel Hemric
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and has won back-to-back regular-season championships. Before becoming a full-time NCS team, Kaulig Racing made multiple starts in the 2021 NCS season and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team expanded to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and added a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. In 2024, the team will once again field two, full-time entries in the NCS and continue to field three, full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Date: April 7, 2024 Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 8 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 400 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/100 laps/220 laps) Note: Race extended 15 laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
● Chase Briscoe (16th with 188 points, 121 out of first)
● Josh Berry (23rd with 129 points, 180 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (26th with 112 points, 197 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (29th with 101 points, 208 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Preece earned his first top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in 10 career NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville.
● This was Preece’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was 14th, earned March 17 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
● Preece’s ninth-place finish bettered his previous best result at Martinsville – 15th, earned last April.
● This was Preece’s third straight top-20 at Martinsville. He finished 15th last April and 20th in the series’ prior visit to the track in October.
● Briscoe earned his third top-10 of the season and his fifth top-10 in seven career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville
● This was Briscoe’s fifth straight result of 18th or better. He finished ninth March 10 at Phoenix Raceway, 13th March 17 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, 13th March 24 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas and 18th last Sunday at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
● This was Briscoe’s fifth straight top-10 at Martinsville. In his past five NASCAR Cup Series starts at the .526-mile oval, Briscoe has finished ninth, ninth, fifth, fourth and 10th.
● Briscoe finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points and seventh in Stage 2 to earn four more bonus points.
● Briscoe led once for eight laps to bring his laps-led total at Martinsville to 142.
● Gragson’s 20th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Martinsville – 25th, earned in October 2022.
● Berry finished ninth in Stage 1 to earn two bonus points and 10th in Stage 2 to earn one additional bonus point.
Race Notes:
● William Byron won the Cook Out 400 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 Kyle Larson was .55 of a second.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 51 laps.
● Only 14 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Larson leaves Martinsville as the new championship leader with a 14-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.
Sound Bites:
“We had a really good car. I wish we didn’t qualify so badly. I know the 24 (William Byron) started back there with us and he was able to get there probably with the help of a lot of things. At Martinsville last year, we had a good car but we didn’t have that good of a car, but now we’re definitely working toward something. I’m really happy with the direction we’re going in and we’re working on, and we’re going to be a lot better moving forward.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“It was kind of a frustrating day for us. We ended up 10th, but we were definitely way better than 10th. We just couldn’t pass. We had not the greatest pit stop early in the race and lost some sports, and we were just kind of stuck anywhere from fifth to eighth for the rest of the race. I felt like if I ever could’ve gotten the lead, I would’ve been good enough to run up there, for sure. And then there at the end, we didn’t know if we should pit or not pit. We were kind of in a tough spot. We stayed out and lost two more spots. So, frustrating to run 10th. We definitely had better than a 10th-place racecar. This is how hard this Cup deal is. You’ve got to be perfect all race long. I made a couple of mistakes, and as a team, still, we just need to clean some stuff up. We’ll move on and continue with what speed we have. That’s encouraging. We just need to execute.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“Started out struggling with the balance of the car, went a lap down, and during the second stage got the ‘Lucky Dog’ and started rolling pretty good. It just seemed like the track changed a lot with the rubber being laid down. We found a good balance to start the run, but to end the run it gets super loose. But still proud of everybody on the Overstock team. It’s not our standard, but we’ll keep working to get there. It was a tough race, but had a lot of fun, too.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“The car was fun. The field basically ran the same speed and you just can’t pass.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday, April 14 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
23XI DUO LEADS TOYOTA IN MARTINSVILLE Wallace earns third top-five of the year, while Reddick delivers third straight top-10
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 7, 2024) – 23XI Racing had a solid afternoon with teammates Bubba Wallace (fourth) and Tyler Reddick (seventh) leading the way for Team Toyota at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday evening.
For Wallace, it was his third top-five finish of the season, and fourth consecutive top-11 finish at Martinsville. Reddick delivered his third straight top-10, while both Wallace and Reddick earned their best Martinsville Cup Series result.
Toyota now occupies half of the top-12 spots in the standings, and all eight full-time Toyota Camry XSE drivers rank amongst the top-20 in points.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Martinsville Speedway Race 8 of 36 – 210.4 miles, 400 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, William Bryon* 2nd, Kyle Larson* 3rd, Chase Elliott* 4th, BUBBA WALLACE 5th, Chase Elliott* 7th, TYLER REDDICK 11th, DENNY HAMLIN 12th, ERIK JONES 18th, MARTIN TRUEX, JR. 19th, TY GIBBS 35th, CHRISTOPHER BELL 36th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
Solid top-10 all day and finished fourth. Can you talk about your run?
“Yeah, hats off to everybody at 23XI. I appreciate all of the effort. We do a lot of stuff during the week, and I’m finally starting to understand that it all pays off. You’ve got to give the effort, because these guys are busting their ass. It is days like this that you appreciate it. I appreciate all of these McDonald’s guys – and the men and women at the shop. We needed that. My Toyota was strong today. We lost a little bit on that last stop. We got too free, but all-in-all, I was content in finishing sixth, and that’s why you never give up. Top-five – good day, and we will go on to Texas.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
Can you talk about your day? Solid run for you this afternoon.
“From where we started – 19th – if you would have told me that we would finish seventh with our MoneyLion Toyota Camry, I would’ve been really, really happy with that – so naturally this whole group is. We just had to chip away at it all day long. We didn’t do a good job in qualifying so that set us behind. It definitely seemed at the start of the race, our car was really, really strong and as we went on the handling kind of went away. It got harder and harder to pass, but we did the important stuff right. We didn’t make mistakes and we were able to capitalize on others’ mistakes. We were on top of the strategy, so just really proud of everybody – Billy Scott (crew chief), this whole 45 team. The strategy call at the end got us four spots, that worked out nice. The day we needed to have.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 11th
What was the pit strategy there in the end?
“We were just trying to do anything we could to steal one with our Sport Clips Toyota. We needed so many cars to do it – even still – the tires didn’t wear enough to matter. We saw when Joey (Logano) stayed out on those 80-lap lefts and led most of the stage. Tires didn’t wear, and we just struggled to pass all day. Once I came out of that cycle – third or fourth – that’s kind of just where I stayed.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway Cook Out 400 | Saturday, April 6, 2024
UNOFFICIAL FORD FINISHING RESULTS 5th – Ryan Blaney 6th – Joey Logano 9th – Ryan Preece 10th – Chase Briscoe 13th – Todd Gilliland 15th – Chris Buescher 20th – Noah Gragson 21st – Michael McDowell 23rd – Austin Cindric 24th – Brad Keselowski 25th – Josh Berry 26th – Kaz Grala 30th – Justin Haley 33rd – Harrison Burton
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 5th)
“We got good at the end. It was an uphill battle for sure. We had the issue on pit road and had to restart in the back and nobody could pass anybody. Jonathan made a good call to put two on it at the start of the third stage and we kind of established ourselves a little bit back in the top 10. We were able to work on our car again once we got a little clean air and seeing what the car was doing and how to get it better. After the green flag stop I was really fast. I passed a handful of guys. I was kind of shocked. I held on pretty good but stalled out when I got to the 11. Overall, I am proud of the fight back from our group. Obviously not the first half of the race we wanted and we didn’t get any stage points, but I am proud of the fight and perseverance of the Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang 12 team. We will go on to Texas.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 6th)
“It was a solid day. I think we got fifth or sixth place points in each stage, somewhere around there. We led a bunch of laps. We got out front, but the tire came apart at the end of that stage there, which cost us a stage win, unfortunately. We took that risk to do it and ended up in the same spot that we were going to be, so really no risk there. After that, we kind of lost control of the race, and once that happened, once you lost the lead, nobody was going to pass anybody. The only car I saw passing was the 12. That was pretty impressive. The rest of us just followed each other all day.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 9th)
“We had a really good car. I wish we didn’t qualify so bad. I know the 24 started back there with us and was able to get there probably with the help of a lot of things. At Martinsville last year we had a good car, but not that good of a car, so we are definitely working toward something. I am really happy with the direction, finally, that we are going in and I think we are going to be a lot better moving forward.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 10th)
“I am frustrated. We ran 10th but that was the worst 10th. We were better than that all race long, so that is frustrating. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We lost a couple of spots on pit road and then ran long and lost a lot of track time there. I thought our car was good enough to for sure run in the top three. I don’t know what the leaders had at the end. You just can’t pass, so if you were able to get the lead, you were going to hold it if you were somewhat decent. We need to figure out how to execute a little better. We had good speed, we just need to capitalize on it better.”
Arnold Walker’s custom-made 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air won the prestigious Walt Hollifield Best of Show Sunday at the AutoFair presented by Camping World. (CMS photo)
Gastonia native Arnold Walker won the prestigious Walt Hollifield Best of Show Award for his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air at AutoFair presented by Camping World on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Tickets for the upcoming NHRA Four-Wide Nationals April 26-28 can be purchased online at charlottemotorspeedway.com
CONCORD, NC (April 7, 2024) – A sea of stunning vehicles flooded AutoFair presented by Camping World at Charlotte Motor Speedway as car enthusiasts from across the country transcended Victory Lane and the Walt Hollifield Best of Show winner was announced.
Gastonia, North Carolina native Arnold Walker was on the fence about entering his car into the show, but it’s a good thing he did. His 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air took home the coveted Walt Hollifield Best of Show award and the one-of-a-kind custom-made Cold Hard Art trophy as the AutoFair concluded Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve had it for 24 years. I’ve always liked the ‘57 Chevy, and I wanted a two-door hard top,” Walker said. “When I first got it it had no power, nothing, so I had it restored in 2000. I only had it about 6 months before I did a frame-off (restoration).”
As part of the restoration, he replaced white wall tires and fender skirts with more modern upgrades including racing tires, a 350-turbo engine, and custom leather interior and trunk.
Although not a daily driver, Walker travels to car shows across the Southeast to show off his freshly polished award-winning machine.
The Best of Show award was named for Charlotte-area car expert Walt Hollifield, who has been an invaluable part of AutoFair for more than 40 years. Hollifield presented his eponymous award to Walker on Sunday, alongside judges custom car builders David Ankin, Lou Santiago and Joshua Joyce, as well as Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Walter.
Four days of family-friendly fun and glistening cars throughout Charlotte’s 1.5 mile superspeedway also featured Hall of Fame appearances by industry experts, an all-new display by Camping World and a collection of wild and wacky machines including the iconic 1969 Chuck Miller “Red Baron.”
In addition to the Walt Hollifield Best of Show award, judges presented awards to:
Best of Show Runner-up: Larry Sheriff, 1962 Chevy C10
Best of Show 2000 & Up Winner: Tony Sofo, 2000 Chevy 510
Best of Show 2000 & Up Runner-up: Mason Wright, 2015 Chevy SS
Best of Foreign Car: Todd Kirby, 1974 Opel Manta
Hagerty Kids Choice: Bradley Gray, 1956 Chevy Pickup and Lake Norman Chrysler/Carolina Custom 2024 Jeep Gladiator
Best Restoration: Alan Middlebrook, 1966 Ford Mustang
Sam Bass Award (Best Paint): John Wicker, 1969 Chevy Camaro
Best Truck: Bobby, David and Angela Naff, 1932 Chevy Truck
Most Creative: Rick Salyer, 1940 Dodge Business Coupe
TICKETS:
Fans can purchase tickets to upcoming speedway events including the April 26-28 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and the Coca-Cola 600 action May 24-26 online at charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267).
KEEP TRACK:
Stay on pace with what’s happening at Charlotte Motor Speedway by following on X and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.
Date: April 6, 2024 Event: DUDE Wipes 250 (Round 7 of 33) Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 250 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/130 laps) Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 250-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Aric Almirola of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 1 Winner: Aric Almirola of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
● Cole Custer (2nd with 267 points, 35 out of first) ● Riley Herbst (6th with 206 points, 96 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Custer earned his fifth straight top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville. ● Custer has never finished outside of the top-20 at Martinsville. ● Custer finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points and fifth in Stage 2 to earn six more bonus points. ● Custer led once for 27 laps to increase his laps-led total at Martinsville to 33. ● Herbst earned his sixth top-25 of the season and his sixth top-25 in eight career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville.
Race Notes:
● Aric Almirola won the DUDE Wipes 250 under caution to score his fifth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season, and his first at Martinsville. ● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 68 laps. ● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap. ● Chandler Smith leaves Martinsville as the championship leader with a 35-point advantage over second-place Cole Custer.
Sound Bites:
“We had a solid short-run car, but we just didn’t have the long-run speed today. We tried to make the most of the day though and got a top-10 out of it. Still, it wasn’t the Martinsville race that we had wanted. Our No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse had the speed, but it was definitely still tough. We have some things that we need to work on, and we’ll look at it before the next race.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“Such a long day for our No. 98 Monster Energy team. We qualified deep in the field and then just had to fight our way up through the crowd. We got all the way up to forth and then got some nose damage and a pit road penalty in the second stage. Honestly, we recovered and looked like we could get a top-10 finish during the green-white-checkered. I just overstepped my entry and wheel hopped. It’s a tough ending, but we’ll look ahead to Texas.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on Saturday, April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 1:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
