The days when you had to sit in front of a TV in order to watch matches in the right way are gone. Your phone is now your new football companion, providing live statistics, tactical analysis, and real-time information wherever you go. You can now watch live football statistics wherever you are, be it at work, on the commute or simply because you just feel like being mobile.
The trick is to understand what apps can provide the goods and how to use them without being lost in the ocean of numbers and notifications.
Why Is Mobile Availability A Must-Have Feature for Football Analytical Platforms?
Stat tracking on mobile is no longer something that fantasy football fanatics or betting enthusiasts would enjoy. Live statistics are used by regular supporters to have a glimpse of what is really going on at the matches, not only the scoreline.
When you are watching Arsenal vs Liverpool and the Gunners are dominating possession at 63% yet they are losing 1-0, you are aware that the equalizer is likely to be on its way. The stories behind the numbers can be missed by commentary.
Modern football moves fast. Tactical switches happen mid-match. Form players get rotated. Injuries force changes. Mobile stats help you stay on top of these developments as they unfold rather than reading about them hours later on social media. You’re basically getting the same information that professional analysts see, just packaged for your pocket.
Essential Features Your Stats App Needs
Not all football apps are created equal. Some focus on scores and lineups. While others like live scores by Predixly on mobile dive deeper into tactical metrics.
Here’s what separates the proper platforms from the basic score trackers.
Real-time updates are non-negotiable.
Comprehensive coverage matters if you follow multiple competitions.
Player-level statistics separate professional-grade apps from basic trackers.
Historical context in data archives let you compare today’s numbers against historical averages.
How to Actually Use Mobile Stats During Matches?
Let’s take a recent Premier League match as an example. Manchester City hosting Brentford last weekend provided a perfect demonstration of how mobile stats enhance understanding.
Source – Predixly.com
City was dominating possession early on, 68% in the first 20 minutes, yet Spurs were making the better chances, 0.9 xG compared to 0.6 of City. Your eyes may believe that City was playing the game but the statistics tell that Spurs were the actual threat despite having less ball time.
Are you looking at the personal statistics, you notice that Haaland has not dropped deep, but made all of his touches in the box. Spurs were winning 57% of their duels in the midfield that is the reason they wired up the regular groove of City. These small points make a mere watch an in-depth analysis.
Setting Up Your Mobile Stats Workflow
Customize your notifications carefully. Getting pinged for every throw-in drives you mental. Set alerts for goals, cards, and major events only. Some apps let you choose specific players to track, which works brilliantly for fantasy managers who need updates on their captain’s performance.
Use the Favorites function to bookmark teams and competitions you follow regularly. Most quality apps let you star your preferred clubs so their matches appear first in your feed. This saves endless scrolling through matches you don’t care about.
Enable widget views on your home screen for at-a-glance information. You can check scores and basic stats without even opening the app fully. iOS and Android both support football widgets that refresh automatically.
Download match data for offline viewing if your platform offers it. This helps when you’re traveling or have dodgy signal but still want to review statistics from matches you missed.
Source – Predixly.com
What Makes Predixly Stand Out on Mobile?
While multiple platforms offer mobile stats, some handle the experience better than others. Predixly’s mobile interface deserves mention for several reasons that matter to serious supporters.
The platform updates without requiring manual refreshes, so you’re always seeing current information as matches progress. This seems basic but many apps still require you to pull down to refresh constantly, which gets tiresome quickly.
Coverage spanning 1,500+ tournaments means you’re not stuck with just the popular leagues. Following a Portuguese second division match? Covered. Checking Norwegian league stats? Available. This breadth particularly helps fans following multiple competitions or scouting players from less mainstream leagues.
Taylor Gray erased the heartbreaks over his previous two outcomes at Martinsville Speedway by scoring redemption in the form of a first NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory in the IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250 on Saturday, October 25.
The 20-year-old Gray from Artesia, New Mexico, led the final 52 of 253 over-scheduled laps. After qualifying in 13th place, he methodically carved his way to the front. While battling a bevy of Playoff competitors and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Gray assumed the lead for the first time during a late-race restart with 49 laps remaining.
Despite having his steady advantage stalled three times for the duration of the event, including a late-race caution with four laps remaining that sent the event into overtime, Gray executed with a strong launch during the overtime attempt. He then had enough horsepower to both steer and maintain his entry ahead of the competition for two laps to achieve his first breakthrough victory across NASCAR’s top-three national touring series.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Harrison Burton notched his first Xfinity career pole position with a pole-winning lap at 95.429 mph in 19.843 seconds. Joining Burton on the front row was rookie Carson Kvapil, the highest-starting Playoff contender and the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 95.405 mph in 19.848 seconds.
Prior to the event, Championship 4 finalist Connor Zilisch and Anthony Alfredo dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Harrison Burton used the inside lane to launch ahead of Carson Kvapil and the field entering the first turn. Through the first two turns, Aric Almirola made a move beneath Kvapil and challenged the latter for the runner-up spot. As Almirola dueled with Kvapil before he muscled ahead of the latter for the runner-up spot in Turn 4, Burton proceeded to lead the first lap.
Over the next four laps, Burton maintained a lead that stood to two-tenths of a second over Almirola. Justin Allgaier, Kvapil and Sheldon Creed followed suit in the top five, respectively. Behind, Ryan Sieg, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Taylor Gray trailed in the top 10, respectively, as Burton retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Almirola on the 10th lap.
Through the first 25-scheduled laps, Almirola, who assumed the lead from Burton on Lap 17, was leading by more than a second over Allgaier while Burton dropped to third place. Ryan Sieg and Queen followed suit in the top five ahead of Creed, Jones, Gray, Kvapil and Sammy Smith, while Justin Bonsignore, Jeb Burton, Austin Hill, Christian Eckes and Brennan Poole pursued in the top 150, respectively. Playoff contenders Jesse Love and Sam Mayer were racing in 17th and 19th, respectively, while Connor Zilisch was mired in 29th.
Six laps later, the event’s first caution flew when Myatt Snider spun in Turn 2. During the caution, some led by Almirola and including Allgaier, Burton, Ryan Sieg, Creed, Brandon Jones, Gray, Kvapil, Sammy Smith, Hill and Love pitted their respective entries for the first time while the rest led by Queen remained on the track. During the pit stops, Love and Nick Sanchez were sent to the tail end of the field for speeding on pit road.
The start of the next restart on Lap 38 featured Queen leading the field while Mayer bumped and moved Jeb Burton up the racing groove entering Turn 1, which enabled Mayer to move into the runner-up spot. Queen proceeded to extend his lead to a second by Lap 45 while Mayer, Allgaier, Eckes and Daniel Dye trailed in the top five.
Following the event’s second caution that flew on Lap 45 when Connor Mosack spun through Turns 3 and 4, the event restarted under green with eight laps remaining in the first stage period. At the start, Queen maintained the lead over Mayer while Allgaier, Eckes and Jones followed suit. Queen proceeded to lead the next lap before Mayer overtook the latter and assumed the top spot. Mayer proceeded to lead through Lap 57 before Allgaier assumed the lead.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Allgaier captured his 14th Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Almirola followed suit in second ahead of Queen, Jones and Mayer. Zilisch, Harrison Burton, Eckes, Creed and Corey Day completed the top 10. With five of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points by finishing in the top 10 on the track, the remaining three, which included Kvapil, Sammy Smith and Love, were mired in 11th, 15th and 25th, respectively.
Under the first stage break period, a handful of competitors led by the leader Queen and including Eckes, Mayer, Dye, Parker Retzlaff and Garrett Smithley pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 72 as Allgaier and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier used the inside lane to muscle ahead of Jones through the first two turns. As Allgaier proceeded to lead just past the Lap 75 mark, Jones fiercely fended off teammate Almirola for the runner-up spot while Zilisch and Harrison Burton battled for fourth place in front of Corey Day, Creed, Kvapil and Anthony Alfredo.
At the Lap 80 mark, Allgaier was leading by a tenth of a second over Jones while Almirola, Harrison Burton and Zilisch followed suit in the top five ahead of Creed, Kvapil, Gray, Corey Day and Ryan Sieg, respectively. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith, Love and Mayer were mired in 12th, 19th and 29th, respectively.
Ten laps later, Allgaier stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Almirola, the latter of whom overtook teammate Jones for the spot. Another lap later, the caution flew when Jeb Burton spun through the first two turns. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier pitted for service while the rest led by Kvapil and including Mayer remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Love received a second penalty, this time for an equipment interference.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 98. Kvapil fended off Queen to lead the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field behind jostled and fanned out for positions, Kvapil, who was pursuing stage points to maintain his advantage above the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 round, proceeded to lead the next lap and the Lap 100 mark.
By Lap 110, Kvapil continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Queen as Eckes, Mayer, Allgaier, Anthony Alfredo, Gray, Sanchez, Jones and Almirola followed suit in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Creed was scored in 11th place and racing three spots ahead of Sammy Smith, while Zilisch was mired in 18th place. In addition, Love, who was trying to rally from his second pit road penalty, was mired in 31st place.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Kvapil captured his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Kaulig Racing’s Queen and Eckes settled in second and third while Mayer, Gray, Allgaier, Jones, Almirola, Creed and Alfredo were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, five of eight Playoff contenders racked up the event’s second round of stage points while Sammy Smith, Zilisch and Love were mired outside the top 10 in 12th, 17th, and 30th, respectively.
During the second stage break period, some led by Kvapil and including Queen, Eckes, Alfredo, Sanchez, Zilisch, Justin Bonsignore, Retzlaff, Austin Green, Ryan Ellis, Jeb Burton, Jeremy Clements and Love pitted while the rest led by Mayer remained on the track. Before those who pitted, pit road was closed for an extensive period of time due to dropped fluid all across the circuit and from Thomas Annunziata’s entry.
With 113 laps remaining, the third and final stage period commenced as Mayer and Gray occupied the front row. At the start, Mayer fended off Gray for nearly a full lap before he cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap. Mayer then proceeded to lead with 110 laps remaining as the field behind jostled for spots.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Mayer stretched his advantage to more than a second over runner-up Allgaier, third-place Almirola, and fourth-place Gray while Jones, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Harrison Burton, Creed and Patrick Staropoli trailed in the top 10. Meanwhile, Kvapil, who had fresh tires, was mired in 21st as Love was mired in 25th behind Zilisch.
Ten laps later, Mayer had his advantage decreased to two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Almirola. Another two laps later, Almirola assumed the lead from Mayer and teammate Gray followed suit. This dropped Mayer to third place in front of Allgaier and Ryan Sieg as Jones, Sammy Smith, Harrison Burton, Staropoli and Creed pursued in the top 10. Meanwhile, teammates Kvapil and Zilisch climbed to 17th and 18th, respectively, while Love was mired in 30th.
Then, within the final 80 laps, the battle for the lead between teammates Almirola and Gray crescendoed as the latter drew himself alongside the former in a side-by-side battle through every turn and straightaway. Amid Gray’s challenges, Almirola managed to retain the top spot as his lead stood to less than two-tenths of a second with 70 laps remaining.
With 60 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Gray, both of whom had been battling for the lead over the previous 10 laps, continued to do so as Almirola led by a tenth of a second over Gray and amid Gray’s repeated challenges. Meanwhile, teammate Justin Bonsignore trailed in third place by five seconds while Mayer, Jones, Allgaier, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Creed and Staropoli all pursued in the top 10. Meanwhile, Love was a lap down in 32nd while Zilisch and Kvapil battled within the top-15 mark.
Two laps later, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck that erupted in Turn 4 when Brennan Poole bumped Queen into Josh Williams, which sent the latter two spinning. Amid Queen’s spin, Poole then got hit by Zilisch and both along with Corey Day and Queen, came to a rest towards the inside wall while Kvapil barely dodged the carnage.
During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Almirola pitted for service while the rest led by Sanchez remained on the track.
The start of the next restart, with 49 laps remaining, featured Sanchez and Gray dueling for the lead for nearly a full lap. Gray, who was racing on the outside lane, gained an advantage entering the frontstretch to lead the next lap and clear Sanchez while Almirola assumed the runner-up spot during the following lap. During the next lap, Jones assumed third place while Sanchez retained fourth ahead of Sammy Smith, Bonsignore, Creed and Mayer. Meanwhile, and amid a flurry of on-track battles and contacts, Gray retained the lead with 45 laps remaining.
Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Gray was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Almirola while his other teammate and Playoff contender Jones followed suit in third place by half a second. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith occupied fourth place, two spots ahead of Creed, while Mayer and Kvapil trailed in eighth and 10th, respectively. Meanwhile, Allgaier was back in 14th, Zilisch was mired in 20th and Love was strapped a lap down in 32nd.
Three laps later, and as Gray’s lead grew to nine-tenths of a second, the caution returned due to Retzlaff and Brad Perez both spinning in Turn 2. During the next restart with 25 laps remaining, the caution returned two laps later when Kvapil, who was racing within the top-10 mark, spun in Turn 4 after he got hit by Ryan Sieg as Sieg locked up his tires. Amid the incident, Gray retained the lead over teammate Almirola. In addition, Kvapil’s incident moved fourth-place Brandon Jones above the cutline while Kvapil, who fell back to 30th amid his spin, dropped below the cutline.
As the event restarted with 17 laps remaining, Gray retained the lead over Almirola while Sammy Smith, Jones, Creed, and Mayer followed suit. Behind Gray, Smith overtook Almirola for second place a lap later. Smith’s move moved him into a tie with Jones for the final transfer spot in the Playoff standings as Jones was in fourth on the track in front of Creed and Mayer.
With 10 laps remaining, Gray maintained the lead by six-tenths over Sammy Smith while Jones was in third. With Kvapil mired in 22nd, he and Jones were scored tied for the final transfer berth with Smith trailing by a single point. Over the next five laps and as Gray stretched his lead, Kvapil moved up to 19th. This then allowed Kvapil to move back above the cutline by three points over Jones while Jones battled and overtook Smith for second.
Then, with five laps remaining, a caution was flown due to Daniel Dye stalling on the track. Dye’s incident sent the event into overtime. At the start of overtime, Gray executed a strong launch from the inside lane to muscle ahead of Smith, Jones and the rest of the field through the first two turns. As Gray led through the backstretch, Smith managed to muscle ahead of Jones from the outside lane and commenced his pursuit of Gray for the lead and a potential berth to the Championship 4 round while Jones was locked in a battle with Creed and Almirola for third place.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gray remained in the lead by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Smith and a bevy of competitors jostling for late positions. Through the first two turns, Smith slowly reeled in on Gray’s rear bumper, but he could not get to the latter’s rear bumper through the backstretch. With Smith unable to draw himself back to Gray’s rear bumper through Turns 3 and 4, Gray was able to cycle back to the frontstretch victorious as he claimed his first career checkered flag by three-tenths of a second.
With the victory, Gray, who won in his 45th career start, became the 181st competitor overall to win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the first competitor to record a first career win at Martinsville since Josh Berry made the previous achievement in 2021.
Gray’s first career victory also marked the first win for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota team since Ty Gibbs won both the 2022 season finale and the championship at Phoenix Raceway. It was also the first for former championship-winning crew chief Jason Ratcliff since he won with Denny Hamlin at Darlington Raceway in September 2023.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Gosh, [it’s] about damn time I get me a clock, baby!” Gray exclaimed on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Man, I cannot thank everybody on this No. 54 team. Such an awesome race car. [Crew chief] Jason Ratcliff, all these [No. 54] guys, the pit crew did an awesome job tonight. Everybody on this group bring awesome race cars to this racetrack and gave me an opportunity to race every time I come here.”
Playoffs
With Gray’s first NASCAR career victory serving as one storyline, the other was the outcome of who made the Championship 4 round and who did not. With respective finishes of 23rd and 18th, Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil claimed the final two transfer berths to the final Playoff round by 18 and four points. As a result, they join Connor Zilisch and the reigning champion Justin Allgaier as the four competitors who will contend for next weekend’s Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway.
The result left Kvapil satisfied amid an adversity-filled event that nearly had the Mooresville, North Carolina, native below the cutline following his late spin. Despite being left on worn tires, Kvapil managed to navigate his way back up the top-20 mark on the track and capitalize on Gray’s victory to clinch his first-ever Championship 4 berth in his first full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit.
“It was probably the most nerve-racking racing I’ve done in my career,” Kvapil said. “This whole No. 1 group really fought hard all race long to give us an opportunity to get to this spot, to be in the Final Four. I can’t thank them enough for that. It all worked out. I’m definitely happy and [it’s] gonna be really exciting going to Phoenix.”
Meanwhile, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Sheldon Creed did not make the Championship 4 round despite finishing second, third and fourth in the final running order. Sam Mayer, who wrecked Jeb Burton at the conclusion of the event following their pair of on-track run-ins earlier, also did not make the final round after he finished in seventh.
There were 11 lead changes for nine different leaders. The event featured nine cautions for laps. In addition, 31 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results:
1. Taylor Gray, 52 laps led 2. Sammy Smith 3. Brandon Jones 4. Sheldon Creed 5. Aric Almirola, 51 laps led 6. Jeb Burton 7. Sam Mayer, 32 laps led 8. Dean Thompson 9. Connor Zilisch 10. Justin Bonsignore, one lap led 11. Harrison Burton, 16 laps led 12. Austin Hill 13. Corey Day 14. Myatt Snider 15. Ryan Sieg 16. Anthony Alfredo 17. Patrick Staropoli 18. Carson Kvapil, 40 laps led, Stage 2 winner 19. Nick Sanchez, five laps led 20. Blaine Perkins 21. Kyle Sieg 22. Ryan Ellis 23. Jesse Love 24. Austin Green 25. Connor Mosack 26. Justin Allgaier, 37 laps led, Stage 1 winner 27. Christian Eckes 28. Josh Williams 29. Parker Retzlaff 30. Garrett Smithley 31. Brad Perez 32. Mason Maggio, one lap down 33. Daniel Dye, one lap down 34. Jeremy Clements, 27 laps down 35. Brenden Queen – OUT, Accident, 19 laps led 36. Brennan Poole – OUT, DVP 37. Takuma Koga – OUT, Carburetor 38. Thomas Annunziata – OUT, Rear Gear *Bold indicates Playoff competitors.
Playoff standings:
1. Connor Zilisch – Advanced 2. Justin Allgaier – Advanced 3. Jesse Love – Advanced 4. Carson Kvapil – Advanced 5. Brandon Jones – Eliminated 6. Sammy Smith – Eliminated 7. Sam Mayer – Eliminated 8. Sheldon Creed – Eliminated
The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, where a champion will be crowned. The finale is scheduled to occur next Saturday, November 1, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN and SiriusXM.
Toyota GAZOO Racing – Denny Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 25, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday evening following qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 King’s Hawaiian Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
What was the car like for you in practice?
“I thought it was good. I thought the tire was good. The tire Goodyear brought here was a good choice and what they developed is a throwback to 15 years ago. You definitely have to manage the car. All the drivers are going to have to do their job tomorrow to make it last, so we will see how it goes.”
Will you have to start from the rear of the field tomorrow?
“I hope not. You got to know what the problem is before you can actually fix it. I don’t know that we know what the problem is.”
You spent all day Tuesday through Thursday in court. How much did that take out of you this week?
“I’m tired, but I didn’t stop working. I was just at the shop until nine 10 o’clock at night. I go from court to the shop, we don’t stop being prepared.”
Can you talk about the banner ceremonies you do at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop after each win? Does that importance fade over time or is it always special?
“From my standpoint, I run out of things to say. I try to get as creative as I can, each one is a little bit different. You don’t get to see the carpet walkers all the time on the second floor who are not touching the racecar. You have the competition side on the other side, and you got folks in the fabrication shop, you just don’t see those folks that often. It’s just an opportunity to see them face-to-face and thank them, otherwise the only other time we get to thank them is in victory lane or at the Christmas party at the end of the year. It’s our only shot. We try to do our best to show our appreciation because we know it’s our face time with them.”
How would you characterize the settlement talks this week?
“It was ok the first day, not great the second day and I don’t know, it didn’t end in any resolution unfortunately.”
What hurdles do you think remain to prevent this case from going to trial?
“Just days in the week, that’s it. Both sides probably feel strong about their case. You sat in the court and heard the arguments. I’ll let you come up with your own opinion, but I think one of us is on a suicide mission.”
Why is this year different and you are able to win your first championship?
“It’s week-to-week. I wish I could tell you that we are just faster, I don’t know. We have an equal chance as Corey Heim, who has dominated his season. He’s still got a 25% chance, and that’s what we are going to have next week. I’m optimistic about where we are running. These NASCAR races sometimes come down to things that are just unpredictable. You just hope that the things that are out of your control don’t inhibit you in any kind way. But I think on the racetrack if we do our jobs I think we will be one of the guys who will contend next week.”
What’s next after the 60-win milestone?
“I’m not really sure. I probably need to think about it in the offseason, truthfully. I’ll think about the races I have left. There are goals, I haven’t won in Indy, that’s one that comes top of mind that I would love to accomplish. I live to go fast every weekend and try to be everyone else. Everyone from here on out is going to be special and I’m going to cherish them.”
How big of a relief of winning at Vegas and not having to sweat being above the cutline here at Martinsville?
“It’s really sweet to come here and not have to worry about it at all. The way it’s shaping up I’ve seen today in practice, I don’t think any one of these guys are safe. I think it’s going to come down to the wire to see who wins this thing. We know that two are in, but I think everyone else is up for grabs. It’s going to be close.
How much of what you are willing to do comes into play when it comes down to the final laps of this race needing to get into the Championship 4?
“I think what is unique about the situation this year is there are four who know they have to win. In years past, we’ve had probably one or two who had to win and then had a lot of guys who just are iffy on points, depending on their day. I think this is so cut and dry that there are six who believe they have to win the race because more than likely that if a Kyle Larson or Christopher Bell runs second, I believe they are going to run second to one of those guys in the bottom four. So it’s a race against each other. There’s just a lot of different storylines and thoughts and you all are doing a really good job of telling that story.”
Is there anything you are working on here at Martinsville that will be able to help you next week at Phoenix?
“The list is too long. I can’t tip my hat on that, getting better is the short answer. As a driver, I have always thought that Phoenix has not been my strong suit even though it’s in my wheelhouse of shorter flat tracks. So half the focus has been on myself more so than trying to get everything I can out of the car.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
William Byron made an emphatic statement in his quest to maintain his championship hopes of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season by claiming the Busch Light Pole Award for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 25.
The event’s qualifying format consisted of a single vehicle, impound round. Each of the contenders entered to compete in the event cycled around Martinsville for two laps in an attempt to post the fastest lap.
During the qualifying round, Byron, who was the seventh-fastest competitor during practice earlier on Saturday, clocked in his fastest lap at 98.185 mph in 19.286 seconds. Byron’s lap was enough for this year’s two-time Daytona 500 champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, to claim the top-starting spot over fellow Charlotte competitor Ty Gibbs.
With the pole, Byron racked up his third Cup Series pole position of the 2025 season, his first since starting first at Darlington Raceway in April and his first ever at Martinsville. He previously won at Martinsville twice and claimed the final transfer berth to the Playoffs’ Championship 4 round in the previous two seasons. Byron strives to repeat his success and contend for a victory that would enable him to reach the finale and contend for this year’s title.
Currently, Byron is ranked in fifth place in the 2025 Cup Series Playoff standings and is 36 points below the top-four cutline to reach the Championship 4 round entering Sunday’s Round of 8 finale.
“[The pole]’s great,” Byron said. “It’s not the race, though, so we got a lot of work to do tomorrow. I felt good in practice and felt decent there in qualifying. It’s so cold. It took a while for the tires to kind of come in, but yeah, it feels nice. First pole at Martinsville is always good. We usually struggle to qualify well here, so yeah, just excited for tomorrow. It’s a big challenge and that’s what counts. After 500 laps, we’ll see how we are [in the Playoff standings].”
Byron will share the front row with Ty Gibbs, the latter of whom clocked in his fastest qualifying lap at 98.175 mph in 19.288 seconds. Kyle Larson, Byron’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, will start in third place. Currently, Larson holds sole possession of the fourth and final transfer berth to the Championship 4 round by 36 points.
Playoff contender Joey Logano and Championship 4 finalist Denny Hamlin will start in fourth and fifth, respectively. Cole Custer and Kyle Busch, along with fellow contenders Chase Elliott and Championship 4 finalist Chase Briscoe, will start from sixth to ninth, respectively. Austin Cindric completed the top-10 starting grid.
Notably, Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney were the lone two Playoff competitors who did not qualify in the top 10. Bell, who is ranked in third place in the standings and is 37 points above the cutline, qualified in 12th place. Meanwhile, Blaney, the reigning two-time Martinsville fall winner who trails the cutline by 47 points in seventh place in the standings, will start in 31st place.
Like Blaney, teammate Logano trails the cutline by 38 points in sixth place while Elliott trails by 62 points in eighth place.
With 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots, was the lone competitor who did not qualify for the event.
Qualifying Results:
1. William Byron, 98.185 mph, 19.286 seconds
2. Ty Gibbs, 98.175 mph, 19.288 seconds
3. Kyle Larson, 98.038 mph, 19.315 seconds
4. Joey Logano, 98.002 mph, 19.322 seconds
5. Denny Hamlin, 97.876 mph, 19.347 seconds
6. Cole Custer, 97.871 mph, 19.348 seconds
7. Kyle Busch, 97.850 mph, 19.352 seconds
8. Chase Elliott, 97.845 mph, 19.353 seconds
9. Chase Briscoe, 97.729 mph, 19.376 seconds
10. Austin Cindric, 97.643 mph, 19.393 seconds
11. Michael McDowell, 97.613 mph, 19.399 seconds
12. Christopher Bell, 97.603 mph, 19.401 seconds
13. Ross Chastain, 97.568 mph, 19.408 seconds
14. Tyler Reddic, 97.553 mph, 19.411 seconds
15. Carson Hocevar, 97.523 mph, 19.417 seconds
16. Todd Gilliland, 97.442 mph, 19.433 seconds
17. Alex Bowman, 97.422 mph, 19.437 seconds
18. Ryan Preece, 97.417 mph, 19.438 seconds
19. Brad Keselowski, 97.342 mph, 19.453 seconds
20. Austin Dillon, 97.332 mph, 19.455 seconds
21. Bubba Wallace, 97.312 mph, 19.459 seconds
22. Shane van Gisbergen, 97.297 mph, 19.462 seconds
23. Zane Smith, 97.083 mph, 19.505 seconds
24. John Hunter Nemechek, 97.053 mph, 19.511 seconds
NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway Round of Eight: Elimination Race Team Chevy Post-Qualifying Report October 25, 2025
Byron Claims Pole Position for Round of Eight Elimination Race at Martinsville Speedway
In pursuit of his third-straight Championship Four appearance, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green-flag in the Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. A two-time winner Martinsville winner, the feat marks Byron’s first pole win in NASCAR’s top division at the .526-mile Virginia short-track.
Byron started Saturday’s on-track action by claiming the seventh position on the overall speed chart following the NASCAR Cup Series practice session. The 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native went on to post a best-lap of 19.286 seconds, at 98.185 mph, in qualifying to deliver Chevrolet its 13th pole win of the 2025 season.
Byron led Chevrolet to four top-10 qualifying efforts for tomorrow’s 500-lap event, with fellow Team Chevy playoff contenders, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, driving their Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet’s to the third- and eighth-place starting positions, respectively. Two-time Martinsville winner, Kyle Busch, will join his manufacturer teammates in the top-10 of the starting lineup with the Richard Childress Racing driver ending qualifying with a seventh-place result.
Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Starting Lineup Pos. Driver
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Pole Winner Quotes
How big is it to be where you are on the track and get that pole?
“Yeah, like I’ve said before, it’s nice, but it doesn’t count for anything yet. But yeah, it’s good. We’ve prepared well coming here and feel pretty good about my race car. I think there’s a few guys out there that are really good, as well. It’s going good so far.”
Starting up front, does that change anything for you at this point? Is there any more relief at this point heading into tomorrow knowing that you’re starting as far forward as you are?
“You know, it’s funny. I said to myself before I came here, I was like, man, qualifying doesn’t matter as much as it normally does for us because we don’t really need the stage points. So maybe that was the key.
But, yeah honestly, for me, I was like — if I qualify 20th, as long as I keep my nose clean and have a good enough car to drive through the field, I should be okay. When we first saw Next Gen come around, it was like – oh man, if you qualify out of the top-10, it was like doomsday. So I think that’s changed a little bit with this tire and the fall off, but you always want track position. Being on the pole is nice and gives us a good pit stall. That’s probably the biggest key out of it. It gives us a chance to control the race for a little bit.”
The tire has been a popular conversation this weekend. Now that you’ve had some laps on the track, what are you seeing with the tire wear and the fall off?
“Yeah, I’m seeing a track that doesn’t lay a lot of rubber yet, which kind of gives me shades of Bristol. But I don’t think this tire is like that. You know, I don’t think it’s going to do like Bristol did. But I do think it’s going to hurt the tires if it doesn’t lay a lot of rubber. So we’ve just got to see where the temperature goes tomorrow and how, I call it, white the track stays. You know, we’ll see, but I think it’s going to be interesting. I think it’s going to get hot enough during the day where it’s going to do the traditional Martinsville things and still have some rubber streaks. But towards the end of the race, you could see kind of like what qualifying was, where it just might be hard on the tires and the pace might be fast.”
I know we’re going to get a lot of questions from people in terms of, like, the Bristol comparisons because the track looks so white, so how do we explain to people what you guys are dealing with? When we talked to you guys after Bristol, we get some of, like, okay, it’s a tire management race. But then also it’s just like a tire destruction race where there’s really nothing you can do, it’s more like the setup. So with this tire, is there stuff that you think you can do to preserve it for a longer run, like driver-wise? Or is it just baked into what the car is already going to do?
“Yeah, I think there’s a little bit of both. But I don’t think this is as extreme as Bristol. I think Bristol, to me, is a bit ridiculous because you can’t really manage. You’re just shredding the tire off the car. This is more of a management aspect. I don’t think it’s going to do like what it did at Bristol, where you just have to pit all the time. But I think you’re just going to suffer, you know, in terms of lap time and positions.
But I don’t know. I think the fact that the race starts at 2:00 p.m. makes a big difference. We’re going to bake heat into the racetrack. The beginning of qualifying is when the race is going to end, so I just see it as a management race. The guys who have a good setup and have a good feel for the place are going to manage their tires.”
So somebody could get out to decent lead but use their tires up and fall back?
“Maybe. I mean, that could always happen. I just don’t think you’re going to be punished for having a good car and running hard. But I don’t know. I think you just have to do a good job inside the car. You’ve got to tell the team the right feedback to make sure you’re managing whatever tire is falling off, but I don’t think it will be extreme like Bristol.”
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JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “You’re never satisfied or never happy until we win, but that’s a good starting spot for our Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. I can see the front from there and hopefully we’ll get one of the pit stalls we’re looking for, but we’re all or nothing. You just kind of have to keep that attitude all day and see if we can put it up there. It seems like our short run speed was in the game. Our long run speed was less than great, so we’ve got some work to do there.”
COLE CUSTER, No. 41 Texas A&M University Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was definitely a really solid lap, having Texas A&M on the car. It’s nice to get a good lap and have a fast Ford Mustang. Hopefully, it translates to tomorrow. We had a fast car here in the spring before we had a rubber fire, so hopefully we can finish this one out strong and get our long run speed where we need it to be for tomorrow.”
Ford Racing Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Media Availability Saturday, October 25, 2025
Ford’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have combined to win three Martinsville playoff races in the NASCAR Cup Series and a win by either one tomorrow would result in another trip to the Championship 4. Both Team Penske drivers answered questions in the infield media center before today’s practice and qualifying sessions about their situation.
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – THIS COULD BE THE LAST YEAR OF THE ONE RACE CHAMPIONSHIP. DURING THAT WEEK CAN YOU TREAT IT LIKE ANY OTHER WEEK? “No, because it’s not. It’s not a normal week. It’s the championship week. You have a chance of reaching your ultimate goal. It’s kind of hard to treat that like a normal week. I said this last year and I’ll say it forever, if you say it’s a normal week, it’s just a way to help you sleep because you can’t sleep. The facts are you know it inside. Everybody knows it inside. It’s more. The pressure is on. It’s bigger. You’re closer to reaching the dream. What are you willing to do? Everything is just a little more.”
AND HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT THAN THIS WEEK WHERE YOU PRETTY MUCH HAVE TO PERFORM AS WELL? “The 10 weeks are tough. It’s a grind. Every week is tough and the pressure ratchets up every week and it affects you, there’s no doubt. I would assume it affects everyone. I don’t see how it doesn’t if you care enough about it. If you care, you’re gonna be digging deep and trying to find that little bit more and what’s it gonna take and all that. The balance gets pretty offset in the playoffs a lot of times of what is your main goal and this time of year it’s always about winning championships and your balance kind of ticks a little bit more and you might have a little shorter fuse and all those type of things. That happens.”
HOW DO YOU COME BACK FROM THE MOMENTS WHEN YOU FEEL YOU’RE ON EDGE AND KEEP YOURSELF SANE ON A WEEKEND LIKE THIS? “When I say it affects you, it affects some people negatively, sure, but, to me, I’ve found ways to make it affect me in a positive way, where it just helps me find a little bit more, it’s a little extra motivation, it’s a little extra fire. Those things are all good things. Some people might overdue it. Some people might do it to where they make mistakes. We see that throughout the playoffs all the time, the way the pressure affects everyone – teams, not just drivers, but teams all the way through – crew members, the whole nine, everybody. That’s why I always say I love this format so much because it puts everyone in this crazy position, a really challenging position.”
DOES IT ADD TO THE CHALLENGE THAT YOU AND BLANEY ARE IN A MUST-WIN SITUATION? “It’s a good observation (laughing). Yeah, we’re not in the spot we want to be in, but there’s still a chance. We’re not out yet. It’s not the best position to be in, but it’s pretty simple on what to do unless something crazy happens in the first 50 laps to the other guys, which I wouldn’t expect. It’s pretty clear what we’ve got to do. We have to go out there and win and do whatever we’ve got to do to do it.”
HOW DO YOU COMPARE THE PRESSURE OF THIS RACE JUST TO MAKE THE TITLE RACE AS OPPOSED TO THE PRESSURE OF NEXT WEEK WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP? “Again, it ratchets up. It’s so hard to make the Championship 4. It’s an accomplishment to make the Championship 4. It’s a hard thing to do, but when you make the Championship 4, and I know it because I’ve been on both ends of it, the feeling of not winning after you’ve come that far hurts so bad because you never know. You may never get a chance to do that again. You don’t know, so all you want to do is make sure that you’ve done everything you can possibly do to be the most prepared you can be because the biggest fear that I have every weekend but probably even more when it’s a championship race is that you’re gonna go to sleep at the end of the day saying, ‘Gosh, I didn’t do everything I could have done,’ or, ‘I didn’ think of that. That was one piece that I just didn’t think would happen. I didn’t see that one coming. I didn’t cover that base.’ That’s my biggest fear. If something happens out of your control, so be it. I’ve been there as well, but if it’s something I can control and I didn’t think about it, that will haunt you the rest of your life.”
DOES IT HELP YOU SLEEP A LITTLE EASIER CONSIDERING THE FACT BLANEY HAS WON HERE AND AT PHOENIX TO WIN THE TITLE? “Not really. It’s been a good track for us. There’s no doubt it’s been a good track. I look at anybody in the position that we’re in right now, those bottom four cars, everyone’s got to win and everyone has done it here. That’s the crazy part is everybody is good here and that’s what it is. You get to this round of the playoffs and everybody is good. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s supposed to be. You have the most solid teams in the Round of 8 and it’s a heavyweight fight right to the end here. You have a bunch of dogs out there trying to make it happen. It’s gonna be an exciting race. It’s gonna be something to watch, that’s for sure.”
CAN YOU GIVE A GENERAL IDEA OF WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT WHEN PREPARING FOR THESE SITUATIONS? “It probably depends on what part of the week you want to talk about. I think everybody probably does it a little bit different – what works for you or your team and those type of things. Some drivers are different. Some drivers don’t want to know what’s in their car or really care about it. They just want to focus on the driving part. Every team is different. Every driver is different, so I can’t speculate on what anybody else is doing. I know, for me, I just want to know everything that’s going on. That’s why when you hear Coleman on the radio he’s constantly talking. A lot of drivers hate that. I love it. I want to know everything, so you can imagine if that’s how I am in the race, imagine what I’m like before the race. I just want to know everything that’s going on. It’s everything. To answer your question, D, all of the above.”
WAS THERE A NIGHT WHEN YOU WENT TO SLEEP AND FELT YOU HADN’T DONE ALL YOU COULD? “I think there are moments just in life that are like that. It doesn’t have to be just in a race car or in a race. There are times that you walk into a situation that you weren’t prepared for. I think everyone can relate to that, whether that’s walking into a meeting or something that just went completely sideways that you didn’t see coming because you didn’t take the time to get ready. Those type of things. Yes, it’s happened in races. It happens often and that’s why you get better at it because you’re like, ‘Geez, I didn’t see that one coming. The next time I’ll know.’ You don’t ever want to make the same mistake twice, but you also want to make sure that you’ve prepped in all the right areas, or at least the areas that will come your way the most. Yeah, it happens a lot for me.”
HOW DO YOU GO INTO AN EVENT TRYING TO PUT UP GUARDRAILS AND TRYING TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY? “That’s a hard place to be because we’ve seen so many times desperate people do desperate things and what are you willing to do and can you justify that in your mind somehow. It’s tough because it’s a true test of your morals, if I’m being honest. There are times you’re just like, ‘Is this the right thing to do or not?’ And to your point, you kind of have to think about that stuff beforehand. Also, every action has a reaction and most likely depending on what you do to get in, you’ve still got to race next week. I’ve said it before, you may get in the Championship 4, but don’t win it doesn’t mean anything. It’s nice to say you got there, but you didn’t win, you don’t get the trophy, does it really matter? Not really. So, you kind of have to think more than just the race ahead of you. There’s gonna be a race next week. The same drivers will be out there. The same cars. You’ve got to think about all that stuff. It’s still a hard place to be. It’s a very challenging place to put us and I’m not saying I’ve done the right thing every time, but I can’t really think of things in my mind that I look back at and go, ‘Gosh, that was the wrong play.’ I haven’t done nothing that I can say that I feel like personally, and probably others will disagree, but, to me, a bump and run in turn three to make it to the Championship 4 is fine. Completely wiping him out and dumping him and backing him into the fence? Probably too far. That’s my opinion. Everyone is gonna have a different one.”
YOU PROBABLY TELL YOU KIDS YOU CAN’T WIN ALL THE TIME EVEN THOUGH YOU WANT TO WIN ALL THE TIME. HAVE YOU EVER HAD THAT? YOU CAN’T WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP EVERY YEAR. “You can. Honestly, that’s what I would tell my kids. Yeah, you can win every game. You can win every race. You have the opportunity to win all of them. I don’t know, Jimmie Johnson won five in a row, so I guess you can. He’s pretty good at that. I’m sure somebody told him that you can’t win all of them at some point and he probably laughed and said, ‘Watch this.’ And he won five of them in a row. I just have never had that attitude. Just because you’ve won three in the past means you’re all set and you can just coast the rest of your career. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to do that to my team either, or my fans or my sponsors – to Roger. I can win them all. That at least better be my attitude. I know that’s never happened before that someone has won 36 races, but I promise you I try to win 36 of them.”
DO YOU SEEM YOU’RE MORE COMPETITIVE THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN? “Yeah, I feel like I’m still a great driver. I’m a smarter driver than I was last year. You keep becoming smarter. The game changes and you have to evolve. That’s a challenging piece. There’s no doubt as the cars change and those types of things. It’s a challenge, but the more experience you have, the smarter you will be. You have to use that as an advantage. That’s kind of what I have is an advantage at the moment over the majority now because I’ve been doing it longer and I’ve learned the hard way quite a few times. That’s valuable.”
IS THE FEELING ANY DIFFERENT WHEN YOU ARE THE REIGNING CHAMPION TRYING TO MAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4 OR IS IT THE SAME FEELING NO MATTER WHAT? “It’s the same, no different.”
DOES IT SPEAK TO HOW COMPETITIVE THIS ROUND IS WITH THE POSITION YOU GUYS ARE IN, OR IS IT JUST HOW TOUGH THE PLAYOFFS ARE OVERALL? “The playoffs are tough and we’re in this position that we’re in because we didn’t do good enough during the regular season. That’s the bottom line. If we had 30-plus more playoff points, which some had, we’d be sitting there saying, ‘Boy, we could point our way in,’ even with having a mediocre first two races of the round. We’d still have a chance because all of those races matter, but we didn’t have a really good regular season, so now we’re put in a spot to where we have to win. We’re not out. We still have a great chance, but we only have really one avenue of getting there. That’s the difference. That’s why we are where we are. It’s simple enough.”
ARE THERE THINGS YOU’RE ABLE TO GLEAN FROM WHAT THE 12 TEAM HAS DONE IN THE FALL RACES THAT PROVIDE ANY AH-HA MOMENTS FOR YOUR TEAM? “It’s hard to call them ah-ha moments. I can see it all and look at it all. Doing it, it takes a lot to apply things because it’s not just, ‘OK, we’ll just copy the trace.’ Well, why is he driving it that way? What does he need to do that? There’s no doubt that Ryan is really strong here. The last few races he’s been good. Last spring was maybe not one of his better ones, but the majority of the last 10 races here have been really solid, so we naturally look at that and it’s, ‘OK, what can I apply as a driver?’ Obviously, we see setup stuff of what they’re doing and that type of stuff, but he’s got a couple traits that are pretty apparent that he’s really good at and trying to fight your natural instincts to drive like someone is hard to do. It’s asking a basketball player to shoot a different style. I don’t know. This is how I do it. I’ve done this for years and now you’ve got to try something different and that’s hard to do. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it’s just you’ve got to try to buy into it and understand why and try to apply certain things like that. You do that every week with other drivers that are good at certain tracks and those types of things. You try to find those things, yeah.”
FROM THE START OF THE NEXT GEN CAR TO NOW, HOW HAS THE RACING EVOLVED IN THESE LAST FEW YEARS HERE AT MARTINSVILLE? “I’m assuming the left side tire is gonna wear a little bit more. We’ve kind of had that come back whereas before these cars were pretty much bolted to the racetrack all the time. The tires weren’t falling off. You’re shifting, your just matting the gas and you never paid a price. It’s starting to come back to where you’re gonna pay a little bit of a price if you hammer it too hard. That’s good for racing here. The way you pass cars is a lot different here now than it used to be. You used to be able to take the air off of the car in front of you a little bit and loosen him up on the exit. Now, the trailing car has a really hard time just maintaining directly behind. You see cars trying to widen out and trying to find air. That’s a lot different, so that changes a little bit of restarts and those type of things compared to the old car at least. It’s a lot different race. Even watching the Xfinity cars today. They’re so different. Those cars are so different from what we’re driving now. They don’t drive the same, but the definitely don’t race the same because the aerodynamics are so different. I know we’re at Martinsville, but it still plays an effect.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHERE DID YOUR SECOND GRANDFATHER CLOCK GO AND DO YOU HAVE PLANS FOR WHERE A THIRD ONE WOULD GO? “The second one is still at the race shop a year later. It’s in the box still, so I’ve got to find room for that. I’ll make some room. I haven’t found a home for the second one yet, but I will find it and if we’re lucky enough to get a third one, I’ll find that one a home too. Hopefully, it doesn’t live in the shop for another year. I’ve been lazy on picking it up, but we’ll find space.”
HASSLER SAID YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC FEEL FOR WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR OUT OF THE CAR AND YOU CAN TELL BY PRACTICE ON SATURDAY. HOW DO YOU ADAPT THROUGH A WEEKEND HERE TO FIND WHAT YOU NEED? “It’s kind of an interesting practice session to the race type thing. Bristol is pretty similar as far as practice to race. A lot of the concrete tracks like I put Dover in there too, you’re gonna have a completely different track to start a practice than what you end with, even in the second group. And then the end of the race it’s gonna be a lot different too just the amount of rubber that gets put down, so I try to think back on previous races here, like how were we in practice and what did we change or what did I need going into the race and was it the right direction or was it kind of different than what I thought it was gonna be and just kind of compare all that stuff. You just try to guess and it’s gonna be pretty cool today and tomorrow. I think it’s gonna be about the same temp as the race tomorrow when we get practice in today, so that helps. You’re not two completely different temperatures, so, yeah, just a lot of previous notes, history, and then just trying to have that feel and, ‘hey, if I’m this way in practice, I kind of need to be prepared for the track to take this little step in this certain direction and let’s guard against that or let’s work towards that, kind of if I need double of what I think I need at the time.’ A lot of track history and experience definitely helps that out and you hope you hit it right.”
HOW MUCH LUCK OR FORTUNE DO YOU NEED TO WIN A RACE HERE? “I think that was just a figure of speech. I don’t think you need any luck to win here. I was really just saying lucky to have won here a few times. I just find myself lucky to be in not specifically anything lucky that happened during these races, it’s just lucky to have a car that can go win and be able to win in Victory Lane. It’s just a long race, like 500 laps around here is a lot and a lot of shifts, a lot of things that can go wrong, a lot of things that can go right, so you’ve just kind of have to stay in the game. We’ve stayed in the game the last two fall races here and been able to pull it off and come from behind to get the win, so we’ll see if we can just be in the game tomorrow. That’s all you can really ask for and hopefully our car has the speed to do it and hopefully we adjust on it through the day and through the race to make it happen. I wouldn’t say lucky by any means. I always feel lucky with the chances I’ve gotten through my life.”
IS IT PATIENCE? IS IT PERSEVERANCE TO BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH THREE OF THE BEST LIKE THE HENDRICK GUYS? WHAT DOES IT TAKE? “Yeah, I had to do that last year. Heck, I think last year it was the same thing – none of them were locked in, so you know you’re in for a battle and you’re in for a challenge when you’re racing against the guys that have to get in that are in the same spot as you and things like that. Gosh, last year was an awesome finish of the race between me, Chase and Kyle. Three guys under a blanket duking it out and we were able to come out on top. I expect the same thing – hard racing all the way through and fairly clean racing you hope. There’s gonna be contact, but you just hope it doesn’t turn into a cluster like we’ve seen here in the past. I think we’ve been doing it the right way and the way Martinsville is supposed to be raced. You know you’re in for a battle. It’s gonna be a crazy one tomorrow. Four guys gotta win. Two guys kind of having their own little points deal going on and battling not to be the bottom seed in case one of us do win, so it’ll be a wild day and hopefully we’re in the mix. That’s all you can ask for.”
WRAPPING THE CURVE IS SOMETHING A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL YOU’RE REALLY GOOD AT. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO WELL TO SUCCEED HERE? “Yeah, I think it varies. I’ve seen races won here kind of like a big diamond in the middle of the corner, entering on the curb and fading up and then coming down the racetrack and exiting low. I’ve seen second lane dominance here win the race. I’ve seen curb wrapping win the race. I think each driver just has their own style of how they approach it and I have just always approached it that way of kind of trying to carry a ton of speed right along the curb. I feel like I’m at my best when I can do that because I’m comfortable doing that. I always look for my car to be able to do that, so, yeah, I think it’s just driver preference and then what will your car do. What does your car do the best and how do you kind of get the most out of it in that case.”
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TIRES WITH THESE WEATHER CONDITIONS? “I don’t know. We get asked that a lot before practice when we have a new tire, ‘What do you expect?’ I have no idea. I’ll have a better answer for you in about an hour-and-a-half. It’s supposed to be softer with more wear. They’ve been working on that for the left side tire especially. The lefts seem to be tougher to wear out than the rights for sure, and I definitely think it’s on the right path, but I just hope it lays some rubber down. I know when it’s cool like this, it usually doesn’t like to lay rubber down, so hopefully this tire helps do that, but we’ll find out. I just hope it continues to go down the path that Goodyear has been working on of wearing out, and if you get too much of it, you’re gonna be in trouble, which I think it’s how race tires should be.”
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE CONFIDENCE OF WINNING HERE IN THE FALL AND GOING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE AND WINNING IT ALL? “When we were able to win this race in ‘23, we carried a bunch of confidence over that week. I felt like we were in a great mindset and doing it last year. I feel like we had the same mindset of I’m a big believer in momentum and confidence and things like that, and it can change your outlook on things. It’s just how you open your eyes in the morning. If you’re confident, it changes your outlook on the day ahead of you. It was definitely a big factor in us winning in ‘23. It was a big factor in us contending last year and almost getting it done again, so I’ve been fortunate to be part of two of those, winning Martinsville and going to Phoenix. And everyone remembers the most recent winner, not only the outside world, but your competitors. They remember who won last week and who is looking good, so it’s a big confidence boost and hopefully we can be in that position. We’ve got to get the job done tomorrow to have that week.”
HOW MUCH PATIENCE DO YOU HAVE WITH SLOWER CARS BEFORE YOU START MOVING THEM? “It depends what moment of the race it is. I compare it to like last year when I was third and kind of running down the 9 and the 5, the 9 got around the 5 and I laid the bumper to the 5 pretty quickly because I didn’t have time. I didn’t have time to sit behind somebody with 20 laps to go in the race. You kind of have to move forward and not get stuck behind somebody because they can make your life hell sitting behind them. I just think it’s moments in time where you get more aggressive than others, where early in the race you might not do that, but it just depends. As a driver, that’s what you’re weighing in the moment and it can also say, hey, if you’re working a guy over for 20-30 laps and there’s a group behind you that’s catching you, I’ve got to go. I can’t risk losing two or three spots because you’re holding me up and I’ve played nice for 30 laps. I’ve kind of got to get moving, so it’s all situational to me of what time it is in the race, or what position you’re in front and back.”
FIVE OF THE LAST SIX WINNERS HERE HAVE STARTED OUTSIDE THE TOP 10, SO HOW IMPORTANT IS QUALIFYING HERE? “I’ll be the first to tell you, I suck at qualifying here. I’ve just never been able to qualify well for whatever reason. It’s two very different mindsets – race pace to qualifying pace. Lines, just kind of how you approach everything and I easily get stuck in the race pace line driving mode through practice because that’s what I’m thinking about, and then going out and qualifying it’s like the complete opposite. It’s a complete 180 from what you’ve just done for the last 70 laps in practice. Some guys can carry it over quick. To me, I struggle a little bit more and to kind of flip it onto the qualifying mode here, just because it’s so different, but it’s something you work on. You try your best. I don’t enjoy qualifying 15th or 20th when I come here, so hopefully that can change today, but, yeah, it’s a tough one for sure. I’d say this is the toughest place, and I’d say here and Darlington, are the toughest places to go from practice to qualifying, just from a driver mindset, strategy of how you attack the corner and things like that – completely different lines and lanes – so I’d say it’s important, for sure, a good pit stall and start you ahead of the mess a little bit, but we’ll see what happens. I hope I can qualify OK today. We’ll see.”
WHAT IS IT LIKE WITH MARTINSVILLE BEING A CUTOFF RACE? “I think each one has its own little element to it. Talladega has all of the wild cards just from the wrecks and the way drafting tracks work, so that deserves to get all of the buzz around it, and then this one it’s Martinsville. No matter if it’s a cutoff race, a playoff race or not, there’s always gonna be a lot of action here. It just comes with the size of the racetrack and what goes on for those laps, but I think both of them are very, very exciting and important in their own respective ways. You talk about two completely different racetracks. They all have their unique pieces to them and I think this weekend, this race, knowing it’s a cutoff race and Martinsville is just as exciting as Talladega and unpredictable in a way. It’s just a little bit different.”
THIS GROUP THAT ARE DO-OR-DIE, IT’S NOT A BIG GROUP OF DRIVERS. DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW HOW THEY’LL RACE HERE? “No. I never know. The beauty about racing against the same people every week is you kind of can get their tendencies a little bit, but I’ve tried to learn to not rely too much on other people’s tendencies because you never know what they’re thinking in that time or what position that they’re in, so you have to kind of be ready for everything, to be honest with you. Like I said earlier, I expect it to be a great race. I really do think it’s gonna be a fantastic race. You’ve got multiple things going on that we’re gonna be having to watch out for, like on TV people watching. In my mind, my job is just to win the race. I don’t have to worry about points or anything. I don’t want to be in this position like Macho Man says, I’m unjustifiably in a position I’d rather not be in. People are capable of anything and I don’t think just racing around the same guys every week or these eight guys you can’t really rely on what they’ve done in the past or their tendencies just because it can all change very quickly.”
WHERE ARE YOU MENTALLY THIS WEEKEND? YOU’VE BEEN IN THIS SITUATION BEFORE. “You just understand what needs to be done this weekend. You can’t control anything that happened last week. It’s in the past. It’s done. It’s how do we go into this weekend, we know what we have to do and just go try to be 100 percent of what this 12 group can be, and I’d say that’s all I’ve ever asked of people in our group is just give your best effort through the week, through the weekend. Just put up all of yourself and if it’s enough, that’s awesome, and we were able to do it. If not, at least you did everything you could and nothing was left on the table, and you hold your heads high, win or lose. That’s just the way I approach it. That’s the way this whole group approaches it and you just give it your all no matter the outcome. One outcome is obviously better than the other, but if you gave everything you had, you can still be proud of your effort. It’s pretty easy to get in these modes. It’s just a weekend where you have to go perform. We perform every weekend and it’s just how good can you perform compared to others this weekend, so I guess that’s how we approach this week leading up to this event.”
Harrison Burton notched his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career pole position for the IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 25.
The event used a single-car, impound qualifying format, with each competitor taking two laps around Martinsville in a bid to record the fastest time.
During the qualifying round, Burton, who was the 26th-fastest competitor during practice earlier on Saturday, clocked in his fastest lap at 95.429 mph in 19.843 seconds. Burton’s lap was enough for him to claim the pole position over Playoff contender Carson Kvapil.
With the pole, Burton, who won at Martinsville in October 2020, will lead the field to the green flag during Saturday’s main event. It was his first career pole for what will be his 107th series start. Burton also joined Taylor Gray as first-time pole winners of the 2025 Xfinity Series season and delivered the first-ever pole for AM Racing.
The pole award occurred hours after Burton was announced to join forces with Sam Hunt Racing and pilot the No. 24 Toyota Supra entry for the 2026 Xfinity season.
“That’s huge,” Burton said. “We qualified fifth here earlier in the year and felt like we had a pretty good balance. Huge deal for us, right? A small team and showing a lot of fight through a lot of adversity. Great opportunity for us to now go lead this race, set the pace, take care of our tires. Go try and be as fast as Xfinity Mobile the whole run here.”
Burton will share the front row with Kvapil, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 95.405 mph in 19.848 seconds. Currently, Kvapil holds sole possession of the fourth and final berth to the Championship 4 round by 11 points entering tonight’s main event.
Aric Almirola, who won both Martinsville Xfinity events in 2024, will start in third place with his best qualifying lap occurring at 95.304 mph in 19.869 seconds. He will be followed by Championship 4 finalist Justin Allgaier and Playoff contender Sheldon Creed, respectively. Austin Hill, who won last weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway and this year’s spring Martinsville event in late March, will line up in sixth place.
Ryan Sieg, Brenden Queen, Christian Eckes and Parker Retzlaff completed the top-10 starting lineup.
Kvapil, Allgaier and Creed were the only Playoff contenders to qualify in the top 10. Four other Playoff contenders, including Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Jesse Love and Sam Mayer, will start 11th, 15th, 21st and 24th, respectively. Love is currently above the cutline to make the Championship 4 round by 40 points. Jones, Smith and Mayer join Creed as the bottom four competitors who are scored outside the cutline.
Notably, Connor Zilisch, a Championship 4 finalist, did not post a qualifying lap. During the event’s practice session, he wheel-hopped, spun and made contact with the outside wall entering Turn 1. With his team opting to make repairs to the entry, Zilisch will roll off the starting grid at the tail end of the 38-car field.
With 39 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, Preston Pardus was the lone competitor who did not qualify for the event.
Qualifying position, Best speed, Best time:
1. Harrison Burton, 95.429 mph, 19.843 seconds
2. Carson Kvapil, 95.405 mph, 19.848 seconds
3. Aric Almirola, 95.304 mph, 19.869 seconds
4. Justin Allgaier, 95.223 mph, 19.886 seconds
5. Sheldon Creed, 95.165 mph, 19.898 seconds
6. Austin Hill, 95.127 mph, 19.906 seconds
7. Ryan Sieg, 95.118 mph, 19.908 seconds
8. Brenden Queen, 95.046 mph, 19.923 seconds
9. Christian Eckes, 94.993 mph, 19.934 seconds
10. Parker Retzlaff, 94.860 ph, 19.962 seconds
11. Brandon Jones, 94.761 mph, 19.983 seconds
12. Jeb Burton, 94.761 mph, 19.983 seconds
13. Taylor Gray, 94.746 mph, 19.986 seconds
14. Justin Bonsignore, 94.642 mph, 20.008 seconds
15. Sammy Smith, 94.623 mph, 20.012 seconds
16. Brennan Poole, 94.623 mph, 20.012 seconds
17. Blaine Perkins, 94.557 mph, 20.026 seconds
18. Nick Sanchez, 94.359 mph, 20.068 seconds
19. Myatt Snider, 94.359 mph, 20.068 seconds
20. Thomas Annunziata, 94.322 mph, 20.076 seconds
21. Jesse Love, 94.153 mph, 20.112 seconds
22. Daniel Dye, 94.139 mph, 20.115 seconds
23. Corey Day, 94.129 mph, 20.117 seconds
24. Sam Mayer, 93.966 mph, 20.152 seconds
25. Ryan Ellis, 93.840 mph, 20.179 seconds
26. Connor Mosack, 93.733 mph, 20.202 seconds
27. Kyle Sieg, 93.599 mph, 20.231 seconds
28. Brad Perez, 93.553 mph, 20.241 seconds
29. Anthony Alfredo, 93.543 mph, 20.243 seconds
30. Dean Thompson, 93.410 mph, 20.272 seconds
31. Garrett Smithley, 93.129 mph, 20.333 seconds
32. Josh Williams, 92.783 mph, 20.409 seconds
33. Patrick Staropoli, 92.578 mph, 20.454 seconds
34. Mason Maggio, 92.569 mph, 20.456 seconds
35. Jeremy Clements, 92.511 mph, 20.469 seconds
36. Takuma Koga, 92.317 mph, 20.512 seconds
37. Austin Green, 92.110 mph, 20.558 seconds
38. Connor Zilisch, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
*Bold indicates Playoff competitors.
The 2025 IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN and SiriusXM.
Toyota GAZOO Racing – Sam Hunt, Dean Thompson, and Harrison Burton NASCAR Xfinity Series Quotes
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 25, 2025) – Sam Hunt Racing (SHR) team owner Sam Hunt, along with drivers Harrison Burton and Dean Thompson, were made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway to unveil the SHR 2026 driver lineup.
SAM HUNT, Owner, Sam Hunt Racing
DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
HARRISON BURTON, No. 24 Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
What do you have planned for the Sam Hunt Racing Driver Lineup in 2026?
HUNT: “I thought this would be a fun way to officially announce Dean Thompson and Harrison Burton will be driving my No. 26 and No. 24 Toyota GR Supras in 2026. Really exciting day for us and an exciting day for our company. A lot of you guys know our story and our journey, so it’s a special day and excited to get to work.”
THOMPSON: “It’s a blessing and an honor to be on this team with Sam (Hunt). They welcomed me with open arms this year at a point in my career where I probably didn’t deserve to be welcomed with open arms. Just really excited to keep on growing with this team.”
BURTON: “For me, it’s just an alignment of beliefs with Sam and their group and Dean. What they believe in and how they race and the way they approach things, it’s just a great fit. I couldn’t be more excited to join this group for what feels like going back home with our friends with Toyota. Ford has been great for me in my career as well and have given me great opportunities and I’ll have great friendships there forever. It’s very sentimental for me to go back where it started with Toyota, guys like Jack (Irving) and Tyler (Gibbs) who have had my back even when I was racing with Ford. It’s really special and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Why do Dean and Harrison make sense for Sam Hunt Racing?
HUNT: “Like he mentioned, there was some risk bringing Dean in last year. Dean was not at his most confident point in his driving career. For me, my fulfillment this year has been watching Dean grow this year as a person. He’s grown to have this humility and this desire to be into the program. I think that has correlated completely into his on-track performance being as strong as its been. With Dean, being a first year Xfinity Series guy with a group like ours and making a legitimate run at the tail end of the playoffs this year was a really positive thing. I really thanked Dean for buying in at the level that he did. We are Xfinity racing so this is a development series and a lot of guys are hopefully going to come through Sam Hunt Racing and go on to race on Sunday’s. But really the size of our group and how we have to do it, it takes drivers buying in at a very high level and being involved in everything the team has going on. It was very important to me to share that. I feel like Dean has earned his seat at Sam Hunt Racing this year and I wanted him back. He’s just done a great job and there’s a lot of pressure on Dean next year to continue that upward trajectory and continue to grow as a driver. On the other hand, Harrison is something I’m thrilled to announce. I’ve known Harrison for years now at a bit of a distance, but I’ve always admired how he treats people and how he acts along with how hard he works along with being a very accomplished racecar driver. For me, this was just a very good human fit all the way around. These two guys I think a lot of and want to see succeed and make it to Sunday at some point. I just asked they buy in at the same level and be a part of this team’s growth and if they do then we will have a chance to get both cars in the playoffs.”
What kind of progress has the team made that has made you decide to go to two full-time cars next year?
HUNT: “It’s just our preparation level. Being able to bring the same caliber of racecars every single week and not feeling like we are sacrificing one week to help us out on another week. I think we’ve grown on the personnel side, we’ve had a lot of really solid hires that have helped out with that preparation. Being able to use the tools Toyota provides us and the tools they have and the simulator time we can offer these guys, that Toyota partnership is instrumental in our teams growth. I’ve always had the fear trying to run too fast too quickly and tripping because I think you see a lot of groups do this in this world. I think it’s really easy to do and it’s easy to get ahead of yourself. I felt like Harrison and where he is at in his career it’s just a perfect fit for where we are at and where we want to go. A lot of it is just trusting your gut.”
THOMPSON: “It’s a lot of confidence to go back next year to all the same tracks. I know the guys believe in me and they’ve given me good cars all year. They have helped me out a lot with tracks I haven’t been to, especially a new car I’ve never driven. I just go back to same race tracks is going to be a big confidence boost but also a big test for me to see how much I’ve improved since then.”
Sam, you talked about the organization and slow build with growth and adding manpower behind the scenes, how does that prepare you to grow next year to two full-time cars?
HUNT: “We carried a load this year with one and-a-half cars knowing we wanted to be prepared for when this situation arose. There are definitely a few positions that we are actively looking to hire. But we are also in a pretty good place. Growth always comes with challenges, I think for me it’s continuing to surround myself with the people I do, whether it be our management or Toyota and TRD and those folks there who have always looked out for me in this program. I’ve told you before, this place was built on good people and we are going to keep good people coming in.”
Harrison says he is sentimental coming back to Toyota. Now that you are going to have access to the Toyota Performance Center again, how will this help you improve?
BURTON: “I see Jack (Irving) fist pumping back there. First of all, my wife is excited because she will have me a little stronger, so she’s pumped about that. For me, having a support system around you where it’s really like being a professional athlete 24/7. I was there years ago and when it was originally the Toyota Performance Center, it was a storage unit and we were there with extremes in the middle of the summer and the middle of the winter and then all the sudden it grew into a massive multimillion dollar gym. What Toyota has put into that program to give their drivers the best physical training, the best mental training. It’s things you wouldn’t even think about. Sometimes as a driver you go through the motions, and that group is always asking ‘did you think about this or have you thought about that’. Just having you become a stronger person and driver when you show up at the racetrack and just having that confidence to dot all your i’s and cross your t’s. Racing is mental 99 percent of the time. When you show up with confidence and prepared compared to the rest of the field, that’s huge. The kitchen is also a great resource. They have a nutritionist on staff and things that make life easy for you as a driver, just knowing the things you put into your body and how it’s going to affect your body.”
Is there any possibility that Corey Heim will run some races at SHR in 2026”
HUNT: “I would say all of that is still to be determined. Corey Heim and I are very close, he’s like a little brother to me and obviously he’s a very talented racecar driver. He’s a Sunday guy in the making. As Sam Hunt and Sam Hunt Racing, I don’t control where Corey Heim goes. Obviously, he’s part of another development program. I’m open to the idea of working with Corey. He’s done a lot for this race team over the past few years. I do hope to continue to have him involved. For me, it’s just waiting for me to see other events play out that are out of my control. But I can tell you that we would welcome working with Corey in some capacity next year.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
When considering a vehicle purchase in Vermont, the decision between buying a new or used car is pivotal. The local market offers a variety of options, including used cars for sale in Enid, Oklahoma, which can be appealing due to their affordability. However, Vermont’s unique driving conditions, such as harsh winters and rugged terrains, necessitate careful consideration of both new and used vehicles. This guide delves into the advantages and drawbacks of each choice to assist you in making an informed decision tailored to your needs.
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Vermont’s used car market presents unique opportunities and challenges:
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