DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 31, 2025) — NASCAR today announced the appointment of Steve Phelps as Commissioner of NASCAR, the first to be named to this newly created role overseeing all aspects of America’s top motorsport, including the International Motorsports Association (IMSA) and all 15 NASCAR-owned or operated tracks. Additionally, Steve O’Donnell, long-time industry leader and current Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Phelps in the critical role of NASCAR President with day-to-day leadership of all three NASCAR National Series and all NASCAR commercial, media and track operations, as well as its four international series and multiple local and grassroots properties. Both roles are effective immediately and will be based in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“We are thrilled to name Steve Phelps as NASCAR’s first Commissioner. His leadership, professionalism and well-earned respect from across the sports industry speak to his unique value for the sport,” said NASCAR Chairman & CEO Jim France. “With more than 50 years of expertise between them, both Steve Phelps and Steve O’Donnell bring tremendous expertise, stability and a commitment to the bold racing innovations that will continue to serve fans, teams and stakeholders for many years to come.”
Currently in his 20th season in NASCAR, Phelps will lead all functions of the sport with a specific focus on strategic growth and international expansion while continuing to work directly with NASCAR owners, Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy. Commissioner Phelps will work across the NASCAR ecosystem to provide value to all stakeholders while increasing global fan engagement. Phelps joined NASCAR in 2005 and has served as the fifth president in the sport’s 77-year history since taking the position in 2018.
“I’m honored to take this next step in helping to guide NASCAR, the sport I’ve loved since my father took me to my first race at 5 years old, continue to grow and welcome new fans, competitors and partners that together create some of the most extraordinary moments in sports,” Phelps said. “I cannot thank the France family enough for their unwavering commitment to our fans, their steady leadership, and most importantly, their stewardship of stock-car racing since its inception nearly eight decades ago. This sport is truly one of the great American business stories and I’m privileged to continue as part of that legacy – and especially its bright future.”
As only NASCAR’s sixth President, Steve O’Donnell will take over everyday management of the sport with a focus on continuing to deliver historically exciting racing, exceptional partnership value and a world-class fan experience at every NASCAR national series event throughout the season. Leveraging more than three decades of experience at NASCAR where he has held many roles throughout the company from Marketing to Competition, O’Donnell’s scope will be expanded to include all operations, competition and commercial business for the sanctioning body.
“In my 30 years in NASCAR, I’ve been most inspired by the passion of race fans at tracks across the country. It has been a privilege to help bring our sport to those fans through incredible new venues and innovative engaging content that showcase the best racing in our storied history,” said O’Donnell. “I believe we’re the best in the world at creating ‘Bucket List’ events that merge sports and entertainment with tailgating, camping and the most immersive fan experience in sports. I’m honored to continue that mission and build upon the collaboration and innovation with our teams and partners to deliver the best racing to sports fans everywhere.”
With his increased leadership responsibilities, O’Donnell will drive continued innovation and engagement for NASCAR’s key stakeholders, fans and employees, creating a center of excellence for ongoing growth and mutual success across the sport and its increasingly global audience. He will also oversee the sport’s major investments in content creation and distribution through the new NASCAR Production Facility in North Carolina and the Emmy-Award winning NASCAR Studios team with its upcoming slate of scripted and unscripted content aimed at bringing fans even closer to the stars and stories of NASCAR.
The No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota, driven by Erik Jones, was disqualified following Sunday’s Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
During post-race inspection, NASCAR found that the No. 43 failed to meet minimum weight requirements, per the NASCAR Rule Book. Additionally, both the No. 43 and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet will go to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.
Jones forfeits a 24th-place finish and six stage points that were originally earned after a fifth-place result in Stage 1. Jones, a three-time winner in the Cup Series, dropped eight spots in the points standings from 21st to 29th following the DQ.
On Monday evening, Legacy Motor Club announced it will not appeal NASCAR’s ruling.
“Legacy Motor Club will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 43 car following Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway,” the team said in a statement. “We understand NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight. After a thorough audit by the Club today, we have concluded that we did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although it was not intentional, we are taking steps internally to prevent this from happening again. We therefore accept the penalty and apologize to NASCAR, our partners and our fans.”›
MARTINSVILLE, Va — So much throughout its history, Hendrick Motorsports has rolled into Southern Virginia with a perfect recipe on how to win at the iconic short track. After qualifying all four of its cars in the top 10, it felt like a 30th grandfather clock was heading back to Concord, North Carolina.
On paper, two top fives would be a mighty day for any organization, but it’s far from the dominance that Hendrick set a year ago with a 1-2-3 finish.
While it wasn’t the complete performance that the four-car stable would’ve hoped for at a circuit where the organization scored its first win in 1984, there are some gains Hendrick can take away from Sunday’s showing and bank some notes as the season treks into April.
Chase Elliott carried the Hendrick banner all day after starting second, then took teammate Alex Bowman’s lead on Lap 94 to establish control early in Stage 2. After a caution flew for Burt Myers, who came to a complete stop at the exit of pit road, Elliott pitted with the majority of the leaders, except eventual race winner Denny Hamlin, which allowed him to inherit the lead on older tires and essentially check out for the second half of Sunday’s 400-lapper.
Despite ranking first in passing and second in speed in the race, according to NASCAR Insights, Elliott still felt he couldn’t “control” the event as much as he would’ve liked to get back up to Hamlin in the later half of the race and battle for the win.
“When you have control like that, it makes a big difference,” Elliott said after the race. “You can control your run and having that clean air, not having that one guy in front of you, it makes a huge difference.
“We really needed control there. When you get into the second half of these races, it just gets so hard to make ground up. You saw that with Christopher (Bell) pressuring [Hamlin]. It just means a lot to have control, and unfortunately, I couldn’t get that back for us. But overall, it was a really good effort.”
The driver of the No. 9 led 42 laps at one of his best tracks on the calendar and wheeled to match his season-best result of fourth. Elliott also continued his top-20 streak and improved his average finish to 11.9, setting himself up nicely to keep building off a strong start to the season.
Right behind Elliott, Kyle Larson finished fifth after quietly spending most of his day as a top 10 car. Larson also ranked in the top five for passing and speed, according to NASCAR Insights, but admitted he could never quite get to the front to take a swing at Hamlin and the other Toyotas.
“I think just track position,” Larson said. “We maybe could have called the second stage a little bit different. Potentially the first stage, too. I think maybe if I could have gotten to the lead, I would have stayed in the top two or three. I feel like everyone’s cars were really equal. The No. 11 [Hamlin], I’m sure his car was equal as well, but he’s just a really good short-track racer. He can keep the tires on it and get through track position really well.
“I thought my car was really good. I just don’t do a good job being able to pass. It’s hard for anybody, but like, Denny and Chase are really good at it and that’s just an area that I need to get better.”
Although Larson left Martinsville without a second win in a row, he still felt that the top five day continued his season momentum with the next few tracks setting up well for him in Darlington and Bristol.
It was, however, a different story for the other two Hendrick drivers. Both William Byron and Bowman ended the day with results outside the top 20 due to separate issues on pit road.
Byron — who won last year’s spring race — cracked the top 10 early on, but after a holdup on the right-front tire during the first round of pit stops, he could never make up enough ground to contend with the leaders. However, his 22nd-place finish is enough to keep him atop the standings.
As for Bowman, he looked strong during the first stage, finishing second behind defending series champion Joey Logano. But exiting his pit stall under yellow, Bowman paused on pit road, losing five spots. He came down pit road again three laps later for a loose wheel, which sealed his fate with a 27th-place finish.
While Larson and Elliott look to keep making gains, Byron and Bowman aim to bounce back next week at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
Toyota dominated Sunday’s affair at Martinsville Speedway as Denny Hamlin led 274 of the 400-lap event en route to his first victory since Dover Motor Speedway last season. Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace locked out the podium for the manufacturer.
With a few surprises sprinkled into the top 10 once again after the Virginia short track, see who is continuing their 2025 uptick and who is on their back foot as Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway looms next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
THREE UP ⬆️
1. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Started: 17th
Finished: 6th
What happened: It wasn’t the rousing “Hail Melon” performance that vaulted Chastain into the limelight at Martinsville, but a top-10 result was much-needed for the No. 1 team after a no-show at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It’s been a slow start to the year for Chastain, but top 10s in two of the last three events have him trending in the right direction.
What’s next: The overall body of work doesn’t look great for Chastain at Darlington, with an average finish of 18.5 across 11 starts at the famed South Carolina track, but the No. 1 driver has collected top-five finishes in two of the last three Cup events at “The Lady in Black.”
Hannah Gentlesk | NASCAR Digital Media
2. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Started: 21st
Finished: 7th
What happened: For the first time in his Cup career, Preece has tallied three consecutive top-10 finishes and is trending toward a career year in his first campaign at RFK Racing. Showing speed is his bread and butter on short tracks; on top of pace at intermediate tracks, the journeyman may be a dark-horse contender for a playoff spot when September rolls in.
What’s next: Preece will look to make it four top-10 showings in a row next Sunday at Darlington, where he’s yet to post such a finish at the track. The good news is Preece was fast at a high-wear oval last weekend at Homestead, and his last outing at Darlington matched a career-best 12th-place run.
Logan Riely | Getty Images
3. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Started: 25th
Finished: 10th
What happened: Following a slump at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead, Gilliland got back going in the right direction at Martinsville, methodically working his way through the field to net his second top 10 of 2025 (Circuit of The Americas).
What’s next: Despite having top-tier support from Ford Performance, none of the three FRM cars have yet to have a breakout performance in 2025. However, Gilliland looks to be the guy to take the reins for the organization early in the year with four finishes of 17th or better in seven races. That’s about the range for the 24-year-old driver at Darlington as he collected results of 15th and 17th, respectively, at the track last season.
James Gilbert | Getty Images
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Started: 9th
Finished: 14th
What happened: Outside of a single stage point at Martinsville, Reddick continued his slump with a mum 14th-place showing Sunday. Matters weren’t aided for the No. 45 team after a run-in with fellow Toyota driver Ty Gibbs during the final stage.
What’s next: It may be too early in the season for a “must-needed result,” but Reddick will be in that position next Sunday at Darlington, where he’s finished top three in three of the last six events. After Darlington is Bristol Motor Speedway, and the No. 45 driver has yet to solve the high-banked short track. He’ll need a big points day coming out of the South Carolina facility.
2. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 10th
Finished: 22nd
What happened: A definite head-scratcher on Sunday, Byron was nowhere close to the pace of his Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, who netted top fives at Martinsville. With no stage points and no long-run pace during the 400-lap Sunday matinee, it’s the worst run for Byron at the short track since the spring of 2023.
What’s next: Darlington has been good to Byron, who won the spring throwback race in 2023. The No. 24 driver and two-time Daytona 500 champion has finished eighth or better in four of the last five races at the egg-shaped oval.
Logan Riely | Getty Images
3. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Started: 6th
Finished: 24th
What happened: A good starting spot didn’t do much for the No. 17 team’s day as an early caution scrambled the field, putting Buescher in the midpack and culminating in an early wreck after spinning off the nose of Carson Hocevar. Buescher was later caught up in an incident with Noah Gragson that led to the No. 4 showing his displeasure with the Prosper, Texas native under yellow.
What’s next: Buescher will have a chip on his shoulder next weekend at Darlington as the last spring race was taken from him following contact with Reddick, putting both in the wall while battling for the lead. Darlington has been great for Buescher lately. Outside of the 30th-place blip due to the Reddick incident, Buescher hasn’t finished worse than 10th in the last four events there.
With flawless work from his pit crew, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 274 of the last 275 laps — with the only exception a lap credited to polesitter Christopher Bell, who raced side-by-side with Hamlin after the final restart on Lap 326.
Hamlin pulled away toward the end of the final 75-lap green-flag run and beat Bell, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, to the finish line by 4.617 seconds.
The victory was Hamlin’s sixth at the 0.526-mile short track, most among full-time active drivers, but his first at Martinsville since 2015. It was his first victory of the season and the 55th of his career, tying him with Rusty Wallace for 11th on the career victory list.
The win was also Hamlin’s first with crew chief Chris Gayle, who took over the pit box on the No. 11 Toyota this season. Hamlin has now won Cup races with seven different crew chiefs.
“You know, Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we’ve been over the last few years,” said Hamlin, who won at Martinsville for the first time with the Gen 7 race car.
“It was just amazing. The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55 … Obviously, back here in Martinsville where I spent so many years racing late models and whatnot — gosh, I love winning here.”
Bell’s No. 20 Toyota was too loose over the final run to keep up with Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry.
“We were back and forth on balance a little bit,” Bell said. “I asked to be freer throughout the whole race. That last run, I just went a little bit too loose and lost my drive off (the corners).
“It was a great weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing. Showed a lot of pace. All four of the cars were really good. Really happy to kind of get back up front. The last two weeks have been rough for this 20 team … Really happy for Denny. He’s the Martinsville master. Second is not that bad.”
Bubba Wallace finished third for the second straight race, as Toyotas claimed the top three finishing positions at the paper-clip-shaped track.
“That final restart, I let that second (place) get away,” said Wallace, who drives for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan.
“I don’t know if I had anything for Denny. It would have been fun to try.
“But all in all, hell of a day for Toyota. Top three. That’s nice. Keep the momentum going, having fun.”
Chase Elliott came home fourth, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe and Todd Gilliland completed the top 10.
Before Hamlin took control, a debris caution on Lap 31 resulted in a dramatic change to the running order. Josh Berry led a group of six drivers who stayed on the track under caution and maintained the top spot for 40 laps, the first circuits led by the No. 21 Wood Brothers car at Martinsville since 2005.
A caution for Chris Buescher’s spin on the frontstretch ended Berry’s stint at the front. A collision with Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota on pit road and subsequent alternator issues cost Berry two laps and took him out of the mix.
Logano stayed on the track under the Lap 71 yellow and won the first 80-lap stage over Alex Bowman in a two-lap sprint, but it was an up-and-down day for the reigning Cup champion.
On Lap 317, Briscoe’s Toyota bounced off the inside curbing in Turn 3 and sent Logano’s Ford spinning toward the outside wall. Logano pitted for fresh tires, restarted 25th and drove back to eighth place by Lap 400, scoring his first top 10 of the season.
William Byron, who finished 22nd after a lengthy pit stop under the first caution, retained the series lead by 17 points over Larson.
The Cup Series races again next weekend in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as part of NASCAR Throwback Weekend. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski is the defending winner.
NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed, confirming Hamlin as the race winner. The No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota of Erik Jones was disqualified for failing to meet the minimum height requirement. The No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet and No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota will go to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.
Can’t wait any longer to go Inside the Race following each NASCAR Cup Series event?
Visit our NASCAR YouTube page post-race to get live, immediate breakdowns and analysis from veteran crew chief and broadcaster Steve Letarte, alongside additional co-hosts and reporters from the track.
Following today’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, co-hosts Letarte and Jeff Burton will go live to dissect the winning and losing moves, plus other top story lines following the first short-track race of the 2025 Cup Series season.
Former championship-winning crew chief and MRN analyst Todd Gordon will also join the show, providing his insights and observations directly from the track.
Watch today’s Cup Series race (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), then tune in for immediate analysis on NASCAR’s YouTube page.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to my favorite track, Martinsville Speedway, for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1).
Martinsville is a tight, half-mile circuit that inspires plenty of beating and banging, making it a very entertaining event.
Unfortunately, the latest NASCAR weather forecast is showing a chance of rain Sunday afternoon, and just like other sports it’s important to consider the impact of weather before making any wagers that could be influenced by the conditions.
As a result, I’m going to keep my bets light for now and potentially jump in live during the race once I have a better idea of the conditions.
However, there’s still one NASCAR pick I’m locking in right now for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.
NASCAR Prediction for Martinsville
With the chances of rain increasing throughout the afternoon, we have to consider that the race could finish with drivers running wet-weather tires.
However, if the rain holds off, which is also a possibility, we have to think about drivers who can win in the dry, too.
As I mentioned above, I don’t want to get in too deep before this race gets underway, though I am willing to go ahead and take a position on Josh Berry to win at 35-1 odds (BetMGM).
Berry already has a win this season and has shown more-than-expected speed in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford. Now he gets a crack at a track he loves: Martinsville Speedway.
Back in 2019, Berry won the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 late model race at Martinsville in dominant fashion — he won the pole, led every lap and won the race. Berry’s success at Martinsville continued when he won there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021.
Berry is fully capable of competing for a win here in dry conditions, but was also impressive in wet conditions at New Hampshire last season, giving us a driver who can be in the mix no matter how the weather breaks Sunday afternoon.
Again, I’m not going crazy for Sunday’s race, but there’s reason to warrant a wager on Berry to win at Martinsville.
Projections updated after Saturday’s practice and qualifying.
It was only a matter of time until Kyle Larson earned his first win of the season and a playoff bid with his triumph at Homestead-Miami. Now, the NASCAR Cup Series treks up to Martinsville Speedway for the Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), marking its first short-track bout of the year.
Three teams come into focus ahead of Sunday’s race, and it’s the three powerhouses in the Cup Series. Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have won the last 13 races at Martinsville — with Hendrick leading the way at five, while JGR and Penske own four apiece. Each of those organizations has more than one driver capable of winning at the 0.526-mile track, and a win for one of those drivers who have yet to earn one would be critical.
Starting with Hendrick, of course, the organization has 29 wins and 11,103 laps led at the Virginia short track, which are the most ever for one team at a facility. William Byron or Kyle Larson may win again this week, as the duo went 1-2 in this race a year ago and currently sit 1-2 in the driver standings, but the driver in focus here is Chase Elliott. Martinsville is one of Elliott’s strongest tracks, with 1,233 laps led and 12 top 10s, being his most ever at a single circuit. While he’s finished in the top 20 every race this season, he’s currently fourth in average finish (12.8) out of the Hendrick quartet — seventh overall among full-time drivers — which shows he’s quietly been consistent. Silent success isn’t a bad thing, but coming off 129 laps led and a runner-up performance last time at Martinsville signals that the No. 9 driver should be anything but quiet this weekend.
Moving over to JGR, the team may have three wins this season, however, each of those came from Christopher Bell. Hamlin had a chance to score one of those victories at Phoenix but was just edged out by Bell. The bright side, though, is that Hamlin is most likely JGR’s best short-track ace. He notched three wins on short tracks last season and has finished top five in nine of the last 11 short-track races. Hamlin even has five career wins at Martinsville, four top fives over the last five races there and seven stage wins at the venue — tied with Elliott for the most. The only concern? Hamlin hasn’t won at Martinsville since 2015.
Finally, there’s Ryan Blaney of Team Penske. Despite all three Penske drivers leading the series in laps led, the organization is still searching for results that match its speed. Luckily for Blaney — if you want to call it luck — the last two times he’s gone to Martinsville after suffering Homestead heartbreak, he’s won. Of course, those two wins also came in playoff-pressure scenarios with his back against the wall, but in this case, Blaney is coming off three weeks of DNFs with arguably the fastest car, so it’s likely there is some pressure on him to turn in a solid result.
JOEY LOGANO: Six weeks and still no top-10 finish for Logano. That should change as he currently owns an 11-race streak of top 10s at Martinsville. Logano needs a boost, his 18.8 average finish is the third-worst of a defending champ through six races.
CHASE BRISCOE: Briscoe has some momentum to build off of after a fourth-place finish at Miami. Martinsville is a great track for him, he has five top 10s there in his career and two top 10s over the last five short-track races.
ALEX BOWMAN: Sticking with the powerhouse theme here, Bowman is the only driver to finish top 10 in five of the six races this year. He’s a bit hit or miss at Martinsville, though. He does have a win there from 2021, but only one top-10 finish in the last five Martinsville races.
RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE COOK OUT 400
Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – That makes two. Two consecutive visits to Martinsville Speedway for Taylor Gray and two straight purposeful post-race walks on pit road for the 20-year-old driver to confront a rival.
A percolating tempest of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday evening turned into a battle of wills between Gray and Sammy Smith, both in the final two-lap dash to the end and after the checkered flag had flown. Smith rammed his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet into the rear of Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entering the final set of corners to conclude overtime, repaying a slight bump-and-run for the lead a lap earlier.
The final dust-up allowed Austin Hill to scoot by the fray from fifth to first on the final lap, notching his second win of the season and collecting a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash payday in the process. It also denied Gray a bid for his first Xfinity Series victory after a strong second half to Saturday’s US Marines Corps 250 and sparked a lively discussion between the two outside of the infield care center.
The two were separated before the altercation escalated into a physical fracas, but Gray remained heated before leaving the track.
“So like the whole interaction in Turn 1, where initially he moved me up the race track and he got the lead from me, and then I did the same thing to him. Think that’s fair, right?” said Gray, who led a career-best 87 laps. “We know we’re coming down to the end of the race. I was a little upset when he first hit me, just because I felt like I haven’t put a scratch on him all year. He could have raced me a little bit better. But then again, it’s Martinsville. I have to understand that that’s going to happen. But what he did getting into (turn) three, I mean, it completely takes no talent. All you’ve got to do is just let off the brake pedal and just clearly destroy me. So I don’t know. It ruins his race, too.”
Gray – in his first full Xfinity Series season — was credited with a 29th-place result after his looping spin into Turns 3 and 4. Smith, who collected JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier and a host of other cars in the home stretch, placed 10th after pinballing across the stripe.
Smith’s view of the on-track confrontation was stoked by a handful of agitating events that led up to it, including a series of hand gestures he said Gray delivered during a Lap 232 stoppage. His decision to plow into the No. 54’s back bumper was also fueled by an almost pre-emptive application of Hammurabi’s Code, saying that Gray would have acted in kind, had the scenario been reversed.
“I mean, it’s unfortunate. You know, I’m not very proud of that, what I did,” Smith said. “It’s just, he just has no respect for me, and he was flipping me off under the red flag, swerving at my door. I moved him into (turn) one, then he still had the lead those two restarts, and going on the back straightaway, I thought to myself, what would he do in this situation, and he would have done the exact same thing. So he’s flipping me off, and that right there was the line for me to ultimately make the decision I made.”
Smith indicated that his issues with Gray are long-running grievances, dating back through years of racing together. He indicated that their brief conversation was not constructive.
“He said he wants to go at it,” said Smith. “I mean, we can go at it if he wants, but I think, yeah, at the end of the day, it’s probably gonna be a lot more going forward, and that’s OK with me.”
Gray was on the short end of a late-race bump-up here last November, taking the brunt of a contest for the lead with Christian Eckes in the next-to-last race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Gray marched down Martinsville’s pit road to wag his finger at Eckes to express his post-race disapproval.
Saturday night in the Xfinity Series, the scene was reprised.
“Man, I don’t know what I’ve done to this place,” Gray said. “I’ve had fast cars. I mean, this is the most dominant car I’ve ever had here, able to lead as many laps as I did tonight here. But yeah, this place doesn’t seem to like me.”
Track: Martinsville Speedway Location: Martinsville, Virginia Track length: 0.526 miles When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET Where to tune in: FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Race purse: $11,055,250 Race distance: 400 laps | 210.4 miles Stages: 80 | 180 | 400 Defending winner:William Byron, April 2024 Starting lineup:Christopher Bell captures Busch Light Pole
Hendrick a heavyweight, but who has a puncher’s chance at Martinsville mastery?
Martinsville Speedway drips with tradition. It’s easy to find anywhere around the half-mile oval, which was cut into the Virginia foothills shortly after track founder Clay Earles first bought the original 30-acre cornfield plot just south of downtown in the mid-1940s.
It’s in the long straights and maddeningly tight corners that have tripped up drivers from the pioneer years all the way to today’s modern era. It’s on the menu, which serves up hot dogs with all the fixings as it has done for generations, all at the relative bargain price of two bucks. It’s also on the list of NASCAR Cup Series winners, which for decades has largely fancied one team that’s gathered up multiples of another Martinsville tradition — a grandfather clock that’s stood as the track’s trophy since Fred Lorenzen captured the first in 1964.
Hendrick Motorsports — rightfully — carries a favorite’s role into Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Martinsville. A rinse-and-repeat type of performance would mean Hendrick’s 30th Cup Series victory here, which would add to its all-time record of most wins by one team at any track. All four of the organization’s drivers — Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson — have unlocked Martinsville wins, and all four are poised to secure at least top-10 finishes in Racing Insights’ full-field projection and analysis.
While Hendrick Motorsports has taken five of the last nine races at Martinsville, there’s enough laurels to go around for select Cup Series outfits eager to break up the top Chevrolet team’s stronghold. In no rough order, here are three other teams with degrees of opportunity to get their own Martinsville timepiece in Victory Lane.
Team Penske: No team has spent more time up front this season, and Joey Logano (247), Austin Cindric (159) and Ryan Blaney (148) rank 1-2-3 in the Cup Series standings in laps led. Through the first six races, there’s just one top-five finish among those three. Blaney is Martinsville’s most recent winner, with a peerless playoff performance that marked his second victory in the last three races. He’s seeking a turnaround after a dismal streak of three straight DNFs, and an average finish of 3.4 in the last five Martinsville races signals some positives. Logano also has plusses on his side here, with 11 consecutive top-10 Martinsville finishes — the longest active streak by a driver at any track.
“It’s always nice to come back to places where you’ve run well,” Blaney said. “It gives you a little bit more of a sense of confidence, like, ‘OK, I know what I need to be to be fairly decent here or contend for a top five or the win.’ It wasn’t always that way. I was terrible here my first two or three years at it and we worked really hard at figuring it out and it just kind of clicked one day and then it’s funny how those things stick with you. It’s like, ‘OK, this is the mindset I have to have coming into here,’ and it’s just kind of stuck.”
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Joe Gibbs Racing: The second-in-line team to Hendrick Motorsports here has 14 Martinsville wins and will field two prime candidates to make it a slightly more even number. Denny Hamlin has home-state motivation for winning here, and his five Martinsville victories are the most among active drivers. Hamlin hasn’t won here since 2015 but has led 461 Martinsville laps in the Next Gen era — second only to Elliott. Teammate Christopher Bell — already a three-time winner this year — has given JGR its most recent Martinsville triumph, a playoff dagger in the fall of 2022, and he starts from the pole position Sunday for the first time this season.
“I didn’t know how the day was going to go, but after qualifying first, I think it really helps our chances for tomorrow,” Bell said. “You know, I’ve always said that if you have a great car and you are great on any given day, it doesn’t matter where you qualify, but it’s the days where you’re not great and you’re just kind of another guy out there, it does really matter where you qualify. So having the track position, starting up front, it will certainly help our race at the beginning.”
Wood Brothers Racing: Hendrick Motorsports hosted a victorious celebration of its 40th anniversary here last spring, and the odds of a re-up for milestone memories are ripe for the Wood Brothers and their famed No. 21 Ford. New driver Josh Berry has helped to put the team back at the forefront of Cup Series contenders, and he’s at one of the venues that served as a launching pad to his NASCAR national-series career. Berry converted a stunning Xfinity Series breakthrough victory at Martinsville in 2021, less than two years after he won the track’s prestigious Late Model prize. More Martinsville magic could be in the cards.
“I think that the 21 car has been pretty solid here,” Berry said, noting the team’s steady fourth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway three weeks ago. “The Team Penske cars are always good here, and I feel like we can carry that momentum. I love coming here. I feel like it should be a good opportunity for us. If we can just keep on doing what we’ve been doing, qualifying well on Saturday, and stay up front in the race.”
What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?
There’s continuity and carryover in the Goodyear tires that will be on track at Martinsville, but that race-ready rubber will remain a key factor in how teams approach Sunday’s Cup Series showdown.
Goodyear officials are providing the same tire setup that Cup Series teams competed on for the first time last fall at Martinsville. The same combination was also given to teams in the season-opening Cook Out Clash exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium. The trend toward a competitive tire with more progressive wear has fueled the use of this compound, which was well-received by drivers and crew chiefs, even with the postseason’s ultimate goals on the line last November.
“The tire was really good last year and was obviously a step out there for the race before the championship race,” said Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “For everybody, there was a lot of worry and whatnot, with a lack of testing really on the tire, but it turned out to be really good, I thought during the race, and at Bowman Gray, it was pretty good as well. So Goodyear’s doing a good job. Yeah, you can really hurt them, you can manage them, and no matter what, they’re going to fall off some.”
Teams learned about the tires’ effectiveness over the course of a 500-lap grinder last fall, discovering the limits and shaping the strategy around them to match. Weather so far this weekend has been far warmer than last November, with temperatures soaring into the 70s, but there’s also a better than slight chance for rain in Sunday’s forecast. Wet-weather tires will be available should the skies create damp conditions, giving crew chiefs another variable to manage.
The softer compound tires — even in ideal conditions — are a strategy component in themselves.
“I think it’s a great step in the right direction,” said Drew Blickensderfer, crew chief for Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford. “I think what we saw last fall is the tire falls off to a certain point, you start running the same speed, and then it kind of tanks off a cliff. And the way the stages play out here, that comes into effect probably the most in the final stage, either in the spring or in the fall, because of the length. You don’t want to come to pit road to Martinsville under green, but when it looks like you might make a green-flag stop, you got to really watch your times to see when it starts tanking, and that’s what we see a lot of Next Gen tires, it just got accelerated here with this softer compound, I think maybe one step softer, if we can get those to be consistent, would be a great, great version for us.
“But both here in the fall and what I expect this spring is probably in the middle of the run, it won’t be much different from the harder tire, but then toward the end of the runs, at the end of the stages, at the end of that third stage, when people pit, things like that, it creates more of a comer-and-goer (situation) and a strategy race that adds some excitement.”
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Hendrick Motorsports has made an organization-wide sweep of the last three springtime trips to Martinsville, with Fugle’s No. 24 crew prevailing in two of those (2022, 2024). The last three fall races have been a different story, with Christopher Bell claiming the next-to-last race of the year in 2022 and Ryan Blaney sweeping it in the last two seasons.
There’s not a single common denominator, Fugle says, for why Hendrick’s spring-season domination perhaps hasn’t brought the same victorious results in the fall. It’s a combination of contributing factors.
“So most of the time, you run a different tire or different setup,” Fugle said. “Like, every single time we’ve come here, the package has changed or the tires changed. For one, there’s never been racing on the same scenario, and when you have a good setup that wins the race, and you have something new, it’s still really hard to completely overhaul what works. So I think that’s put us at a little bit of a disadvantage as having such good cars. But last fall, I think Hendrick led the majority of the laps and had three in the top five toward the end of the race. So it’s not like we’re bad, we’re just … some of the other guys get a little bit better, and I attribute a lot of that just to something new. It’s not like we’re taking the same car, the same tire, the same even aero package back, so part of it’s that.”
History tells us …
Count on a Kyle Larson top five. The former Cup Series champion didn’t click with Martinsville’s tricky layout right away, with just two top fives in his first 15 races here, but he’s been dynamite in his more recent runs. His average Martinsville finish is a series-best 2.8 over his last five Martinsville races, including two poles and a 2023 springtime triumph.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
CHASE BRISCOE. He’s Joe Gibbs Racing’s newest driver and might still be getting used to how the longtime Toyota program works, but he’s carrying Martinsville momentum from his Stewart-Haas Racing days into Sunday’s 400-lapper. In five of the last six Martinsville races, Briscoe has been a top-10 finisher, and he’s spent time in the lead in three of the last five. Fresh from a strong fourth-place run at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Briscoe has a chance for his short-track shrewdness to come through this weekend.
Fantasy update
NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your Sunday lineup.
With how tight the field is at Martinsville, practice and qualifying can steer you down the wrong path quickly for fantasy. However, Bubba Wallace had another strong showing in practice, ranking as the quickest car on five- and 10-lap averages. Ryan Blaney had good pace on long runs but will start 32nd on Sunday and could miss out on key stage points. I’ve added the No. 23 car to my lineup in place of Josh Berry and dropped Blaney — praying this doesn’t come back to haunt me — for pole-sitter Christopher Bell.
Lineup: Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, William Byron, Bubba Wallace.
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. • Wood Brothers revival: NASCAR’s most venerable team savors 75th anniversary | Read more
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 | Read more
• Turning Point to Martinsville: Hendrick heads to the top of the Martinsville heap | Read more
• Scenes and snapshots: Best photos from Martinsville Speedway’s spring weekend | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Head to the video vault for full-race replays from Martinsville | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: See who’s sporting fresh looks in the Virginia foothills | View gallery
