Posted on by Zack Albert

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.

MORE: Cup standings | Full 2025 schedule

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.”

The Cup Series field roars into Turn 1 in front of packed grandstands at Martinsville Speedway
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.”

MORE: Full Saturday recap

From atop the pit box …

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.

MORE: Wet-weather tires 101

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.”

William Byron, left, and crew chief Rudy Fugle celebrate their victory at Martinsville Speedway in April 2024
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.

RELATED: See where drivers will pit for Sunday’s race

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.

Garage: Chase Briscoe.

RELATED: More deep dives in Fantasy Fastlane

Speed reads

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

Posted on by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The speedway that robbed Austin Hill of a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 two years ago gave him a gift on Saturday.

Diving underneath a trio of wrecking cars in the final corner of overtime at Martinsville Speedway, Hill beat perennial bridesmaid Sheldon Creed to the start/finish line by 0.190 seconds to win Saturday’s US Marine Corps 250, giving Richard Childress his 100th Xfinity Series victory and earning a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the unlikely winner.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Martinsville

The ending of the race couldn’t have been more appropriate, given the rash of cautions that peppered green-flag action in the final stage. The ending also left 29th-place finisher Taylor Gray with thoughts of vengeance and 10th-place finisher Sammy Smith with an ostensible target on his back.

After the 14th caution for Matt DiBenedetto’s spin in Turn 2 sent the race to overtime, Gray lined up behind Smith, the leader, and used his bumper to wrest the top spot from Smith, returning the favor from the previous restart on Lap 249 of 256.

Gray, seeking his first Xfinity Series win, held the lead until Turn 3 of the final lap, when Smith charged into the corner, spun Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and knocked it into the outside wall.

Hill hit the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Justin Allgaier from behind, sending him crashing into Smith. Hill sneaked through on the bottom, bringing Creed with him, as Allgaier held on for third. In the surprising victory, Hill led less than a quarter of a mile before taking the checkered flag.

MORE: Taylor Gray, Sammy Smith exchange words after incident

“I chose the bottom because of how rough everybody was on restarts,” Hill said of the overtime. “I had to do what I had to do on the last lap. On that restart, it just got wild. We were definitely leaning on each other, and getting into (Turn) 3, I knew we were all going to get beating and banging, and I just drove it in as deep as I could.

“They all hit each other, and I hit the 7 (Allgaier) a little bit and dumped him off and got on the apron there and came home with the win … Man, I’m in disbelief that we’re in Victory Lane right now. It’s unbelievable. I actually said at the end of the race that I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on — and to top it off, we won a hundred grand.”

DASH 4 CASH: 2025 hub page | History of Dash 4 Cash winners

After 14 cautions for 104 laps, pole winner Connor Zilisch’s sweep of the first two stages seemed a distant memory. Zilisch, however, didn’t figure in the outcome after a series of spins and contact with the outside wall eliminated him from contention.

Gray took the lead for the second time on Lap 183 and held it for 66 circuits and a series of six restarts. But Smith lined up behind the No. 54 Toyota for the restart on Lap 249 and moved Gray for the lead.

Smith’s charge into Gray’s Toyota on the final lap was more egregious.

“I feel like we had the best car all day,” said Gray, who suffered a similar fate in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series loss to Christian Eckes last year. “I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough. We brought a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra.

“Just unfortunate — it’s the same story. I’ve lived here for the past two Martinsville races in a row. It sucks, but it is what it is. Long year.”

Smith acknowledged that the last lap maneuver was over the top. He and Gray had a testy exchange after the race.

WATCH: Smith ‘not proud’ of contact with Gray | Gray on Smith contact at Martinsville

“I’m not proud of that, but if the roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing,” Smith said. “He’s got no respect for me … He was flipping me off on the red flag (for a multicar wreck that caused the 12th caution), swore at me. It was definitely uncalled for.

“I’m not proud of it, but he would have done the exact same thing. That’s what I told him.”

Brennan Poole finished fourth after the melee, joining Hill, Creed and Allgaier as eligible contenders for the next Dash 4 Cash bonus, to be contested April 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Sam Mayer was fifth, followed by Dean Thompson, Daniel Dye, Ryan Sieg, Kris Wright and Smith.

Zilisch, who finished 28th, led a race-high 100 laps to 87 for Gray. Creed, still seeking his first Xfinity victory, finished second for the 14th time, extending his record number of runner-up results for a non-winner.

Coincidentally, it was contact from Creed that denied Hill a spot in the Championship 4 in the fall race of 2023, when both drivers raced for RCR.

In a cosmic sense, the ledger was balanced with Hill’s win on Saturday.

MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Xfinity Series schedule

The Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday at Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at 3:30 p.m. ET (The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Xfinity Series garage, confirming Austin Hill as the race winner. The No. 00 had one lug nut not safe and secure, which will result in a monetary fine.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — On Sunday, it will have been 882 days since Joe Gibbs Racing last won at Martinsville Speedway — a triumph that marked its 200th in the NASCAR Cup Series.

All three powerhouse teams of JGR, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske have taken turns dominating the Virginia short track, and while JGR has had performances capable of winning, it’s been Hendrick and Penske who have emerged victorious in the last four Martinsville races.

“It’s one of the most physically tough tracks that we go to,” said Denny Hamlin, who has five grandfather clocks. “Not because of the G-loads or anything like that, just how much concentration it takes. You’re shifting multiple times per lap. You got to hit a mark on the race track that’s only about six inches wide. So it just takes a tremendous amount of focus and certainly some stamina.”

RELATED: Sunday’s lineup | At-track photos

While Martinsville may not have the high banks or speed at a place like Talladega or the trickiness in turns like Pocono, it has its challenges that Christopher Bell, a three-time winner this season and Sunday’s polesitter, has struggled with throughout his career.

“We’ve came here with many, many different setups,” Bell said after qualifying. “I’ll never forget that 2022 season, which was the first Next Gen season, Martinsville [spring], was a struggle for majority of JGR. I was actually one of the best JGR cars, but the rest of the team really struggled. Then, there was a test in the middle of summer, and we kind of brought the same package because we had a decent race. Denny was here; he was on a different setup, and he was super fast and I was really slow at that test.

“Then, coming back in the fall, we put in [Hamlin’s] setup and won the race. So we were like, OK, box checked. And then from that moment on, the box became unchecked, and it’s been a big struggle for us to have good performances here. I wish that I could tell you that it’s been one thing, but it, you know, I’ve struggled with everything.”

Luckily for the Gibbs stable, they will be able to lean on newcomer and short-track ace Chase Briscoe, who’s been consistent at Martinsville with five top 10s driving the No. 14 Ford for the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing.

“I always thought the 14 car was really strong here, but we always just lacked that little bit,” Briscoe said before practice. “The only two teams that were better than I was JGR, Hendrick and the 12 car [Ryan Blaney]. This is one that I definitely feel like we can go be in the mix kind of all day long. I feel like that every week, but certainly at this place, where I feel like I’ve always had a pretty good understanding, and from a car standpoint, I know it should be good.”

A win or even a solid showing from all four JGR cars would be vital, given it’s a track where a team’s speed can set up a rhythm over the next few weeks, and of course, be a crucial measuring stick for the penultimate race of the season that sets the Championship 4.

“If you run good, it’s a momentum builder. If you run like crap, it’s momentum killer,” Hamlin added. “The sport has always been so week to week. But, you know, I guess I’m probably a little more in the mindset when I come here, just win and everything will work out.”

With Bell on the pole, Hamlin not too far behind starting fifth, Briscoe just outside the top 10 and Ty Gibbs starting 13th, what could stand in JGR’s way of heading to Victory Lane? Rain.

However, wet-weather tires are on hand in case of a Sunday downpour, and Bell is “hoping for rain,” given he won last year at New Hampshire on wets. Perhaps his dirt-racing background comes in handy in being one of the best at handling slippery conditions.

“I think it’s the guys who can control the slide the best and maximize the grip level of the tires and find the grip in the race track; those are the successful guys,” Bell said. “I think my dirt background helped give me the skill set of looking around for grip and improvising and specifically on the damp conditions … the track is ever-changing because as it dries out, the lines change and you have to find different stuff. Just being able to look around and find those different lines is what dirt-track racing is a skill set that it gives you.”

Briscoe also has a deep history of racing on dirt, also finishing behind Bell in second last year at New Hampshire in the wet. Briscoe even texted his longtime friend earlier in the week about the possibility of weather being a major factor on Sunday.

“I told him [Bell] I was like, I feel like this is the one week I’ve maybe not wanted rain just because I feel like I can win legitimately,” Briscoe said. “Where other weeks, like New Hampshire last year, I was 26th all day long and until the rain came, I had no shot. I’m torn on the rain, truthfully, rain would not hurt my feelings just because I feel like I typically run better in the rain than the average person. I would be OK either way.”

Four hundred laps around the 0.536-mile paperclip will determine if JGR can make gains as an organization and find some momentum to carry into April.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Christopher Bell put forth an early challenge at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday with a lap that stood up against all comers in qualifying for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 17th driver to make a run during time trials, Bell navigated the venerable 0.526-mile track in 19.718 seconds (96.034 mph) and waited as the 21 drivers who followed took their respective shots at the standard he set.

No one was up to the task, and Bell had his first Busch Light pole award of the 2025 season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, his first at Martinsville and the 14th of his Cup Series career.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Martinsville

Chase Elliott came closest to matching Bell’s lap. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet covered the distance in 19.735 seconds (95.951 mph), just 0.003 seconds faster than teammate and third-place qualifier Alex Bowman (95.937 mph).

Despite turning the second fastest lap in Saturday afternoon’s practice, Bell wasn’t optimistic about his chances for the pole.

“I was kind of down in the dumps after practice (because of the position in the qualifying order),” Bell said. “But that was definitely the best qualifying session I’ve ever felt out of my car at Martinsville. It was just easy…

“I went out there and the car just had so much grip. I’m really proud of this 20 team. They’ve been working hard on this Martinsville package. We’ll see what happens [Sunday], but obviously, starting up front will be a big help.”

Kyle Larson, last Sunday’s winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway, qualified fourth at 95.854 mph. Bell’s teammate, five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin, was fifth at 95.840 mph.

Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and defending race winner William Byron filled out the rest of the top 10 on the grid.

Casey Mears, whose No. 66 Garage 66 Ford failed inspection twice before qualifying, will start 37th in his first Cup Series race since the 2019 Daytona 500.

Wallace fastest in practice

Toyota swept the top three spots in practice as 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace topped the leaderboard at 94.139 mph, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell (93.873 mph) and Denny Hamlin (93.826 mph).

Carson Hocevar (93.757 mph) and Cole Custer (93.743 mph) rounded out the top five.

MORE: Practice results

Kyle Larson (93.724 mph), William Byron (93.719 mph), Ryan Preece (93.604 mph), Shane van Gisbergen (93.576 mph) and Chase Elliott (93.543 mph) completed the top 10.

Only one incident stopped practice in Group 2 when Justin Haley saw the hood on his No. 7 Chevrolet pop up, covering the windshield and forcing the Spire Motorsports driver to come down pit road for his crew to fasten the hood.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — From the afternoon to nightfall, Corey Heim had the fastest machine in the Craftsman Truck Series field at Martinsville Speedway. Unfortunately, for a second straight week, Heim will have to wait for his third victory of the season.

Starting from pole, the 22-year-old phenom dominated most of Friday’s night bout at the 0.526-mile circuit in Virginia, leading 149 of the 200 laps but walked away with a sixth-place finish.

“Pretty disappointing,” Heim said post-race. “Thought we had a really good Tundra tonight. We were pretty much just puttering around there in the lead, trying to keep the tires on it, and felt like we were really good. To struggle so bad at this place last year and be as fast as we were and not win is pretty frustrating. But guess it’s just part of coming to this race track.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Martinsville

It’s not uncommon for tempers to flare at a track like Martinsville, where the ultimate prize of a grandfather clock ratchets up the pressure amongst drivers. That was the case for most of the evening, where eight cautions were flown for incidents.

One of those incidents came after a Lap 166 restart where Heim was defending series rookie Kaden Honeycutt, who had spent most of the race as a top-three truck. Heim got bumped going into Turn 1 as the race went back green, allowing the No. 45 of Honeycutt to move into the inside lane and challenge for the top spot — something no one had the opportunity to do all night.

The next time around, Honeycutt squeezed Heim against the wall on the frontstretch, leading to the No. 11 Toyota of Heim having a tire go down and spinning in Turn 1.

“He used me up a little bit [Turn] 1 and 2 and then just kind of doored me out of [Turn] 4 and cut down my left rear,” Heim said.  “I don’t think it was anything super malicious on his end. I don’t think he intended to do it, but intention’s one thing and result is another. Collaterally, he wrecked us there with the damage. So not super pleased about it.”

It may not have been an intentional move from Honeycutt, but it takes away what could’ve been another win for Heim, who has gone the last two seasons winning three or more races.

“I’ve seen worse. I’ve seen guys just flat-out get dumped here. I’d be a little more angry about that,” Heim said. “I don’t think he intended to wreck me by any means, but I would have liked to been cut a little bit of room, especially with like 35 to go, like it, if it’s overtime or something. But, yeah, we got 35 laps to go which is just a while around this place, so just unfortunate.”

Honeycutt was very apologetic in the moment after Heim came down pit road and restarted 25th as the second-to-last car on the lead lap. Post-race, Honeycutt adamantly wanted to right the wrong he caused Heim and put the whole situation behind them.

“I wanna say we ran out of room, but I really don’t want to say that, it’s really a dumb excuse to use so I’m going to look at it,” Honeycutt said. “I’m going to talk to him about it. I really don’t want to have that happen again. I want to earn his respect because he is a veteran in this series and he’s one to race for a championship at the end of the year.”

Honeycutt, the 2024 Snowball Derby champion, now has 39 Truck Series starts under his belt and leaves Martinsville with a 26th-place finish. More experience running toward the front and dueling with some of the series’ best can help the 21-year-old, who doesn’t want to make any enemies during his rookie campaign, going forward.

“I definitely don’t want to create bad blood early and try to make up for it the next time we race each other,” Honeycutt said. “So I’ll discuss it with him and hopefully we’ll get by it. We were both really fast, just hate that we have the results that we have tonight.”

Both Heim and Honeycutt will get their chance to battle again as the Truck Series returns to action Friday, April 11 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Radio Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — During the week before Friday night’s Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Daniel Hemric practiced his backflip.

It was the signature move he had been able to use just once in NASCAR national series competition — when he won the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway to clinch the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

But on Friday, the 34-year-old from Kannapolis, North Carolina, had a chance to perform the celebratory move once again after capitalizing on the misfortunes of others — notably series leader Corey Heim — to win the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of his career.

Hemric even stuck the landing, reveling in the race win that earned him a coveted grandfather clock trophy and a $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus as the highest-finishing series regular.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Martinsville

“It’s a funny thing because my wife asked me a couple weeks ago if I was not too old to do it,” Hemric said of the back flip. “I practiced once last week in the backyard and did a back flip on solid ground.

“I thought, ‘The old man’s still got it,’ and I proved that tonight.”

Hemric needed help to win the second national series race of his career. Heim won the first two stages and led a race-high 149 of 200 laps, but side-to-side contact with Kaden Honeycutt’s Chevrolet after a Lap 166 restart cut Heim’s left-rear tire and sent his No. 11 Toyota to pit road for fresh rubber.

Honeycutt inherited the lead, but on Lap 187, Ty Majeski’s No. 98 Ford broke loose under Honeycutt’s Silverado as the two drivers were battling for the lead, and both trucks spun into the outside wall.

That put Tyler Ankrum, Hemric’s McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate, at the front of the field. But with four laps left, Hemric used his bumper to dive underneath Ankrum’s truck, made the pass for the lead and pulled away to win by 0.544 seconds.

WATCH: Heim frustrated after dominating day ends without victory

“Congratulations to Daniel. I can’t think of a nicer guy to win,” Ankrum said. “Yeah, he gave me the bumper, but you’re going to do that at Martinsville. I honestly would much rather have a teammate give me the bumper for the win, so we can just get a win for MHR.”

Jake Garcia finished third, followed by Chandler Smith and Ben Rhodes. Heim rallied to finish sixth after the tire change but fell short in his attempt to win in Toyota’s 500th race in the series.

“I feel like we got used up a little bit there,” Heim said of the contact with Honeycutt. “I don’t think he intended to cut my left rear down. I think if he had wanted to do that, he would have just wrecked me as it is…

“I just needed a better restart, I guess.”

It was the second straight week of frustration for Heim, who won the first two stages at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Mar. 21 before losing power in the late going and finishing third.

MORE: Truck Series standings | Truck Series schedule

Heim nevertheless retains the series lead by 20 points over Majeski.

The Truck Series next races at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 11 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Craftsman Truck Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Hemric as the race winner. The No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet had one lug nut loose, which will result in a monetary fine. The No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford and No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford will return to the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Posted on by Cara Cooper

Living in northern Utah, finding a place to race isn’t always easy for Eric Rhead.

Last year while competing in a touring series, he and his team took a trip to Emmett, Idaho to compete in the inaugural race at Motorplex at the Mill. Even before the green flag waved, Rhead was impressed with the new facility.

“For a local short track, that is the coolest facility you’ll ever see in your entire life,” Rhead said. “The track’s the track. It is the coolest facility ever. It’s crazy.”

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series track was built on the site of the Old Boise Cascade Sawmill, which was in operation for more than 110 years.

“It’s just got this big, huge, long, wide building,” Rhead said. “It’s probably like 500 feet long, and that’s where the pits are, and they’ve got like a bar at the end of it, and they bring in concerts. It’s just a really cool atmosphere.”

Rhead didn’t know what to expect in that first race, but he wanted to see what the track was like before returning later in the summer with his touring series.

“We figured if we can get a race on the track before the touring series comes here, it’ll be to our benefit,” he said. “And we showed up for the first race, and they had a huge car count, and we actually won the race.”

The win, coupled with a great atmosphere at a great new track, convinced Rhead and his team they needed to make The Mill their home for the summer.

“It was like, ‘You know what, I think we’ll probably just run all the races, then,'” he added. “So, that’s kind of how we did it. We didn’t plan on racing their season. We just showed up for the first race and kind of fell in love with the place.”

Rhead went on to win three races over the summer and became the track’s first champion of the Pro Late Model division.

“It’s an awesome place, and to be able to say that not only did we make the first race and win the first race, we won the first championship, and it was no small task,” he said. “There was really good racing all year long there, and it was really cool. It’s really cool to say that we were the first.”

There was something about The Mill that suited Rhead’s driving style. He finished in the top five in all six races.

“We obviously had a good time,” he said. “We won half the races and we did have really good success there. Just every time I went there, it just felt like I we always had a knack for getting in the front at the end of the race and staying there. The track is really hard to drive. It’s really small. It’s really hard to pass, and for some reason I just took well to it. I really liked that place.”

Rhead began racing at age 14 when his dad bought a race car on a whim. To that point, he played “every sport you could imagine,” he said, including hockey, basketball, track and wrestling.

“My dad bought a race car, and that was the end of my sports career,” Rhead said. “I fell in love with racing, and I’ve never been able to shake it since.”

There was a track not too far from his house for much of his teen years and 20s, but Rhead always enjoyed getting to travel to new places.

Racing the full season in Idaho required a lot of Rhead and his team. Their home was about seven hours away, and he said they put more than 25,000 miles on their motorhome getting to and from races every week.

He’s become accustomed to the travel since there are no NASCAR sanctioned tracks in Utah. They drove to Southern California for the final race at Irwindale Speedway in December. The closest track is about three-and-a-half hours away, and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring is six hours.

Recently, he was back on the road again, traveling 400 miles to pick up a new race engine. But the success at The Mill made those long drives worth it for Rhead’s team.

“It’s a way easier drive home with everybody when you win compared to when you don’t,” Rhead said with a laugh.

Eric Rhead
Eric Rhead greets a fan ahead of the Star Nursery 150 for the ARCA Menards Series West at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 13, 2023. (Photo: Ian Maule/ARCA Racing)

It’ll be another summer of logging miles for Rhead and his team. They plan to race in a few different touring series, including one at the Vegas Bullring, as well as Colorado National Speedway, another NASCAR-sanctioned track he had never been to until last season.

When races at CNS don’t conflict, they’ll also be back at The Mill. Rhead said his goal is to win a race in four states — California, Nevada, Colorado and Idaho — while also chasing as many championships as he can.

He won’t be the only driver with his team. His girlfriend Roxi and the son of one of his crew members will both be racing Legends Cars this season.

Rhead wanted to help Roxi and his friends get into racing as a small way to show his appreciation for what their help means to him on the track.

“As I reflect on everything that I’ve done over the long time that I’ve gotten to race, I said to my girlfriend and the crew at the end of last year, I think I’ve pretty much done everything I want to do,” Rhead said. “We’ve won I don’t even know how many championships and in different classes and touring series.

“We’re going to take some time and let some other people have some fun this year — some of the people who helped me get where I am.”

Rhead will kick off his season April 19 at the Vegas Bullring. CNS will open May 3, and The Mill will open May 10.

“I’ve definitely got a problem,” he said with a laugh. “We’ve got too many cars, but it’s a lot of fun. There are way worse problems to have.”

Posted on by Team Release

WELCOME, N.C. (March 28, 2025) — Richard Childress Racing announced Friday that NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Jesse Love will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 13. Love will pilot the No. 33 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet on the high banks of the Last Great Colosseum.

“Racing in the Cup Series has always been my main goal and dream,” said Love. “Everything that I have done up to this point in my career has been building to this moment. To make my Cup Series debut at this age is very special, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to make it with RCR. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms over the last year and the organization feels like family.”

MORE: Cup schedule | Xfinity standings

Love has quickly climbed the motorsports ranks and continues to add to an impressive resume. During his Xfinity Series rookie campaign in 2024, the 20-year-old claimed his first series win, a series-leading five poles, and Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. Love became the youngest champion in NASCAR history by clinching his first ARCA Menards Series West title at the age of 16 in 2020. The Menlo Park, California native then posted a dominating performance by winning half the races and the championship in the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season.

Earning his first Xfinity Series victory of 2025, Love captured the checkered flag in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway and has already locked his team into the playoffs.

“I’m excited to have Jesse make his Cup Series debut in the No. 33 Chevrolet,” said Richard Childress, chairman and chief executive officer of RCR. “From the moment I started watching Jesse race, I knew that he had the talent. He has the passion for wanting to win and doing the best possible for his team. To be a great driver, you have to have passion behind the wheel and Jesse has that. We’ve seen him develop over the last year since he joined RCR, and I look forward to helping him compete at the highest level of our sport.”

Nutrabolt, owner of C4®, is the No. 1 selling global pre-workout brand and one of the fastest growing energy drink companies in the country. Making its C4 Ultimate Energy product line-up more delicious and even cooler, Nutrabolt recently introduced the Frost collection — a product extension available in three flavors that will also unveil a unique can technology that transitions from silver to blue when the can is cold and ready to drink.

The green flag for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway will wave at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 13. Watch live television coverage on FS1 and listen to flag-to-flag coverage on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Posted on by NASCAR Official Release

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Girl Tribe Co., a local Charlotte women-owned business, is teaming up with America’s No. 1 motorsport for the first time to launch an exclusive apparel collection. The collection will feature nine distinctive styles, blending fashionable and race-inspired pieces that capture the spirit of NASCAR while honoring the empowerment of women.

Debuting Friday, the collection will be available for purchase at the Girl Tribe Co. store located in South End, Charlotte, as well as NASCARShop.com and GirlTribeCo.com.

“Partnering with Girl Tribe Co. allows us to bring a unique and innovative collection to new and longtime NASCAR fans alike,” said Megan Malayter, vice president of licensing and consumer products at NASCAR. “This collection blends the spirit of motorsports while celebrating and empowering women, and we’re excited to see how fans embrace it both at the track and beyond.”

MORE: Women driving progress in NASCAR and beyond

Founded in 2014 by Charlotte natives and high school best friends Carrie Barker and Sarah Baucom, Girl Tribe Co. is a women-positive graphic apparel brand designed to connect and celebrate women. Built on passion for supporting and uplifting women, the company was created by besties, for besties — a place where women can connect, shop and feel empowered.

“This will be our first launch for the Girl Tribe Co. x NASCAR collection, and we cannot wait to see which products resonate with the fans, as their feedback will guide us in developing future collections and understanding how customers interact with our line,” said Girl Tribe Co. co-founder Sarah Baucom. “Growing up in Charlotte, NASCAR has always been synonymous with Sunday Fundays at the track. We are thrilled to bring our aesthetic into this sport!”

“Social media has helped women curate cute outfits to cheer on their favorite driver at the track, and we’re eager to bring more options for officially licensed wearable women’s NASCAR apparel to the market,” she added.

To shop the collection, visit GirlTribeCo.com and NASCARShop.com.