Almirola Clocks Up Martinsville Victory
(MARTINSVILLE, VA – NOV 2, 2024 – RIS) Aric Almirola will have a new timepiece at home after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series National Debt Relieve 250 on the narrow paperclip track. The winner’s trophy is the traditional locally-made grandfather clock. Almirola led 150 of the 250 laps in the race, including the final 70 laps, through the final four cautions. The race was punctuated by 13 cautions totaling 84 laps. “It was so hooked up today – this is by far my favorite race track,” said Almirola post-race.
Following several encounters earlier in the season Chandler Smith and Cole Custer also had a couple of incidents on track, ending with Custer tapping Smith to move him out of the way and out of contention for a win which could have moved Smith into the Championship Four next weekend at Phoenix. On pit road after the race, they had a confrontation that resulted in Smith taking a swing at Custer before the two were separated. “He used the bumper on me, I used the bumper on him,” said Custer. Smith commented that “I planned to do a whole lot more than that to him…” Describing an earlier incident in the race, Smith said: “I finally got a good enough run and pushed him up the race track.”
Unofficial Results: National Debt Relief 250, November 2, 2024 - Martinsville Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 9, Aric Almirola (P), No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota, 250, 1, 1, 5, 150, 7, 60, Running
2) 7, Sammy Smith (P), No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 250, 8, 4, , , , 45, Running
3) 3, Chandler Smith (P), No. 81 QuickTie Toyota, 250, 4, 6, 2, 34, , 46, Running
4) 10, Cole Custer (P), No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 250, 2, 7, 1, 17, , 46, Running
5) 5, Justin Allgaier (P), No. 7 Jarrett 25 Years Chevrolet, 250, 3, 5, , , , 46, Running
6) 8, Sheldon Creed, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota, 250, 9, 3, 1, 13, , 41, Running
7) 2, Anthony Alfredo, No. 5 Dead On Tools Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 18, Parker Kligerman, No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 21, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Celsius Chevrolet, 250, 10, , , , , 29, Running
10) 22, Myatt Snider, No. 91 Tree Top Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 13, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 250, 6, 8, , , , 34, Running
12) 4, Jesse Love # (P), No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 250, 5, , , , , 31, Running
13) 19, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Macc Door Systems Chevrolet, 250, , 10, , , , 25, Running
14) 6, Austin Hill (P), No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 38, Ryan Sieg, No. 28 Sci Aps Ford, 250, , 2, 1, 13, , 31, Running
16) 16, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 38 ReMA Ford, 250, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 23, Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 250, 7, , , , , 24, Running
18) 26, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Southern Elevator Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 24, Blaine Perkins, No. 29 AutoParkit.com Ford, 250, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 31, Dylan Lupton, No. 15 Lupton Excavation Ford, 250, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 27, Kyle Sieg, No. 39 Ortho Virginia Ford, 250, , , 1, 3, , 16, Running
22) 36, Mason Maggio(i), No. 53 Ford, 250, , , , , , 0, Running
23) 35, Patrick Emerling, No. 07 BBPrintingCO.com Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 32, Preston Pardus, No. 50 Chinchor Electric Inc. Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 28, Dawson Cram(i), No. 92 Trade With The Pros Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 0, Running
26) 37, Greg Van Alst, No. 14 CB Fabricating Ford, 250, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 29, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Spartan Waste/Fox Sports 98.3 Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 20, Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 97 Wendy's Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 14, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Dawn Dish Soap Chevrolet, 234, , , , , , 8, DVP
30) 12, Sam Mayer (P), No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet, 228, , , , , , 7, Accident
31) 17, Bubba Pollard, No. 26 SANY Toyota, 223, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 30, Garrett Smithley, No. 45 Knight Fire Protection Chevrolet, 205, , , , , , 5, Ignition
33) 15, William Sawalich(i), No. 19 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota, 164, , 9, , , , 0, Suspension
34) 34, Logan Bearden, No. 74 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet, 162, , , , , , 3, Brakes
35) 25, Leland Honeyman #, No. 42 QuixRX Chevrolet, 56, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 1, Parker Retzlaff, No. 31 The Visual Pak Companies Chevrolet, 53, , , 2, 20, , 1, Accident
37) 33, Carson Ware, No. 35 Jacob Construction Chevrolet, 44, , , , , , 1, Brakes
38) 11, AJ Allmendinger (P), No. 16 Amarr Chevrolet, 13, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Total Race Length: 250 Laps, 131.5 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 11 Mins, 30 Secs.
Average Speed: 60 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.587 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 20, 00, 7, 81, 2, 98, 11, 8, 18, 27
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 28, 18, 8, 7, 81, 00, 98, 19, 44
Comments: Aric Almirola won the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway, his seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.
Prior to the start the following cars dropped to the rear the race: Nos. 19, 28, 48 (unapproved adjustments).
Cautions: 13 for 84 laps;
Laps: 14-18 (No. 16 incident turn 3 [None]);
38-43 (No. 28, 91 incident turn 4 [50]);
49-53 (No. 29, 42 incident turn 2 [None]);
55-59 (No. 1, 31 incident turn 1 [None]);
62-70 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
104-110 (No. 52 incident turn 1 [07]);
122-130 (Stage 2 Conclusion [53]);
135-140 (No. 5, 19 incident turn 1 [74]);
175-182 (No. 39, 50 incident turn 3 [07]);
184-190 (No. 2, 92 incident turn 3 [15]);
198-202 (No. 18, 11, 29 incident turn 2 [50]);
221-226 (No. 9, 18 incident turn 1 [50]);
229-234 (No. 28, 97 incident turn 4 [9]).
Lead Changes: 12 among 7 drivers;
P. Retzlaff 1-17;
C. Smith (P) 18-39;
P. Retzlaff 40-42;
C. Custer (P) 43-59;
A. Almirola (P) 60-80;
C. Smith (P) 81-92;
A. Almirola (P) 93-105;
R. Sieg 106-118;
A. Almirola (P) 119-140;
S. Creed 141-153;
A. Almirola (P) 154-177;
K. Sieg 178-180;
A. Almirola (P) 181-250.
Unofficial Points Report: National Debt Relief 250, Martinsville Speedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Austin Hill (P), 21, 32, -2, 4000, 0, 0, 4, 6, 0
2) AJ Allmendinger (P), 16, 32, -2, 4000, 0, 0, 1, 2, 0
3) Cole Custer (P), 00, 32, 1, 4000, 0, 0, 2, 4, 0
4) Justin Allgaier (P), 7, 32, 3, 4000, 0, 0, 2, 16, 0
5) Chandler Smith (P), 81, 32, 0, 2273, -1727, 1727, 2, 7, 0
6) Sheldon Creed, 18, 32, -3, 2217, -1783, 56, 0, 1, 0
7) Jesse Love # (P), 2, 32, 1, 2208, -1792, 9, 1, 4, 0
8) Riley Herbst, 98, 32, -2, 2194, -1806, 14, 1, 2, 0
9) Sam Mayer (P), 1, 32, 2, 2170, -1830, 24, 3, 2, 0
10) Parker Kligerman, 48, 32, -1, 2167, -1833, 3, 0, 1, 0
11) Sammy Smith (P), 8, 32, 3, 2163, -1837, 4, 1, 0, 0
12) Shane Van Gisbergen #, 97, 32, 0, 2132, -1868, 31, 3, 2, 0
13) Ryan Sieg, 28, 32, 0, 842, -3158, 1290, 0, 2, 0
14) Brandon Jones, 9, 32, 0, 677, -3323, 165, 0, 0, 0
15) Anthony Alfredo, 5, 32, 0, 640, -3360, 37, 0, 0, 0
16) Brennan Poole, 44, 32, 0, 559, -3441, 81, 0, 0, 0
17) Aric Almirola (P), 20, 13, -3, 516, -3484, 43, 3, 6, 0
18) Josh Williams, 11, 32, 1, 511, -3489, 5, 0, 0, 0
19) Jeb Burton, 27, 32, 0, 491, -3509, 20, 0, 0, 0
20) Parker Retzlaff, 31, 32, 2, 465, -3535, 26, 0, 0, 0
21) Jeremy Clements, 51, 32, 0, 460, -3540, 5, 0, 1, 0
22) Leland Honeyman #, 42, 32, 0, 451, -3549, 9, 0, 0, 0
23) Ryan Ellis, 43, 32, 0, 429, -3571, 22, 0, 0, 0
24) Kyle Sieg, 39, 30, -1, 410, -3590, 19, 0, 0, 0
25) Kyle Weatherman, , 30, 1, 394, -3606, 16, 0, 0, 0
26) Matt DiBenedetto, 38, 27, 0, 382, -3618, 12, 0, 0, 0
27) Blaine Perkins, 29, 31, -1, 335, -3665, 47, 0, 0, 0
28) Ryan Truex, , 11, 1, 319, -3681, 16, 2, 0, 0
29) Josh Bilicki, , 16, 0, 247, -3753, 72, 0, 0, 0
30) Carson Kvapil, , 9, 0, 227, -3773, 20, 0, 0, 0
31) Garrett Smithley, 45, 21, 0, 184, -3816, 43, 0, 0, 0
32) Hailie Deegan, , 17, 0, 174, -3826, 10, 0, 0, 0
33) Austin Green, , 7, 0, 154, -3846, 20, 0, 0, 0
34) Patrick Emerling, 07, 18, -2, 141, -3859, 13, 0, 0, 0
35) Joey Gase, , 13, 1, 138, -3862, 3, 0, 0, 0
36) David Starr, , 9, 1, 134, -3866, 4, 0, 0, 0
37) Connor Zilisch, , 3, 0, 122, -3878, 12, 1, 1, 0
38) Joe Graf, , 4, 0, 93, -3907, 29, 0, 0, 0
39) Jj Yeley, , 7, 0, 90, -3910, 3, 0, 0, 0
40) Bj Mcleod, , 5, 0, 78, -3922, 12, 0, 0, 0
41) Jordan Anderson, , 5, 0, 75, -3925, 3, 0, 0, 0
42) Ed Jones, , 5, 0, 71, -3929, 4, 0, 0, 0
43) Alex Labbe, , 4, 0, 69, -3931, 2, 0, 0, 0
44) Logan Bearden, 74, 8, 0, 65, -3935, 4, 0, 0, 0
45) Nick Leitz, , 6, 0, 60, -3940, 5, 0, 0, 0
46) Myatt Snider, 91, 3, -7, 59, -3941, 1, 0, 0, 0
47) Sage Karam, , 6, 1, 59, -3941, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Dylan Lupton, 15, 5, -2, 55, -3945, 4, 0, 0, 0
49) Brad Perez, , 5, 2, 53, -3947, 2, 0, 0, 0
50) Cj Mclaughlin, , 5, 2, 47, -3953, 6, 0, 0, 0
51) Preston Pardus, 50, 5, 0, 47, -3953, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Caesar Bacarella, , 3, 3, 46, -3954, 1, 0, 0, 0
53) Bubba Pollard, 26, 2, -1, 37, -3963, 9, 0, 0, 0
54) Dale Earnhardt, , 1, 2, 32, -3968, 5, 0, 0, 0
55) Greg Van Alst, 14, 4, -9, 32, -3968, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Nathan Byrd, , 3, 1, 29, -3971, 3, 0, 0, 0
57) Natalie Decker, , 2, 1, 27, -3973, 2, 0, 0, 0
58) Chad Finchum, , 5, 1, 27, -3973, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Carson Ware, 35, 3, -2, 25, -3975, 2, 0, 0, 0
60) Justin Bonsignore, , 1, 2, 25, -3975, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Patrick Gallagher, , 2, 2, 25, -3975, 0, 0, 0, 0
62) Tommy Joe Martins, , 1, 2, 24, -3976, 1, 0, 0, 0
63) Thomas Annunziata, , 5, 1, 24, -3976, 0, 0, 0, 0
64) Conor Daly, , 1, 1, 23, -3977, 1, 0, 0, 0
65) Rc Enerson, , 2, 0, 19, -3981, 4, 0, 0, 0
66) Dexter Bean, , 1, 0, 17, -3983, 2, 0, 0, 0
67) Daniil Kvyat, , 1, 0, 16, -3984, 1, 0, 0, 0
68) Andre Castro, , 2, 0, 16, -3984, 0, 0, 0, 0
69) Ryan Vargas, , 4, 0, 13, -3987, 3, 0, 0, 0
70) Glen Reen, , 2, 0, 10, -3990, 3, 0, 0, 0
71) Boris Said, , 1, 0, 9, -3991, 1, 0, 0, 0
72) Mike Skeen, , 1, 0, 7, -3993, 2, 0, 0, 0
73) Armani Williams, , 2, 0, 6, -3994, 1, 0, 0, 0
74) Morgen Baird, , 1, 0, 4, -3996, 2, 0, 0, 0
75) Tim Viens, , 1, 0, 2, -3998, 2, 0, 0, 0
76) Gus Dean, , 1, 0, 1, -3999, 1, 0, 0, 0
77) Alon Day, , 1, 0, 1, -3999, 0, 0, 0, 0
78) John Hunter Nemechek(i), , 11, 0, 0, -4000, 1, 2, 2, 0
79) Christopher Bell(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 2, 2, 0
80) Kyle Larson(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 1, 0, 0
81) Chase Elliott(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 1, 0, 0
82) Ty Gibbs(i), , 6, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 2, 0
83) Corey Heim(i), , 13, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
84) Taylor Gray(i), , 13, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
85) William Byron(i), , 4, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 1, 0
86) Noah Gragson(i), , 4, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
87) Ross Chastain(i), , 4, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
88) Connor Mosack(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
89) Kyle Busch(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
90) Daniel Dye(i), , 9, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
91) Joey Logano(i), , 3, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
92) Jeffrey Earnhardt(i), , 5, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
93) Alex Bowman(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
94) Mason Massey(i), , 3, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
95) Lawless Alan(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
96) Tyler Reddick(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
97) Mason Maggio(i), 53, 3, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
98) Brett Moffitt(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
99) Dean Thompson(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
100) Dawson Cram(i), 92, 20, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
101) Kaden Honeycutt(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
102) William Sawalich(i), 19, 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
103) Daniel Su?rez(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
104) Josh Berry(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
105) Frankie Muniz(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
106) Stefan Parsons(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
107) Akinori Ogata(i), , 3, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
108) Stephen Mallozzi(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
109) Ty Dillon(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
110) Jade Buford, , 0, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
111) Kaz Grala(i), , 0, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
112) Kenko Miura, , 0, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
113) Kyle Keller, , 0, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
114) Stanton Barrett, , 0, 0, 0, -4000, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
John Davison
Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.