2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Thirty-Two Martinsville

Cars in field: 38
Pole: Sammy Smith (18)
Outside pole: Justin Allgaier (7)
Stages: 60-60-130
Weather: Sunny and 83 degrees at green flag.
The tv broadcast is showing a crowd shot as the cars come to the green flag.

Caution on lap 4 of 250 for a spin by Joe Graf Jr (38). He has a flat left rear.

Restarting on lap 10 of 250.

MRN is reporting that Cole Custer (00) let John Hunter ‘JHN’ Nemechek (20) drive by him. Sounds like this will be 225 laps of boring, with, if we’re lucky, 25 laps of racing at the end.

On lap 21 of 250 the television broadcast has a split-screen of the track surface and some driver’s hands driving. So they’re bored with what’s occurring on-track, so they’re showing other stuff.

MRN is reporting on battles through the field. They’re able to manage their boredom and attempt to sell the penultimate event.

Caution on lap 41 of 250 for Kyle Seig(29) hitting the wall and sitting stopped on the track.

Some pit, some stay out. MRN’s Steve Post says the drivers trying to win stayed out. Those trying to point their way in pitted. Sammy Smith (18) wins the race off pit road and will start in eleventh position.

Restarting on lap 49 of 250 with Justin Allgaier (7) on the front row. John Hunter ‘JHN’ Nemecheck (20) starts beside him.

MRN reports Brandon Jones (9) has a tired rub on lap 51 of 250. The front left fender is folder back on that tire and he’s smoking his way through the turns. TV is showing the hood of some car and the track surface.

Justin Allgaier (7) wins stage one.

Some pit, some stay out. Allgaier is first on and off pit road and will start in 22nd position.

Caution on lap 72 of 250 for a spin by Layne Riggs (11). Cole Custer (00) also has front end damage. Custer got the left side damage sending Riggs for a spin.

Caution on lap 87 of 250 for a spin by Ryan Sieg (39). Sieg was battling Riley Herbst (98) for position. Looks like Sieg might have hit the inside curb sending him around.

On lap 97 of 250 MRN is calling a ‘vicious’ battle between Kaz Grala (26) and Daniel Hemric (10) for seventh position. They say there’s hard racing throughout the field from third on back. TV is showing track surface and blimp shots, so we’re not seeing the good racing MRN is calling.

Sammy Smith (18) wins stage two.

So far this has been a pedestrian event. MRN is reporting on racing, but we’re seeing very distant shots from the blimp, and lots of video of the track surface with a car in the distance interspersed with bumpers of cars too far away to determine which car, and indistinguishable drivers driving. In other words, nothing interesting and nothing that appears to be related to the action on the track.

Caution on lap 152 of 250 for a spin by Layne Riggs (11) courtesy of Sam Mayer (1).

Justin Allgaier (7) and Austin Hill pit (21). The leaders stay out.

Caution on lap 162 of 250 for a spin by Akinori Ogata (53).

Restarting on lap 169 of 250 with Sammy Smith (18) and Josh Berry (8) on the front row.

On lap 174 of 250 the caution comes out for Parker Kligerman (48) who is slow on the track with a flat right-front and missed the entrance to pit road on the previous lap. Leader Sammy Smith (18) was catching Kligerman (48) when NASCAR waved the yellow flag.

MRN reports Josh Berry (8) has contact on pit road with Chris Hacker (35). Berry was leaving his stall, Hacker was trying to find his, and they made contact.

Restarting on lap 181 of 250.

They’re racing hard after the restart and we go from a shot of some car’s rear tire and the track surface to super high aerial shots.

Caution on lap 184 of 250. The TV shot is from so high up, I’m not sure who was involved. Connor Mosack (24) got turned around. Cole Custer (00) ran into the back of someone and crumpled his hood.

MRN reports that Chandler Smith (16) has lost the engine on lap 188 of 250.

Restarting on lap 196 of 250 with John Hunter ‘JHN’ Nemechek (20) and Austin Hill (21) up front.

Caution on lap 199 fo 250 for a spin by Akinori Ogata (53).

Restarting on lap 205 of 250 with Austin Hill (21) and JHN (20) on the front row.

Caution on lap 207 of 250 for a crash involving J.J. Yeley (4) and Ryan Ellis (43). Yeley takes the car directly to the garage area.

Restarting on lap 213 of 250 with JHN up front beside Austin Hill. JHN takes the outside instead of the expected inside lane.

Caution on lap 219 of 250 for a spin by Kaz Grala (26).

Restarting on lap 225 of 150 with JHN and Austin Hill on the front row.

Caution on lap 236 of 250 for a spin by Anthony ‘FastPasta’ Alfredo (78)

Restarting on lap 241 of 250 with John Hunter ‘JHN’ Nemechek (20) and Austin Hill (21) on the front row. followed by Sammy Smith (18) and Sheldon Creed (2).

Yep, they’re racing now – 241 laps into the event.

Caution on lap 241 of 250 for a crash involving Jeremy Clements (51), (44), Josh Williams (92), (19), (45), Brandon Jones (9), Sam Mayer (1) and more. Involved in the wreck are: Jeb Burton (27), Kaz Grala, Jeffrey Earnhardt (45), Layne Riggs (11), Sam Mayer (1), Myatt Snider (19), Jeremy Clements (51), Josh Williams (92), CJ McLaughlin (28), Rajah Caruth (44), Chad Finchum (08), Brandon Jones (9), Josh Bilicki (91).

The field is stopped on the track due to the big wreck on the back straightaway. The red flag is out at 1808 eastern.

Restarting on lap 24 of 250 with Austin Hill (21) on the front row. We’ll have to see where Sheldon Creed (2), Sammy Smith (18), John Hunter ‘JHN’ Nemecheck (20) line up with the choose rule. Hill and Creed are Richard Childress Racing teammates. Creed will lead RCR at the end of the season. JHN and Smith are both Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.

NASCAR sent Sam Mayer (1) to the garage under the red flag because he car was leaking fluid under the red flag. They are laying speedidry all around the track and heavily in turn three. There was a lot of oil laid down in turn three. They have a little green tractor on the truck moving the speedidry in turn three along with the safety trucks, a couple of jet dryers, blowers, probably a partridge and a pear tree. Lots of folks working on the cleanup.

Lovely shot of the mountains and the orange and purple sunset. That is the only thing NBCSports does well – landscape shots.

The caution is out on lap 244 of 250 at 1835 eastern. 28 minute red flag period.

MRN is talking about seeing the ‘Hunter’s Moon’ rising. The cleanup crews continue to work as the cars circle under caution. NBCSports just showed a beautiful shot of the full moon. The lights are on at the track. It looks much darker there than here. NBCSports has the overtime banner displayed as they continue to circle under caution and the safety trucks and jet dryer continues to circle the track working on the oil spots

The skies here are quite light. There skies on television the blue of early night. I also don’t see the moon yet.

MRN reports a piece of sheet metal fell off one of the cars and the safety truck had to go pick that up, extending the caution period.

JHN and Sammy Smith both go to the inside lane on the choose, while Hill and Creed line up alongside each other on the front row.

Restarting in overtime.

The white flag flies with Austin Hill (21) in the lead and teammate Sheldon Creed (2) leaning on him hard.

Allgaier wins!!! He held off Sheldon Creed (2) for the win by inches.

Cole Custer (00) went 50 feet backward (in reverse) on fire to cross the line and get in the final four.

JHN is on fire.

That finish was amazing.

Austin Hill is out of the championship hunt along with Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith.

Austin Hill (21) is furious. He’s walking down pit road with a lot of people clapping. his teammate creed routed him out of the groove.

It was chaos! That was worth sitting through the rest of the event.

Justin said his wife Ashley Allgaier drove to the track to be with him after their daughter’s final softball game of the season. He said he was very happy about that and that’s its an emotional win because he’s wanted to win at Martinsville a long time.

His crew chief came over and poured something on his head and Allgaier started crying.

His wife Ashley just got to the track, he ran over to meet her and give her a hug and kiss. Josh Williams (92) brings him a beer, has a toast and they drink. Rajah Caruth (44) comes over and gives him a hug during his radio interview.

Sheldon said he’s not proud of racing him like that, but with a chance to race for the final four, he’s going to fight for his guys all the way. He feels he raced him pretty fair under the circumstances. I can’t control the 20 spinning him out in three and four.

Austin Hill is doing radio interviews while Sheldon is doing tv interviews. Hill said it wasn’t cool for him (Hill) to do what he did to him (Creed) in one. He went on to say he’s pretty excited for him (Creed) to go on to his next adventure at Gibbs and he doesn’t have to put up with him anymore. he made a couple of dumb mistakes on the white flag laps that cost both him and me.

Sammy Smith was frustrated with JHN who was already in the championship four. Sammy Smith said he was told JHN wasn’t going to make any enemies, but he definitely made one.

JHN is giving clipped answers on the radio – glad to be in the championship four, I just tried to win the race, that’s what I’m here to do. MRN reports JHN and teammate Sammy Smith are having a discussion, not violent, but they aren’t agreeing.

MRN reports former Cup driver Scott Riggs was in the turn one grandstands tonight watching his son Layne Riggs (11).

The final laps were hard racing, okay television broadcast coverage, exciting radio broadcast coverage. The finish was exciting.

The Championship Four

- - Sam Mayer (1) JR Motorsports
  - John Hunter Nemechek (20) Joe Gibbs Racing
  - Justin Allgaier (7) JR Motorsports
  - Cole Custer (00) Stewart-Haas Racing

Motorsport News:

2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Thirty-Two Martinsville

Next Race: Phoenix

GO 7 & 8!!!!