It was an overtime finish at Martinsville, with Sammy Smith chasing Taylor Gray just as he did in this race earlier in the year. However, this time, Smith did not wreck Gray for the win. He settled for second, and Gray earned his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win in his 45th career start.
“About damn time,” exclaimed Gray. “Give me a clock, baby. I can’t thank everyone on this 54 team enough. Such an awesome race car.”
Behind Gray and Smith, Brandon Jones finished third, Sheldon Creed fourth, and Aric Almirola fifth. Jeb Burton, Sam Mayer, Dean Thompson, Connor Zilisch, and Justin Bonsignore filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Burton and Mayer, who were feuding for most of the race, got into it on the final lap. Burton moved Mayer in the final corner, and Mayer returned the favor on the cool down lap, wrecking both cars. NASCAR has not yet responded to the incident.
In the fight to make the playoffs, Smith and Jones just missed out on winning their way into the final four. Kvapil took the final transfer spot, escaping elimination by just four points. It will be an all-Chevrolet final four with Kvapil joining Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier, and Zilisch.
Brandon Jones was eliminated from title contention alongside Mayer, Creed, and Smith.
Stages 1 and 2
Burton started the race from pole position (the first of his career), leading the field to the green flag on the same say he announced a new deal for 2026 with Sam Hunt Racing.
He held on for a few laps, but eventually lost out to a charging Almirola and Allgaier.
The first caution flew for an incident involving Myatt Snider, who got spun by Nick Sanchez. Zilisch suffered a little nose damage as the field stacked up around the spinning car.
A handful of cars chose to stay out, handing the lead to Brenden Queen. Allgaier led the way for those who pitted, and quickly cut a path forward from the outside of the fourth row.
Love was penalized for speeding, sending the title hopeful to the rear of the field. The caution flew once again for another spin, this time involving Connor Mosack.
Desperate for stage points, Mayer moved Jeb Burton on a restart eventually fought his way around Queen for the lead. However, he quickly got passed by Allgaier, and then blew the corner, losing several spots.
Allgaier went on to win Stage 1 over Almirola, Queen, Jones, and Mayer.
On the radio, Burton promised retaliation against Mayer, saying, “F*** him and his championship!”
Those who stayed out in an effort to get stage points now came down pit road, and Allgaier remained in control of the race for the start of Stage 2.
J. Burton triggered the next caution, spinning with a cut tire. Lots of drivers took the opportunity to pit, putting Allgaier to the backend of the top ten as some again stayed out.
Love got another penalty on pit road, this time for equipment interference. Kvapil now led the race, and remained in control for the rest of the stage.
He won Stage 2 and collected ten critical playoff bonus points, followed by Queen, Eckes, Mayer, and Tay. Gray. Kvapil then lost a lot of ground on pit road due to a messy stop for JRM.
Stage 3
Mayer stayed out during the stage break, giving him the race lead for the start of Stage 3. There was a lengthy delay before the race could go back green, due to cleanup for an engine failure. At the very end of Stage 2, Thomas Annunziata’s engine blew, causing both Daniel Dye and Jeremy Clements to suffer damage in the check-up as fluid sprayed all over the track. Love’s eventful day continued as he was directly behind this situation, and narrowly avoided getting damage.
Mayer eventually lost the lead to Almirola, but faced teammate Tay. Gray in a tense battle for the top spot. It lasted for 20+ laps, but their duel was interrupted by a multi-car incident in Turns 3 and 4.
Brennan Poole knocked Queen into Josh Williams, spinning both drivers. As he tried to turn down and avoid the incident, he came across the nose of Zilisch, collecting both him and Day in the crash as Turn 4 became a parking lot. Kvapil narrowly avoided joining them, quickly moving up the track.
Gray was finally able to take the lead from Almirola on pit road, but he did not restart with the lead. The race went back green with 49 laps to go with Sanchez out front as he chose to stay out.
Gray quickly took the lead, and it ended up s a JGR 1-2-3 with Almirola and Jones chasing him. Jones was facing a must-win in order to make the Championship 4. In the chaotic restart, Allgaier also lost a lot of spots as he got stuck behind a slower car in the outer groove.
The next yellow was for an incident involving Parker Retzlaff and Brad Perez, who both spun. Retzlaff got spun by Anthony Alfredo, and then Perez spun off the nose of Blaine Perkins while trying to avoid.
The next run didn’t last long as Kvapil was sent spinning. It had huge playoff implications, as he went from +13 to -8 in a single moment, completely changing the battle around the cutline.
Kvapil quickly sliced his way back through the field, clawing back above the cutline before another caution forced an overtime finish. Nothing changed in the final two laps points-wise, and Gray held on to collect the win.
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