NASCAR
Aric Almirola Wins Martinsville Xfinity Race, Dash4Cash Bonus
RIDGEWAY, Va. – 17 years in the making, Aric Almirola is finally a true Xfinity Series winner for Joe Gibbs Racing. The No. 20 Toyota with its part-time driver led an astounding 148 of 251 laps Saturday night. The past Cup Series racer takes home a checkered flag, the Grandfather Clock, and the Dash4Cash prize money from Martinsville.
Almirola took command midway through Stage 1, taking his third straight Stage win over teammate Sheldon Creed.
Stage 2 would start messily, with Brandon Jones’ missed shift causing a backup and eventual parking lot in turn one.
Almirola was one spot shy of a second straight Stage sweep, losing out on Stage 2 to Justin Allgaier. The No. 20 would retake command after Stage 2 on pit road however, and led early in Stage 3. Almirola was soon the lead engine in a Joe Gibbs Racing train up front, pacing teammates Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed.
Almirola would briefly lose the lead a few times to Smith. The No. 81 was determined for a peak result after starting last, failing to put up a qualifying lap. Sam Mayer nudged Almirola out of the way however, just after he gave the bumper to Smith.
Despite Mayer leading on an overtime restart, Almirola was able to capitalize and regain the top spot in turn two. A caution flew a lap later for a wrecked Riley Herbst, giving the win and $100,000 bonus to Almirola.
“First I want to thank the good Lord,” Almirola said. “Man this is so awesome, to win for Joe Gibbs Racing. I’ve had an asterisk next to a win for Coach for 17 years. This is so awesome to finally put a real win banner up inside the shop at Joe Gibbs Racing. I want to thank Toyota, man this GR Supra was fast. I just want to thank everyone at JGR. Thank you thank you thank you Coach, for giving me this opportunity to come have some fun, still scratch the itch of racing but still spend time with my family.
“I’ve had so much pressure to win. I think everyone expected me to just get in and go win. The reality is it’s really hard to jump in these cars and race against the guys who do it week in and week out. Just so thankful. Thanks to all the people at He Gets Us, that whole ministry for believing in me and asking me to do this. It just feels really good.”
“I’ve won a lot of races through late models and stuff, to get me that opportunity to go work for Coach. From there it’s been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of struggles over 20 years in NASCAR. To cap off my career the way I want to do it, with Coach and this whole organization feels amazing. We’re going to celebrate this one.”
Behind Almirola and Mayer at the finish, the top-five were rounded out by: Chandler Smith, Carson Kvapil, and Justin Allgaier. Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith, Cole Custer, Jesse Love, and Josh Williams were the rest of the top-10. Hear from some of these drivers below.
Xfinity will return to action at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday. The Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 goes green at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Dash4Cash contenders for the second round of the cash bonus are Mayer, Smith, Allgaier, and Creed.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter/X
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter/X
Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
