It was quite the race at Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Saturday (April 6), with the typical bumping, beating and banging throughout the field.
Aric Almirola led most of the evening, but he lost the lead late to Chandler Smith and Sam Mayer. Then in overtime, Almirola surged though to the lead and won after the caution flew on the last lap.
He also took home the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize, besting participants Smith, Parker Kligerman and Jesse Love.
Mayer was second, Smith took home third, Carson Kvapil was fourth and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five.
Winners
Almirola first took the lead on lap 28 and held it for 38 circuits, winning stage one. Thanks to differing strategies in the first stage, Sammy Smith and Allgaier led most of stage two, with Allgaier taking the stage win. Almirola was just behind in second in his fast No. 20.
Almirola then led most of stage three, with just Kligerman and Chandler Smith taking the point for five and one laps, respectively.
Things changed with about 15 laps to go when a caution flew for a spun Ryan Sieg. Almirola lost the lead to Chandler Smith briefly, but was able to bump him and retake first. Mayer then used the same move on the No. 20 and took the lead until the overtime finish. In the chaotic overtime restart, Almirola muscled his way out front and won his first race of the season.
It was a redemption of sorts for the Florida native, as he lost the lead to Ryan Blaney with about 23 laps to go in last fall’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race.
It’s also a win for Joe Gibbs Racing, and an interesting one at that. Back in 2007, Almirola started the race at the Milwaukee Mile when Denny Hamlin was late arriving to the track after flying in from Sonoma Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series race. Almirola was out front for quite a few laps, but then crew chief Dave Rogers told Hamlin to get in the car during a pit stop.
Hamlin eventually won the race, but since Almirola started it, he’s credited with the win.
Almirola mentioned during his post-race interview with FOX Sports that his first win with JGR had an asterisk, and he was glad to get a real win for the team.
Mayer’s second-place run was a bounce-back from a 30th at Richmond Raceway last week. He needed a good finish, but a win would’ve been sweeter for the JR Motorsports driver. Still, he showed he could race his way to the front and lead some laps. I think a win will come soon…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …