Martinsville Speedway has seen a lot of tempers flaring among drivers, especially in the fall playoff races. The time of day doesn’t seem to matter. Bumping, beating and banging’s been consistent in both night and day races.
Saturday’s (Nov. 2) NASCAR Xfinity Series’ National Debt Relief 250 was no different, with drivers upset from the beginning through the end of the race.
You know who wasn’t upset? Aric Almirola, who won both stages and swept Martinsville. The former Cup regular seemed to once again be the class of the field, though there weren’t many green flag runs to determine who had the best car.
Almirola held off late charges from Sammy Smith and Cole Custer to claim his third Xfinity Series win of the season.
Sammy Smith was second, Chandler Smith took third, Custer was fourth and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five.
Custer and Allgaier joined AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill in the Championship 4 on points. They’ll compete for a title next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Winners
Almirola led a few more laps than he did in the spring and survived the chaotic nature of the ‘Paperclip.’ He wasn’t afraid to use the bumper when needed and threaded through the field during the short green-flag periods.
It’s been quite a resurgence for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who retired from full-time competition last season. It’s not that Almirola didn’t win some races in the NASCAR Cup Series, he just wasn’t as consistent. This year, his average finish across 13 races is 9.7, with five results outside the top 10.
The victory also placed the JGR No. 20 in the owner’s Championship 4, which is important for the team. That squad has accumulated nine wins among four different drivers — certainly one of the best All-Star cars I’ve seen. It reminds me of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ All-Star entry that fielded multiple drivers (when it was still running).
Custer and Allgaier are both in this category mainly due to the fact that they’re racing for a title next week. Both did what they needed to do, though Custer appeared a bit more aggressive than the No. 7 car.
The bigger story was how the defending champion raced Chandler Smith. He basically shoved him out of the way on a late restart. Custer didn’t outright wreck Chandler, but it was enough for the driver of the No. 81 to be upset after the race.
Allgaier, meanwhile,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …