Halloween was actually the day before the NASCAR Cup Xfinity 500 but the tricks continued as William Byron drove to a repeat win from last fall at Martinsville. The treat was a fourth Grandfather Clock and a break in a season long winless streak. Byron put the #24 into a groove and kept it there for 362 laps with stage wins and the final.
Team mate Klyle Larson came into Martinsville with a heavy chance at going on to Homestead as the season winner. A long run call on stage 1 had Larson out on worn tires and eventually a lap down. He managed to get the #5 back up to ninth to finish which still gave him a cushion lead for the championship. However, mistakes like this at Homestead could leave Larson fighting to hang on if Christopher Bell or Denny Hamlin have successful runs.
Hamlin had the pole but lost the lead early on with a wide turn allowing Ty Gibbs to take over. Hamlin, like Larson, went too long on his starting tires, was caught later in a racing contact spin and had to fight with a damaged #11 for the later part of the race. He still pushed it forward to finish 6th.
Christopher Bell had a good early race but a pit road penalty and the same incident that caught Hamlin also spun him to finish with a damaged #20. He still managed a 10th place at the checkers.
The top three drivers in the Chase to the Championship at Homestead showed errors and accidents but also skill and resilience to come back to top ten finishes at Martinsville. They were fighting to hold on to their seasons while William Byron was having a comfortable Sunday drive through scenic southside Virginia with autumn colors showing and checkered flags flying.
The race to start off the October weekend at Martinsville Speedway put driving drama in the spotlight as team mates traded positions in the final laps. Front Row Motorsports driver Chandler Smith took the lead of the Black’s Tire 200 with 12 laps to go as Layne Riggs hit a snag and fell back. Riggs held on for third, Ben Rhodes also got by Riggs for a second spot as Smith drove those final 12 laps up front for the win.
Riggs dominated with stage wins and two-thirds of the race up front but that final restart cost him.
The pole sitter, Tristan McKee, earned a “youngest Craftsman Trucks driver to win a pole” at age 16. He raced well all evening to stay in the top 10 for the checkers.
Kaden Honeycutt still holds a points lead for the Championship despite a mid finish of 14th at Martinsville. Layne Riggs position and stage points pushed him a little closer. The numbers stack up at Homestead with Riggs still in it if Honeycutt falls backwards enough.
Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway was also Halloween night and the eve of the overnight time change back an hour. On the track, the racing left Carson Kvapil holding the biggest bag of candy with his pole position start and the win at the checkers in the National Debt Relief 250. That pulled him into a mathematical possible position for the championship. Justin Allgaier came in second and also had a stage win to push him to the top of the “Chase” board. Allgaier did have help from previous points leader Jesse Love who had bad luck on pit road, mechanicals and a crash to finish 30th. Corey Day is also in the hunt with a 3rd place and Sheldon Creed still has a shot with his 6th place finish.
Heading to Homestead, Allgaier is 22 points forward in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Jesse Love holds the second spot, Corey Day in third, Carson Kvapil is fourth with Sheldon Creed in fifth at 42 points back from Allgaier. All have possibilities but it will take a bad race from Allgaier for the others to make their best run at it.
