Using his experience and steady hand, Aric Almirola handled the end of this Martinsville race and is walking away with a win. This is his first win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season and he does it for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize.
Aric Almirola won his third stage in a row tonight with a strong Stage 1 performance. The former Cup Series driver used his experience and talent to take advantage of the green flag runs in this race and get to the front of the field.
It’s great for Almirola to be in these races. He has a part-time schedule this year with JGR. He will test these young drivers every time he hits the track in that Gibbs equipment. Almirola will act as a barometer for the field this season.
Three-wide on the restart for the lead and Almirola came out on top.
First win of the 2024 season for Almirola. I won’t be shocked if it isn’t his last.
Aric Almirola spoils the show in Stage 1
There was a lot of good racing in the first two stages. Stage 1 had a few cautions, but nothing major. Hailie Deegan took damage but managed to stay in this race. Aric Almirola made his way to the front and pulled away from the field.
The Cup Series regular just a year ago is back in the Xfinity Series part-time with Joe Gibbs Racing. Last week he almost had a win at Richmond until his teammate Chandler Smith came on late and won.
Almirola won his third stage in a row tonight. Stage 1 was his, despite a late threat from Sheldon Creed with a couple of laps to go.
JR Motorsports catches on in Stage 2
The Toyotas were strong in the long green flag runs. Stage 1 was good for them in that way. However, the start of Stage 2 was a sign of things to come in this race. Once we got going on the restart, this race went sideways.
Brandon Jones missed a shift causing the field to pile up behind him. Multiple fast cars were taken out in this incident. Austin Hill and AJ Allmendinger most notably. Corey Heim was also wrecked out due to this pile-up.
There were multiple cautions in Stage 2 for multi-car and single-car incidents. The Chevys were coming on strong in these short runs and it allowed JR Motorsports to move up in the field. Justin Allgaier proved to be the strongest among them and took the Stage 2 win. Carson Kvapil, in his debut, was P4 in this stage. A strong run, but he would lose track position on pit road.
Aric Almirola gets physical in overtime restart
Getting down to the end of this race, Aric Almirola was getting aggressive. Chandler Smith learned quickly that his teammate was not going to give him an easy time in this race. The two used the bumpers on one another and banged doors.
Sam Mayer had moved into position toward the end of this race. He also got physical with Almirola. It was a hard-fought restart and finish. Mayer felt he had this one “stolen” from him. While Smith didn’t mind getting physical with his teammate with a grandfather clock on the line.
This was another great Xfinity Series race. I think it is also an example of why Cup Series drivers should race in this series more often, and should possibly get more than five races a season to do it. I know Almirola is out of the Cup Series, but he is still a very capable driver.
These Xfinity Series drivers got pushed and tested tonight at Martinsville. They have been every time Almirola has raced this season. He doesn’t take it easy on anyone. He’s in that No. 20 car to win races and run up front.
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