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Aric Almirola wins Martinsville race as tempers flare
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola. Amy Kontras-Imagn Images

Aric Almirola staves off playoff drivers, wins Xfinity Series race at Martinsville as tempers flare

By Samuel Stubbs  |  Last updated Nov 2, 2024 7:14 PM ET

For the second time in 2024, Aric Almirola celebrated with his family on the frontstretch at Martinsville Speedway. 

Almirola led 150 laps — besting his total from April when he led 148 — in Saturday's National Debt Relief 250, winning his third race in 13 starts over the course of the 2024 season. The win is the seventh of Almirola's Xfinity Series career, and puts the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 into the Championship Four for the Xfinity Series Owners Championship. 

"We had a good car here in the spring, and we made a few changes because I wasn't totally happy with it," Almirola told NBC Sports. "We showed up yesterday and we were awful. They (the No. 20 team) went to work last night and came up with a lot of changes to make to the car. It was so hooked up today, it was doing everything I wanted it to."

"This is such a special place. This is by far my favorite racetrack." 

As Almirola celebrated, Cole Custer and Chandler Smith — who traded paint late in the race — exchanged pleasantries, with Smith initiating a fistfight that was quickly broken up.

"Obviously he (Chandler Smith) is not happy, but he's put us in the wall a few times this year and his mistakes caught up with him," Custer told NBC Sports. "He used the bumper on me, I used the bumper on him. What comes around goes around in this deal.

"I can't even tell if he punched me in the face, it was so soft."

While Custer advanced to the Championship Four with a fourth-place finish, Smith's third-place effort wasn't quite enough to lift him to Phoenix. Nor was the runner-up effort of Sammy Smith, who entered Martinsville knowing he needed a win to make the championship race. 

"I was planning on doing a lot more than that, to be completely frank with you," Chandler Smith told NBC Sports when asked if he was planning on punching Custer. "I was extremely pis--- off. I gave him five laps before that caution came out and beat his bumper off. Never shipped him or anything like that. Finally the laps were winding down and the No. 20 is starting to drive away. I couldn't waste anymore time with him (Custer). I finally had a good enough run to push him up the racetrack and go on my way."

"I gave him a chance five laps before that. He was the only guy all day who chose the outside lane from third place. He didn't even give a chance to make the corner when we got to turn one."

Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith, Custer and Justin Allgaier — who also advanced to the Championship Four on points — rounded out the top-five, with Sheldon Creed, Anthony Alfredo, Parker Kligerman, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider completing the top-10. Other notable finishers include Jesse Love in 12th, Austin Hill in 14th, Shane van Gisbergen in 28th, Sam Mayer in 30th and Bubba Pollard in 31st. 

Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Love were the four drivers eliminated from playoff contention.

The Xfinity Series championship race will be held on Nov. 9 at the Phoenix Raceway. The green flag will fly shortly after 7 p.m. ET, with coverage on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. 

Samuel Stubbs
Twitter/X

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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