- Xfinity 250 - Martinsville Speedway - 1. (#91) Zack Saunders - 2. (#1) Cory Mott - 3. (#29) Steward Harding Walker - 4. (#69) Caleb Tipton - 5. (#94) Thomas Wolfe - 6. (#22) Nic Vasquez - 7. (#6) Stephen Menke - 8. (#3) Ben Lawson - 9. (#37) Joe T. Wright - 10. (#16) Nathaniel Campbell - 11. (#57) Michael Deitch - 12. (#00) Garth Griswold - 13. (#11) Nishil Condoor - 14. (#7) Steven Carlile - 15. (#8) Zach Johnson - 16. (#99) Justin Bell - 17. (#74) Caleb Sheets - 18. (#30) Mason Hoeffner - 19. (#96) Vince Mitchell
Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series headed to Darlington, South Carolina, on Wednesday night for the longest and final race of the regular season. Three hundred sixty-seven laps were on the menu for the drivers to try and lay their claim to one of the final playoff spots left for the taking. For the first time since the Olympic Break, the field could lay down some green flag runs with multiple strategies coming into play at the end of the track, which is known to be “Too Tough to Tame.”
Qualifying
The warm track temperatures during the late afternoon sun made qualifying difficult with times slightly. Four different drivers set qualifying laps in the 29-second territory, with Johnny Avila taking the pole with a time of 29.915. Thomas Wolfe would start second outside Avila with a time of 29.933, followed by Cody Porter, who would begin behind his teammate Avila on the second row inside with 29.937. Stephen Menke would start behind Wolfe with 29.939 in fourth place. The field of 34 drivers was ready for the regular season finale showdown.
STAGE 1
As the race kicked off, Avila led the pack into Turn 1, marking the start of Stage 1. The stage, spanning 115 laps, saw six incident cautions. Avila’s teammate, Cody Porter, dominated the stage by leading the most laps, 65. However, Thomas Wolfe of Backroad Bandit Racing proved his mettle and clinched the stage win on Lap 115, signaling fierce competition ahead.
STAGE 1 RESULTS
Despite the challenges, the drivers displayed remarkable resilience, pushing through the incidents and cautions that peppered the first 115 laps. The 500-mile race is a true test of endurance, and the drivers’ commitment to taking care of their cars and avoiding contact was genuinely challenging. Here are some photos and video clips of the incidents that tested their resilience during Stage 1.
STAGE 2
The race returned green on Lap 120, with Thomas Wolfe leading the field. Avila took back the lead on Lap 122 before the first caution came out on Lap 128. There would be four more cautions during the stage before Avila would take the stage win on Lap 230. Avila would lead 57 laps during the stage and was beginning to set the tone for the final stage. Stewart Harding Walker would lead the second most laps, with 50 laps led during Stage 2. The biggest story during Stage 2 was on Lap 185 when playoff bubble driver Joe Wright would head to the pits for new shoes on the car, but he would get disconnected. His disconnect would end his chances of beating out Tommy Carroll Jr. for the final playoff spot.
Here are some incident clips from Stage 2.
STRATEGY COMES INTO PLAY
Avila led the field back to green on Lap 235, but Pete Morales jumped the restart, and CJR Officials gave him the black flag for a drive-through penalty, causing him to go a lap down. The pit stop strategy would come into play here as Avila, Wolfe, Nishill Condoor, Tyler Belanger, and Jacob Abreu would run their first stint much longer than most other cars on the lead lap. The rest of the field took tires somewhere between the 40-55 lap stint length; Avila, Wolfe, Condoor, and Belanger would push their tires to the 65-75 stint length before coming to pit road.
PIT ROAD WOES
Green flag pit stops were where the issues would arise. Wolfe would pit first but get black-flagged for speeding on the pit road. Avila would pit one lap later. He would get squirrely coming down to the apron and touch the pit cone barrier, coming to a stop before any significant damage occurred. Avila would get backed up and through pit road with new shoes and a new tank of fuel. He was hoping this race stayed green through the rest of the race.
Avila understood that most of the field would have to make another pit stop before the end of the race, but he could make it to the end without another stop. A caution before the field made their second stop would be the only wrench that could foil Avila’s plan. The final stage would have the longest green flag runs of the race and probably of the season, going 114 Laps before the only caution would come out on Lap 349 for Jacob Abreu spinning down the front stretch.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Avila and Condoor were the only two drivers on the lead lap and were able to get new tires with 17 laps to go. The rest of the field was at least one lap down, and they had to decide whether to stay out to get their lap back or get new tires, stay a lap down, and get back behind the leaders. Third through 10th place decided to stay out and return to the lead lap.
Steven Carlile would do his best to stay with Avila and Condoor, but their fresh tires would allow them to pull away. With five laps to go, Avila had an almost half-second lead on Condoor and a 1.20-second lead on Carlile. Condoor would do his best to catch Avila but couldn’t get there as Avila would take the checkered flag to win the Southern 500.
REULAR SEASON CHAMPION
Cory Mott, who finished in 7th place, would be crowned the Regular Season Champion on Wednesday night. Mott would finish 1st place with a 78-point lead over Steven Carlile, and Carlile would finish 3rd at Darlington. Mott finished the season with a win at Iowa back in June and had 5 Top 5 finishes, 14 Top 10 finishes, and 3 stage wins on the year.
Carlile would be the runner-up, but there is nothing to let his head droop about on the season he has run. He has finished 2nd place a handful of times but never could grab that win in the regular season. Look for Carlile to make a long run into the playoffs.
IT’S PLAYOFF TIME
The playoff field is set with three races in the Round of 16. The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series will travel to Atlanta next week, Watkins Glen in week 2, and Bristol Motor Speedway to wrap up the final Round under the lights. The racing will get scrappy in this first Round as six drivers will begin the playoffs with 3 points or less to try and get through to the Round of 12.
Playoff racing will begin next Wednesday at 8:15 EST for 250 miles around Atlanta Motor Speedway. Catch all the action on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.