John Hunter Nemechek put on a Martinsville Speedway masterclass on Saturday as he led 198 of 250 laps to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series‘ Call 811 Before You Dig 250, though he probably would have needed to call 911 for the blaze that followed as his victory burnout caused the rear of his #20 car to ignite.
“This car wasn’t very good in practice yesterday. I thought we were like a tenth-to-twelfth place car,” said Nemechek. “Everyone went to work on this #20 team for qualifying and this race today.
“Thank you to (sponsor) Pye Barker Fire & Safety – they actually carry Pye Barker fire extinguishers here in Martinsville. It was fitting: after we caught on fire, they put it out.”
Nemechek started second alongside Cole Custer, but the pole winner was a virtual non-factor after leading the first five laps before Nemechek took control. He won two stages and only briefly lost the lead to Justin Allgaier following Jeremy Clements‘ lap 218 crash before holding the top spot from the ensuing restart onwards.
Custer would settle for third behind Nemechek and Sammy Smith, who made it a Joe Gibbs Racing 1–2 finish. The victory was Nemechek’s second of 2023 after Fontana in February.
Interestingly, Nemechek’s burnout fire was the not the first to occur in 2023 as Zane Smith did the same after winning the Craftsman Truck Series race at COTA in March.
Six cautions were flown for crashes, with one of the hardest being a lap 136 incident in which Ryan Ellis clipped Joe Graf Jr. and sent the two into the wall. Graf expressed his frustration over the radio and vowed to race Ellis differently in response, though the two left on a cordial note following a post-race conversation.
Elsewhere in the field, Derek Kraus‘ part-time Xfinity career continued to produce strong results as he finished eighth, making him two-for-two in scoring Xfinity top tens after a tenth in the previous race at Richmond. Kyle Weatherman was thirty-fourth in the début of FRS Racing due to a break in the driveline, while Kaden Honeycutt‘s maiden Xfinity race ended in last with an engine failure.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 2 | 7 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 3 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 4 | 6 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 5 | 10 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 6 | 8 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 7 | 13 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 8 | 12 | 10 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 9 | 16 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 10 | 11 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 11 | 4 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 12 | 14 | 19 | Ryan Truex | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 13 | 23 | 02 | Blaine Perkins | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 14 | 31 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 15 | 19 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 16 | 15 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 17 | 21 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 18 | 17 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 19 | 20 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 20 | 25 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 21 | 36 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 22 | 26 | 53 | Matt Mills* | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 23 | 37 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 24 | 38 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 25 | 30 | 45 | Leland Honeyman | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 26 | 24 | 91 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 27 | 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 28 | 35 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | Running |
| 29 | 32 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 246 | Running |
| 30 | 9 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 222 | Accident |
| 31 | 5 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 221 | Accident |
| 32 | 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 210 | Accident |
| 33 | 18 | 24 | Connor Mosack | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 205 | Running |
| 34 | 27 | 96 | Kyle Weatherman | FRS Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | Suspension |
| 35 | 28 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 145 | Accident |
| 36 | 29 | 07 | Dawson Cram | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 143 | Accident |
| 37 | 34 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 133 | Accident |
| 38 | 33 | 74 | Kaden Honeycutt* | CHK Racing | Chevrolet | 83 | Engine |
| DNQ | 4 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | 66 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Ford |
* – Ineligible for points