It took a drag race to the finish for Noah Gragson to lock his spot in the Championship Round, but he is now in contention for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series title. Gragson edged out Austin Cindric to win Saturday’s Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway by just .064 seconds, making him one of four drivers to race for the championship alongside Cindric, Daniel Hemric, and A.J. Allmendinger.
Cindric, the reigning champion and pole-sitter, and Gragson dominated the race as they respectively led 64 and 153 of 250 laps. The former dominated the opening stage as he led every lap to win, while Cindric did the same for Stage #2.
The incidents began to mount in the third and final segment; compared to just two on-track cautions across the first two stages (Stage #2 was entirely green), there were four times as much in Stage #3. One such caution on lap 244 came after Justin Haley‘s brakes caught fire and blew his right-front tyre, causing him to spin and eliminating him from title contention.
Ty Gibbs led the way for much of Stage #3 until he was turned by Gragson and impacted by Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Harrison Burton, dealing damage to the latter’s playoff run. Gragson assumed the lead until JGR’s Hemric passed him on lap 232. Hemric, who was still seeking his first career win, saw his hopes disappear with Riley Herbst spinning Josh Berry on lap 250 to set up overtime.
A poor restart by the inside line enabled Gragson to propel into first with Cindric in tow. Cindric closed the gap in the final corners and was able to pull alongside Gragson, but could not complete the overtake. The win is Gragson’s third of 2021, a career high, and means he has won at all three short tracks on the Xfinity schedule (Bristol in 2020 and Richmond in September). He had won at Martinsville in the Camping World Truck Series in 2017, which also locked him into that year and series’ final round.
“It’s been a rough, rough season,” said Gragson. “We had a couple of wins there, at Darlington and Richmond. After that deal last weekend (crash at Kansas), I was pretty fired up. I told my guys we still have an opportunity. We’re still in it.”
Cindric will fight for his second straight championship while Gragson, Allmendinger, and Hemric are gunning for their first.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 9 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 257 | Running |
| 3 | 7 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 4 | 11 | 8 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 6 | 8 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 7 | 3 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 8 | 25 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 9 | 18 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 10 | 16 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 257 | Running |
| 11 | 22 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 12 | 23 | 4 | Landon Cassill | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 13 | 12 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 14 | 30 | 26 | Colin Garrett | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 15 | 32 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 16 | 28 | 17 | J.J. Yeley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 17 | 31 | 48 | Jade Buford | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 18 | 38 | 90 | Preston Pardus | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 19 | 13 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 20 | 10 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 21 | 37 | 61 | Stephen Leicht | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 22 | 27 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 23 | 34 | 99 | Ryan Ellis | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 24 | 36 | 66 | David Starr | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 25 | 26 | 23 | Natalie Decker | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | Running |
| 26 | 33 | 78 | Akinori Ogata* | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 27 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 257 | Running |
| 28 | 29 | 31 | Josh Berry | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 256 | Running |
| 29 | 35 | 5 | Matt Mills | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | Running |
| 30 | 39 | 52 | Spencer Boyd* | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | Running |
| 31 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 253 | Running |
| 32 | 21 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | Running |
| 33 | 4 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 222 | Brakes |
| 34 | 24 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 221 | Running |
| 35 | 20 | 15 | Bayley Currey* | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 212 | Running |
| 36 | 17 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsprots | Chevrolet | 204 | Accident |
| 37 | 15 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | Accident |
| 38 | 6 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 192 | Accident |
| 39 | 40 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 38 | Overheating |
| 40 | 19 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Martins Motorsports | Chevrolet | 36 | Rear Gear |
Underline – Eliminated from playoffs
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for Truck points