2023 Xfinity 500

The 2023 Xfinity 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 29, 2023, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 35th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8.

Report

Background

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.

Entry list

(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
(P) denotes playoff driver.
(OP) denotes owner's playoffs car.

Practice

Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 20.160 seconds and a speed of 93.929 mph (151.164 km/h).^[10]

Practice results

Qualifying

Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 20.112 and a speed of 94.153 mph (151.525 km/h).^[11]

Qualifying results

Race

Race results

Stage results

Stage OneLaps: 130

Stage TwoLaps: 130

Final Stage results

Stage ThreeLaps: 240

Race statistics

Lead changes: 12 among 6 different drivers
Cautions/Laps: 7 for 61 laps
Red flags: 0
Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes, and 43 seconds
Average speed: 75.244 miles per hour (121.093 km/h)

Media

Television

NBC covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 7 time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace have the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covers the action for MRN when the field races down the backstraightway into turn 3. Steve Post, Jacklyn Drake, and Chris Wilner covered action for MRN from pit lane.

Standings after the race

References

^ "2023 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
^ "Martinsville Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
^ Taranto, Steven (September 14, 2022). "NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
^ "NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. September 14, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
^ "Xfinity 500 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
^ Utter, Jim (October 28, 2023). "Hamlin tops the speed charts in Martinsville Cup practice". Motorsport.com. Martinsville, Virginia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
^ Utter, Jim (October 28, 2023). "Truex earns Martinsville Cup pole for critical playoff race". Motorsport.com. Martinsville, Virginia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved October 28, 2023.