After a two-week break, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is back in action at Martinsville Speedway for the Cook Out 250 at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, April 9 on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The 2020 season marked the first year the Xfinity Series raced at the .526-mile paved track since 2006. Kevin Harvick won the race in 2006 and prior to that, the Xfinity Series last raced at Martinsville in 1994. In total, there have been 35 races at the Virginia short track and Sam Ard won the inaugural race in 1982.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton took home the victory last season at Martinsville after starting in the 10th position in his rookie year.
The race at Martinsville last season was the final Playoff race to secure the Championship 4. Burton won the race but was not in the Playoffs after being eliminated in the first round. Justin Allgaier was the highest-finishing Playoff driver, finishing second and Noah Gragson finished behind him in third.
The race was two hours, seven minutes and 56 seconds with an average speed of 61.673 mph. There were 10 cautions for 63 laps and 11 lead changes. There were 1,276 green flag passes (6.8 per green flag lap).
Allgaier’s 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season didn’t start out the way he had hoped. In five races, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet had only one top-10 finish. Allgaier had been involved in various on-track incidents and started the season at Daytona International Speedway by starting second and finishing 28th. But he turned that all around at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks ago by winning the race and taking home his first victory of the season all while punching his ticket to the Playoffs. The win marked the 15th victory of Allgaier’s career.
Friday night’s race will be 131.5 miles and 250 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 60 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 120. Harrison Burton will start on the pole for the Cook Out 250 and Allgaier will join him on the front row.
