NASCAR Xfinity Series: IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 Preview

IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 Preview

The Place: Martinsville Speedway

Track Length: 0.526 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Saturday, October 25

The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,651,939

TV: CW, 7 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 131.5 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)

On Track: Saturday, Oct. 25 - NXS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (CW App at 1 p.m. ET), NXS Race: IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 (CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Martinsville Speedway Storylines and Insights:

· This weekend marks the 45th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

· The Xfinity Series only raced once at Martinsville between 1995-2019.

· This will be the 11th Martinsville race since the Xfinity Series returned in 2020.

· Since the series return in 2020, Martinsville hosted the Round of 8 cutoff race every year.

· The lowest four Playoff drivers in points will be eliminated after Martinsville.

· Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier have already clinched spots in Championship 4 based on points.

· At least three Playoff drivers will make the Championship 4 on points.

· Jesse Loves needs to score 28 points to clinch a Championship 4 spot on points.

· No driver below the cutoff is in a mathematical must-win situation.

· If a non-Playoff driver wins Saturday, this will be the first year since 2016 that no Playoff drivers won in the Round of 8.

· Non-Playoff drivers won six of the last twelve Playoff races.

· A Playoff driver has only won the Round of 8 cutoff race and gone on to win the championship twice – William Byron in 2017 and Ty Gibbs in 2022.

· Two rookies remain in the Playoffs: Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil.

· If the four drivers currently above the cut make the Championship 4, JR Motorsports will have three drivers in the championship race – Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil.

· Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19 and Richard Childress Racing’s #21 have advanced to the owner’s Championship 4 with Aric Almirola’s win at Las Vegas and Austin Hill’s win at Talladega; Almirola will be in the #19 the remainder of the season.

· Austin Hill’s win at Talladega was his fourth of the season, second only to Zilisch’s ten; it is the third consecutive season Hill has won four races.

· Joe Gibbs Racing won eight of 13 Playoff races in Cup and Xfinity this season; Toyota won 12 of 18 Playoff races across Cup, Xfinity & Trucks.

· Martinsville is the fifth and final short track race of the season.

· Four different drivers from four different organizations won on short tracks this season.

· Joe Gibbs Racing won five of last seven Martinsville races with four different drivers.

· Aric Almirola swept the Martinsville races in 2024; he is the only repeat winner at Martinsville in the last 16 races.

· Justin Allgaier finished in top-10 in nine of ten Martinsville races since 2020.

· Three Playoff drivers currently have top 10 streaks at Martinsville of at least four races: Justin Allgaier – 6, Sammy Smith – 5, Sheldon Creed – 4.

· Sheldon Creed has three runner-up finishes at Martinsville, trailing only Dale Jarrett and Larry Pearson with four.

· Four of eight Playoff drivers finished in top-10 at Martinsville in March: Creed 2nd, Allgaier 3rd, Mayer 5th & Smith 10th.

· Four of last seven Martinsville races had a last-lap pass for the win, including the race in March.

· Six of last eight Martinsville races went to overtime.

· Five active drivers won in the Xfinity Series at Martinsville, led by Aric Almirola with two wins.

· Connor Zilisch’s ten wins this season is the record for most wins by a rookie.

· Connor Zilisch’s record streak of 18 consecutive Top 5 finishes came to an end with his 23rd-place finish at Talladega.

· Connor Zilisch finished first or second in 15 of the 31 races this season.

· Connor Zilisch won 32% of his starts, the best win percentage all-time for drivers with more than three starts.

· Connor Zilisch led in his last 20 NXS starts, the record for most consecutive starts leading is 22 by Brad Keselowski.

· Randall Burnett was announced as Connor Zilisch’s crew chief next season when he moves to Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series.

· Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil will driver part-time in the JR Motorsports #1 in 2026; Rodney Childers will be crew chief.

· JR Motorsports won 17 races this season with a series-record six different drivers (does not include Parker Kligerman who won in relief role at Daytona).

· JR Motorsports had at least one car finish top-five in a record 33 straight races.

· Connor Zilisch leads the series with 10 wins, 19 top fives, 986 laps led, an 8.2 average finish and eight poles this season.

· Connor Zilisch and Jesse Love lead the series with 21 top 10s this season.

· Connor Zilisch won Fastest Lap Award seven times this season, Justin Allgaier is second with five.

· Justin Allgaier leads the series with 13 stage wins this season.

· Justin Allgaier’s 28 career wins are 9th on the all-time wins list and one away from tying Matt Kenseth.

· Justin Allgaier’s crew chief Jim Pohlman will move to RCR in 2026 to serve as Kyle Busch’s Cup Series crew chief.

· Chevrolet led 3,672 of 4,870 laps this season (75%).

· Chevrolet won 25 of 31 races, the most all-time by a manufacturer through 31 races in series history.

· Five crew chiefs got their first NXS win in 2025: Chad Haney at Atlanta, Sam McAulay at Darlington, Adam Wall at Bristol, Cory Shea at Mexico City & Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Pocono.

· Five races this year ended with a last lap pass.

· Harrison Burton announced he will not return to AM Racing in 2026.

· O’Reilly Auto Parts will replace Xfinity as title sponsor starting in 2026 becoming the fifth different title sponsor of the series: Budweiser, Busch, Nationwide, Xfinity & O’Reilly.

NXS Clinch Scenarios for Martinsville Speedway (Playoff Race #6)

Already Clinched

· The following two drivers have clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round: Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier.

Can Clinch Via Points

· If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 5th winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love or Carson Kvapil.

• Jesse Love: Would clinch with 17 points

• Carson Kvapil: Would clinch with 46 points

• Sammy Smith: Could only clinch with help

• Brandon Jones: Could only clinch with help

• Sam Mayer: Could only clinch with help

• Sheldon Creed: Could only clinch with help

· If there is a new winner from Sammy Smith or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 4th winless driver in the standings.

• Jesse Love: Would clinch with 28 points

• Carson Kvapil: Could only clinch with help

• Sammy Smith: Could only clinch with help

• Brandon Jones: Could only clinch with help

• Sam Mayer: Could only clinch with help

Can Clinch Via Win

· The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed.