The 2023 Call 811.com Before You Dig 250 was the 8th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 16th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 15, 2023, in Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent paper-clip shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 250 laps to complete. John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would put on a dominating performance, winning both stages and leading 198 laps, earning his fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his second of the season; during his celebratory burnout, the rear of his car ignited fire.[1] To fill out the podium, Sammy Smith, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 33 of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | April 15, 2023 | ||
| Official name | 16th Annual Call 811.com Before You Dig 250 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 131 mi (211 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 250 laps, 131 mi (211 km) | ||
| Average speed | 59.398 mph (95.592 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
| Time | 20.057 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 198 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
Background
editMartinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned 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 was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track on the NASCAR circuit since its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editFor practice, drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and B. Both sessions will be 15 minutes long, and will be held on Friday, April 14, at 5:00 PM EST.[2] Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, was the fastest driver in total, with a lap of 20.594, and an average speed of 91.949 mph (147.978 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 20.594 | 91.949 |
| 2 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 20.614 | 91.860 |
| 3 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 20.646 | 91.718 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, April 14, at 5:35 PM EST.[2] Since Martinsville Speedway is a short track, the qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.[4] Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 20.057, and an average speed of 94.411 mph (151.940 km/h).[5]
Race results
editStage 1 Laps: 60
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 60
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Ryan Truex | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 130
| Fin[6] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | 198 | Running | 60 |
| 2 | 7 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | 6 | Running | 51 |
| 3 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 250 | 5 | Running | 50 |
| 4 | 6 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 27 | Running | 42 |
| 5 | 10 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 38 |
| 6 | 8 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 6 | Running | 36 |
| 7 | 13 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 40 |
| 8 | 12 | 10 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 9 | 16 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 250 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 11 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 11 | 4 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 12 | 14 | 19 | Ryan Truex | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 13 | 23 | 02 | Blaine Perkins | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 31 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 19 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 15 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 8 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 21 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 17 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 250 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 20 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 25 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 36 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 250 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 26 | 53 | Matt Mills (i) | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 250 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 23 | 37 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 250 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 38 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 30 | 45 | Leland Honeyman | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 24 | 91 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 35 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 32 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 246 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 9 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 222 | 0 | Accident | 16 |
| 31 | 5 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 221 | 0 | Accident | 13 |
| 32 | 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 210 | 0 | Accident | 5 |
| 33 | 18 | 24 | Connor Mosack (R) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 205 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 27 | 96 | Kyle Weatherman | FRS Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Suspension | 3 |
| 35 | 28 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 145 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 29 | 07 | Dawson Cram | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 143 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 34 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 133 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 33 | 74 | Kaden Honeycutt (i) | CHK Racing | Chevrolet | 83 | 0 | Engine | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ Skala, Chris (April 15, 2023). "John Hunter Nemechek Dominates at Martinsville, Scores 2nd Win of Season". Frontstretch. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Martinsville Speedway Spring Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "Practice Results: NASCAR Xfinity Series Call 811 Before You Dig 250 at Martinsville". TobyChristie.com. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ Tomlinson, Joy (April 14, 2023). "Cole Custer Captures Martinsville Xfinity Pole". Frontstretch. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Call 811 Before You Dig 250 - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved April 15, 2023.