NASCAR at Martinsville live updates: Noah Gragson wins overtime Xfinity race

The NASCAR Xfinity Series races today at Martinsville Speedway. The Dead on Tools 250 race is at 6 p.m. on NBCSN.

The race is 131.5 miles (250 laps) with stages ending on laps 60, 120 and 250.

Follow along here for lap-by-lap updates. Refresh this page for the latest updates and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

Live updates for this race have concluded.

NASCAR at Martinsville Xfinity results

(P) playoff drivers, (i) ineligible for points, # rookie

NASCAR at Martinsville live updates

Final Stage

8:41 p.m., Lap 257: Noah Gragson wins at Martinsville, running in first through overtime laps as Austin Cindric races him hard for the checkered flag, but Cindric finishes 0.06 seconds behind Gragson. Daniel Hemric will also advance to the Championship 4 with a third place finish. A.J. Allmendinger is the final driver in the season finale.

Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones are the four drivers eliminated from the post-season. During post-race media availability, Hemric is asked multiple times about his so-close finishes this year. (He has six third place finishes, three second place finishes and 14 top fives without a win this season and is advancing to the Championship 4.) He chose to line up behind Gragson for the final restart, and said that the racer in him wanted to take the outside line to race Gragson straight-up, but he made a decision with his team to earn the stage points and advance rather than go for the win. Cindric gave him credit after the race for the choice and jokingly came to his defense.

8:35, Lap 252: The caution is out for Justin Haley. This race will go into overtime. Leader Daniel Hemric takes the inside lane and Noah Gragson takes the outside...Gragson to the lead! And the caution is back out for Josh Berry spinning. There will be another restart.

8:29 p.m. Lap 232: Daniel Hemric takes the lead from Noah Gragson, and if he wins, he’ll be in along with Justin Allgaier, and Noah Gragson will be knocked out.

8:19 p.m., Lap 219: The caution is out for debris on the track, likely a piece from Harrison Burton’s -- or what’s remaining of Harrison Burton’s -- car. He has a massive hole in the left front of his car. Daniel Hemric chooses the inside line behind Noah Gragson, racing side-by-side with Justin Allgaier, who’s also on the cutoff. They’re racing for the final spot if Gragson wins.

8:13 p.m., Lap 205: Noah Gragson will take the inside lane for the restart. He jumps out front with a gap. Harrison Burton got caught behind Gibbs and has now dropped to 26th. Justin Allgaier is sitting nine points below the cutoff.

8:03 p.m., Lap 195: The red flag has been removed and drivers are told to re-fire their engines. Ty Gibbs choses the inside lane. Noah Gragson takes the outside. Austin Cindric lines up behind Gibbs, but there’s chaos after the restart as the leader Gibbs goes around off contact by Gragson. “I hope the 9 gets just drilled. Anybody have Matt Kenseth’s number?” Gibbs says.

7:53 p.m., Lap 195: An accident involving non-playoff drivers Riley Herbst, Jeb Burton, Michael Annett and Spencer Boyd are all involved in the latest wreck that brings out the red flag. Ty Gibbs is in the lead at the time of the flag, followed by Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric and Justin Allgaier at the top of the running order. The race is red-flagged.

7:42 p.m., Lap 181: Ryan Ellis brings out the next caution and leaders pit. Noah Gragson loses two spots on pit road while Ty Gibbs gains one. The race restarts with Spencer Boyd staying out with old tires...that doesn’t work out so well. He immediately falls back to seventh, narrowly hitting Harrison Burton, whose radio is frustrated with Boyd’s choice.

7:33 p.m., Lap 162: Harrison Burton drops to third, relinquishing his position to Ty Gibbs after the restart. Gibbs is 0.4 seconds behind race leader Noah Gragson, but Burton is still in this race. He’s still all over Gibbs’ bumper, giving him a light tap.

7:27 p.m., Lap 151: Bayley Currey brings the next caution out as Justin Haley drives his car back out from the garage. He still has a brake pedal going to the floor, which his team says is “not optimal.” There are less than 100 laps to go. Noah Gragson and Harrison Burton start in the inside lane with Ty Gibbs on the outside.

7:24 p.m., Lap 142: Harrison Burton is told to get more aggressive racing Noah Gragson for the lead. Austin Cindric and A.J. Allmendinger have advanced to the next round on points. Daniel Hemric is running in 10th and sitting three points above the cutoff in the final spot with Gragson as the leader.

7:21 p.m., Lap 125: Justin Haley has a major brake line issue. He makes a long pit stop after the stage as the team tries to change his tire, appearing to figure out the cause of leaking fluid. He tries to run it but says he has no pedal, and is told to take his car to the garage. This will effectively end his Championship 4 chances.

Stage 2

7:12 p.m., Lap 120: Noah Gragson wins the second stage at Martinsville, followed closely side-by-side by Harrison Burton, who finishes less than a second behind Gragson. Ty Gibbs, Jeb Burton, Austin Cindric, Daniel Hemric, A.J. Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, Jeremy Clements and Myatt Snider finish the stage in the top 10.

7:07 p.m., Lap 110: Harrison Burton moves up to second after Ty Gibbs has the wheel-hop and he’s chasing down No ah Gragson. They’re moving through traffic as the stage winds down with Burton in a must-win situation.

7:05 p.m., Lap 100: Ty Gibbs has cut down Noah Gragson’s lead down to 0.3 seconds as the leaders move around lapped traffic, but Gibbs has a wheel-hop and moves high up the track, but regains control of the car and only loses a spot. Austin Cindric and A.J. Allmendinger are up to P10-11 on a different pit strategy.

6:58 p.m., Lap 80: Noah Gragson leads at Martinsville, seeking stage points to lock him into the next round. Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton ride behind Gragson. Burton reports that his car is a “liiiitle bit tight” and he’s starting to see a tiny bit of rubber.

Stage 1

6:51 p.m., Lap 60: Austin Cindric wins Stage 1 at Martinsville leading the most laps of the race so far. Harrison Burton is officially in a must-win situation after the first stage. Noah Gragson leads the restart. He took new tires earlier.

6:43 p.m., Lap 52: The caution is out with Sam Mayer’s right front tire down after contact with Ty Gibbs. According to Mayer’s radio, Mayer made earlier contact with Gibbs and Gibbs brake-checked him back to set off the contact that caused the blown tire.

6:35 p.m., Lap 37: Austin Cindric chooses the inside lane for the restart, and holds the lead after the green flag, maneuvering ahead of Daniel Hemric and A.J. Allmendinger. The order settles into Cindric, Hemric, Justin Allgaier, Allmendinger and Gibbs.

6:31 p.m., Lap 30: The competition caution is out with Austin Cindric in the lead. A.J. Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer follow. Preston Pardus is the free pass. “I still am struggling under breaking. I’m not bad. I’m just not great,” Allgaier says from fourth.

6:27 p.m., Lap 19: The competition caution has moved to Lap 30 (from 20) after Preston Pardus brings out the first yellow flag with a spin. Justin Allgaier described that his brakes locked up at the start and he had slight wheel-hop, but that he’s overall satisfied with his car at the moment. The race restart with 10 laps to go in the stage and Austin Cindric in the lead.

6:20 p.m., Lap 6: Austin Cindric leads the opening laps despite Ty Gibbs making a move on his bumper and trying to take the spot. Justin Allgaier had some brief smoke after apparent tire spin, but he hasn’t mentioned any car issues on his radio. He’s sitting in sixth.

Pre-race

6 p.m.: Austin Cindric is starting today’s race on the pole with Kansas winner Ty Gibbs in the front row. A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Haley, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, Noah Gragson and Harrison Burton make up the first five rows. Two drivers are dropping to the rear for the start of the race: Joe Graf Jr. and Stephen Leicht for unapproved adjustments to their cars. Pre-race ceremonies are complete with the temperature in Ridgeway, Va. around 57 degrees.

5:40 p.m.: Cars are lined up on the grid for the Xfinity race. Heading into tonight’s race, Austin Cindric and A.J. Allmendinger are tied at +47 points above the cutoff with Justin Allgaier +9 and Daniel Hemric +7 as the four drivers set to advance to the Championship 4. Justin Haley (-7), Noah Gragson (-24), Brandon Jones (-40) and Harrison Burton (-51) are the four drivers below the cutoff. The No. 54 Toyota has won the last two races with Ty Gibbs taking the checkered flag at Kansas and John Hunter Nemechek winning at Texas, but neither are running a full-time Xfinity schedule. All four Championship 4 spots are up for grabs with Cindric and Allmendinger in the best position to clinch a spot tonight based on points (need at least 16).

Xfinity pre-race: The Truck Series race has concluded with Zane Smith taking the checkered flag. A recap of the finish is below. Up next is the Xfinity Series cutoff race. The Dead on Tools 250 is 250 laps with stages ending on laps 60, 120 and 250.

Trucks post-race: Inspection is complete in the Truck Series garage. Smith is officially the winner, and NASCAR has announced that Toyota has won the 2021 Truck Series manufacturer championship. The No. 19 (Kraus) and 49 (Reuse) trucks had one lug nut not safe and secure, which

NASCAR Trucks Results

Zane Smith advanced with a win at Martinsville to NASCAR’s Championship 4 Truck Series race. Smith climbed through multiple late-lap cautions, taking the lead driving three-wide as lap leader Todd Gilliland crashed through the start-finish line in overtime coming to the white flag. Smith joins Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton and John Hunter Nemechek as the four drivers racing for a trophy in season finale at Phoenix.

Non-playoff drivers Austin Hill finished second with Tanner Gray finishing third. Sheldon Creed, Stewart Friesen, Chandler Smith and Carson Hocevar were the drivers eliminated Saturday from championship contention.

Nine cautions dotted the final stage with multiple wrecks seemingly attributed to retaliation. Nemechek exited the race after getting hooked by Austin Wayne Self following earlier brushes. Nemechek entered Martinsville first in the points standings to advance, but the crash put his chances in jeopardy. If Crafton and Creed were to have finished in the top five, Nemechek (who has five wins this season) would’ve been out of championship running.

But Nemechek’s place looked secure after Crafton was caught up in a late wreck, in which Cory Heim went for a spin as multiple trucks checked up behind him. The yellow flags rolled through the remaining laps, and Sheldon Creed’s ninth place finish eventually ensured Nemechek advanced. For Smith, a GMS driver who said that his future at the team remains uncertain, he needed a win to make it through to the final race.

“I just kept thinking: How many times is there gonna be a shot for someone to take this away from me?” Smith said about the many late cautions and restarts.

A spin by Dawson Cram sent the race into overtime with Smith among the leaders. He slid to the front as Gilliland crashed next to him at he white flag. Smith moved to the lead and earned his first win of the 2021 Trucks season.

(P) playoff driver, # rookie, (i) ineligible for points

NASCAR at Martinsville Xfinity race how to watch

• Race: Dead on Tools 250
• Track: Martinsville Speedway
• Date: Saturday, October 30
• Time: 6 p.m. ET
• Purse: $1,325,013
• TV: NBCSN, 5:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
• Distance: 131.5 miles (250 laps) with stages ending on laps 60, 120 and 250

This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 4:30 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription