March 29, 2025 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Austin Hill wins bizarre, action-filled NASCAR Xfinity race at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The speedway that robbed Austin Hill of a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 two years ago gave him a gift on Saturday.

Diving underneath a trio of wrecking cars in the final corner of overtime at Martinsville Speedway, Hill beat perennial bridesmaid Sheldon Creed to the finish line by 0.190 seconds to win Saturday’s US Marine Corps 250, giving Richard Childress his 100th win in the series and earning a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the unlikely winner.

The ending of the race couldn’t have been more appropriate, given the rash of cautions that peppered green-flag action in the final stage. The ending also left 29th-place finisher Taylor Gray with thoughts of vengeance and 10th-place finisher Sammy Smith with an ostensible target on his back.

After the 14th caution for Matt DiBenedetto’s spin in Turn 2 sent the race to overtime, Gray lined up behind Smith, the leader, and used his bumper to wrest the top spot from Smith—returning the favor from the previous restart on Lap 249 of 256.

Gray, seeking his first Xfinity Series win, held the lead until Turn 3 of the final lap, when Smith charged into the corner, spun Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and knocked it into the outside wall.

Hill hit the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Justin Allgaier from behind, sent him crashing into Smith. Hill sneaked through on the bottom, bringing Creed with him, as Allgaier held on for third. In the surprising victory, Hill led less than a quarter mile before taking the checkered flag.

“I chose the bottom because of how rough everybody was on restarts,” Hill said of the overtime. “I had to do what I had to do on the last lap. On that restart, it just got wild. We were definitely leaning on each other, and getting into (Turn) 3, I knew we were all going to get beating and banging, and I just drove it in as deep as I could.

“The all hit each other, and I hit the 7 (Allgaier) a little bit and dumped him off and got on the apron there and came home with the win… Man, I’m in disbelief that we’re in Victory Lane right not. It’s unbelievable. I actually said at the end of the race that I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on—and to top it off, we won a hundred grand!”

After 14 cautions for 104 laps, pole winner Connor Zilisch’s sweep of the first two stages seemed a distant memory. Zilisch, however, didn’t figure in the outcome after a series of spins and contact with the outside wall eliminated him from contention.

Gray took the lead for the second time on Lap 183 and held it for 66 circuits and a series of six restarts. But Smith lined up behind the No. 54 Toyota for the restart on Lap 249 and moved Gray for the lead.
Smith’s charge into Gray’s Toyota on the final lap was more egregious.

“I feel like we had the best car all day,” said Gray, who suffered a similar fate in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series loss to Christian Eckes last year. “I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough. We brought a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra.

“Just unfortunate—it’s the same story I’ve lived here for the past two Martinsville race in a row. It sucks, but it is what it is. Long year.”

Smith acknowledged that the last lap maneuver was over the top. He and Gray had a testy exchange after the race.

“I’m not proud of that, but if the roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing,” Smith said. “He’s got no respect for me… He was flipping me off on the red flag (for a multicar wreck that caused the 12th caution), swore at me. It was definitely uncalled for.

“I’m not proud of it, but he would have done the exact same thing. That’s what I told him.”

Brennan Poole finished fourth after the melee, joining Hill, Creed and Allgaier as eligible contenders for the next Dash 4 Cash bonus, to be contested April 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Sam Mayer was fifth, followed by Dean Thompson, Daniel Dye, Ryan Sieg, Kris Wright and Smith.

Zilisch, who finished 28th, led a race-high 100 laps to 87 for Gray. Creed, still seeking his first Xfinity victory, finished second for the 14th time, extending his record number of runner-up results for a non-winner.

Coincidentally, it was contact from Creed that denied Hill a spot in the Championship 4 in the fall race of 2023—when both drivers raced for RCR.

In a cosmic sense, the ledger was balanced with Hill’s win on Saturday.


NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 7
Race Results for the US Marine Corps 250 - Saturday, March 29, 2025
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA - 0.526 - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 256 Laps - 134.656 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 3/29/2025 @ 09:08 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 3 21 Austin Hill Bennett Transportation Chevrolet 256 7  44 Running 1 1 5
2 18 00 Sheldon Creed Friends of Jaclyn Ford 256   35 Running 1 2
3 6 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Chevrolet 256 4 8 44 Running 1 5
4 29 44 Brennan Poole Prime Bites Mini Muffins Chevrolet 256   33 Running  
5 16 41 Sam Mayer Audibel Ford 256   32 Running  
6 12 26 Dean Thompson # Thompson Pipe Group Toyota 256 10  32 Running  
7 9 10 Daniel Dye # Champion Container Chevrolet 256  4 37 Running  
8 13 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 256   29 Running  
9 30 5 Kris Wright First National Bank Corp Chevrolet 256   28 Running  
10 10 8 Sammy Smith Pilot Chevrolet 256 8  31 Running 1 6
11 38 27 Jeb Burton Celsius Chevrolet 256   26 Running  
12 27 4 Parker Retzlaff Prime Bites Protein Brownie Chevrolet 256   25 Running  
13 15 19 Aric Almirola Young Life Toyota 256 5 6 35 Running 1 7
14 23 51 Jeremy Clements Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet Chevrolet 256   23 Running  
15 34 14 Garrett Smithley Military 250 Chevrolet 256   22 Running  
16 33 24 Patrick Staropoli SYFOVRE Toyota 256   21 Running  
17 26 11 Josh Williams Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet 256  7 24 Running  
18 24 71 Ryan Ellis Sweetwater Construction Chevrolet 256   19 Running  
19 22 31 Blaine Perkins FVP Verified Proven Chevrolet 256  10 19 Running  
20 2 1 Carson Kvapil # Roto-Rooter Chevrolet 256 2 2 35 Running  
21 8 17 Corey Day HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 256   16 Running  
22 7 20 Brandon Jones Menards/Patriot Lighting Toyota 256 3  23 Running 1 22
23 32 45 Brad Perez KSDT CPA Chevrolet 256   14 Running  
24 5 25 Harrison Burton Dead On Tools Ford 256   13 Running  
25 31 53 Mason Maggio Flitz Polish Ford 256   12 Running  
26 28 99 Matt DiBenedetto ReMA Chevrolet 256   11 Running  
27 14 18 William Sawalich # Soundgear Toyota 256  3 18 Running 1 4
28 1 88 Connor Zilisch # Carolina Carports Chevrolet 256 1 1 29 Running 3 100 2
29 11 54 Taylor Gray # Operation 300 Toyota 256 6 9 15 Running 4 87
30 37 07 Carson Ware Costa Oil Chevrolet 254   7 Running  
31 25 70 Thomas Annunziata Bayshore Mortgage Chevrolet 252   6 Running  
32 20 48 Nick Sanchez # Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet 232  5 11 Accident  
33 21 91 Myatt Snider Tree Top Chevrolet 232   4 Accident  
34 19 16 Christian Eckes # LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 231 9  5 Accident 1 22
35 35 28 Kyle Sieg Lightingsouthwest.com Ford 231   2 Accident  
36 36 35 Greg Van Alst CB Fabricating Chevrolet 229   1 Running  
37 4 2 Jesse Love Whelen Chevrolet 216   1 Accident  
38 17 42 Anthony Alfredo Dude Wipes Chevrolet 110   1 Engine  

Fastest Lap Bonus:  # lap 240 / 20.487
8                                                                    

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 27 Mins, 56 Secs. Average Speed: 54.615 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.190 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 88, 1, 20, 7, 19, 54, 21, 8, 16, 26
Stage 2 Top 10: 88, 1, 18, 10, 48, 19, 11, 7, 54, 31

Race Comments: Austin Hill has won the US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway, his twelfth career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 07, 2, 27, 35, 70, 91 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (2) 74 Dawson Cram, 66 Tyler Tomassi.

Caution Flags: 14 for 104 laps; Laps: 55-67 (Nos. 17, 25 Incident Turn 2 / Stage 1 Conclusion [31]); 82-88 (No. 14 Spin Frontstretch [99]); 96-101 (No. 26 Spin Turn 1 [70]); 122-132 (Stage 2 Conclusion [24]); 141-147 (Nos. 25, 70 Incident Turn 2 [14]); 155-160 (Nos. 1, 41 Incident Frontstretch [53]); 177-183 (No. 88 Spin Turn 2 [28]); 192-197 (No. 07 Spin Turn 2 [35]); 201-208 (No. 25 Spin Turn 4 [71]); 211-215 (No. 26 Spin Turn 2 [71]); 218-228 (Nos. 1, 2 Incident Turn 1 [17]); 233-238 (Nos. 48, 16, 91, 28, 11, 25 Incident Backstretch [Red Flag: 00:11:27] [17]); 243-248 (No. 18, 88, 51 Incident Turn 4 [07]); 250-254 (No. 99 Spin Turn 2 [88]).

Lead Changes: 14 among 10 drivers; C. Zilisch # 1-61; B. Jones 62-83; C. Zilisch # 84-88; J. Allgaier 89-93; C. Zilisch # 94-127; A. Almirola 128-134; T. Gray # 135-148; S. Creed 149-150; T. Gray # 151-156; C. Eckes # 157-178; W. Sawalich # 179-182; T. Gray # 183-248; S. Smith 249-254; T. Gray # 255; A. Hill 256.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: April 5, 2025 - Darlington Raceway

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NASCAR Xfinity Series Points Report
Martinsville Speedway
US Marine Corps 250

UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 3/29/2025 @ 09:38 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL

Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Justin Allgaier 7 7 0 293 0 0 2 2 12
2. Sam Mayer 41 7 0 252 -41 41 0 0 0
3. Austin Hill 21 7 1 246 -47 6 2 4 14
4. Sheldon Creed 00 7 1 222 -71 24 0 0 0
5. Jesse Love 2 7 -2 219 -74 3 1 0 5
6. Sammy Smith 8 7 0 215 -78 4 0 1 1
7. Connor Zilisch # 88 7 0 193 -100 22 1 2 7
8. Aric Almirola 19 4 1 186 -107 7 1 1 0
9. Ryan Sieg 39 7 -1 185 -108 1 0 0 0
10. Carson Kvapil # 1 7 4 176 -117 9 0 0 0
11. Jeb Burton 27 7 1 169 -124 7 0 0 0
12. Daniel Dye # 10 7 4 168 -125 1 0 0 0
13. Taylor Gray # 54 7 -3 166 -127 2 0 0 0
14. Brandon Jones 20 7 -1 164 -129 2 0 0 0
15. Harrison Burton 25 7 -4 158 -135 6 0 1 1
16. Nick Sanchez # 48 7 -1 148 -145 10 0 0 0
17. Brennan Poole 44 7 2 140 -153 8 0 0 0
18. Josh Williams 11 7 0 139 -154 1 0 0 0
19. Dean Thompson # 26 7 1 138 -155 1 0 0 0
20. Christian Eckes # 16 7 -3 133 -160 5 0 0 0
21. Jeremy Clements 51 7 1 127 -166 6 0 0 0
22. William Sawalich # 18 7 -1 124 -169 3 0 0 0
23. Parker Retzlaff 4 6 3 105 -188 19 0 0 0
24. Blaine Perkins 31 7 1 103 -190 2 0 0 0
25. Matt DiBenedetto 99 7 -2 99 -194 4 0 0 0
26. Ryan Ellis 71 7 2 97 -196 2 0 0 0
27. Anthony Alfredo 42 7 -3 86 -207 11 0 0 0
28. Kyle Sieg 28 7 -1 82 -211 4 0 0 0
29. Kris Wright 5 7 3 77 -216 5 0 0 0
30. Josh Bilicki  5 -1 65 -228 12 0 0 0
31. Garrett Smithley 14 6 2 65 -228 0 0 0 0
32. Leland Honeyman  4 -2 64 -229 1 0 0 0
33. Joey Gase  5 -2 59 -234 5 0 0 0
34. Patrick Emerling  3 0 40 -253 19 0 0 0
35. Justin Bonsignore  2 0 33 -260 7 0 0 0
36. Jordan Anderson  1 0 30 -263 3 0 0 0
37. Alex Labbe  1 0 28 -265 2 0 0 0
38. Mason Massey  3 0 25 -268 3 0 0 0
39. Caesar Bacarella  1 0 24 -269 1 0 0 0
40. Brad Perez 45 2 5 23 -270 1 0 0 0
41. Nick Leitz  2 -1 22 -271 1 0 0 0
42. Patrick Staropoli 24 1 -42 21 -272 1 0 0 0
43. Ryan Truex  1 -2 20 -273 1 0 0 0
44. Mason Maggio 53 3 2 20 -273 0 0 0 0
45. Greg Van Alst 35 4 -3 20 -273 0 0 0 0
46. Corey Day 17 1 -46 16 -277 4 0 0 0
47. Cj Mclaughlin  1 -4 12 -281 4 0 0 0
48. Austin Green  2 -4 12 -281 0 0 0 0
49. Carson Ware 07 2 0 12 -281 0 0 0 0
50. Myatt Snider 91 2 -3 11 -282 1 0 0 0
51. Thomas Annunziata 70 2 0 9 -284 2 0 0 0
52. Dawson Cram  2 -4 7 -286 2 0 0 0
53. Sage Karam  1 -3 5 -288 2 0 0 0
54. Preston Pardus  1 -2 1 -292 4 0 0 0
55. Baltazar Leguizam?n  1 -2 1 -292 0 0 0 0
56. William Byron(i)  1 -2 0 -293 1 0 1 0
57. Alex Bowman(i)  1 -2 0 -293 0 0 1 0
58. Kyle Larson(i)  1 -2 0 -293 0 0 1 0
59. Ross Chastain(i)  1 -2 0 -293 0 0 0 0
60. Riley Herbst(i)  1 -2 0 -293 0 0 0 0
61. Corey Heim(i)  2 -2 0 -293 0 0 0 0
62. Carson Hocevar(i)  1 -2 0 -293 0 0 0 0
63. Tyler Tomassi  0 -63 0 -293 0 0 0 0
64. Jj Yeley(i)  0 -3 0 -293 0 0 0 0

-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series