Taylor Gray nabs first NASCAR Xfinity win
Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images
MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Not only did Taylor Gray have plenty of reason to celebrate his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway, but he also made Carson Kvapil’s day.
Driving the No.54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Gray pulled away from former nemesis Sammy Smith after an overtime restart on Lap 252 and held on to win the IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 at the 0.526-mile short track.
When Gray took the checkered flag, keeping Playoff contenders Smith and Brandon Jones behind him, Kvapil had a place in next Saturday’s Championship 4 Race at Phoenix Raceway.
After a frenetic drive from 30th place in the final 17 laps of regulation, Kvapil advanced to the Xfinity title race by four points over Jones and five over Smith. Kvapil joins Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier and rookie Connor Zilisch in the championship event.
Eliminated along with Jones and Smith were Sam Mayer, who took out his frustrations on Jeb Burton’s car after the race, and fourth-place finisher Sheldon Creed, who couldn’t prevail in a must-win situation entering the event.
The Playoff drama, however, did nothing to diminish the effort of Gray, who surged into the lead after a restart on Lap 202 and held it the rest of the way.
Gray was driving toward a probable victory in regulation when Daniel Dye’s Chevrolet began spewing sparks and stopped on the track to cause the ninth caution of the evening and force overtime.
With a great launch on the overtime restart, Gray pulled away to win by 0.344 seconds over Smith and 0.650 seconds over Jones.
“(Crew chief) Jason Ratcliff, all these guys—the pit crew did an awesome job tonight,” exulted Gray, who led a race-high 52 laps in his 45th start in the series. “They give me opportunities to win every time I walk through the gates to this race track.
“I knew I needed to get a good enough launch so that I wouldn’t have anyone in reach of me heading into Turn 1. At that point, I knew we had a good enough car to drive away from the guys behind me.”
Last spring, Gray was in a similar position before Smith knocked him out of the way in the closing laps with such aggression that NASCAR penalized the driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
In Saturday’s race, Smith drove with more restraint in his pursuit, and Gray had his maiden victory in the series.
“I feel like we’re good enough to be in the final four,” Smith said. “We weren’t good enough in the Playoffs to do that. It really sucks, so we’ll just regroup and keep digging.”
Love, who came to Martinsville with a 40-point cushion above the elimination line, suffered through an evening fraught with errors, including a pair of pit road penalties, and finished 23rd. Nevertheless, he advanced by 18 points over Jones.
Kvapil seemed secure in points until a chain-reaction collision involving Ryan Sieg and Harrison Burton sent his No.1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet spinning on Lap 227.
Kvapil restarted 30th and drove frantically through the field to finish 18th and preserve his spot in the Championship 4.
“That was probably the most nerve-wracking racing I’ve done in my career,” Kvapil said. “Obviously, we were sitting in a pretty good spot before we got turned around there…
“I think the sky’s the limit for these guys. Our season hasn’t been the flashiest … but you never know. It all comes down to one race, and we’ve got a 25-percent chance of winning.”
Aric Almirola, who will battle for the Xfinity owners’ championship next Saturday against Allgaier, Zilisch and Austin Hill, finished fifth behind Creed. Jeb Burton, Mayer, Dean Thompson, Connor Zilisch and Justin Bonsignore completed the top 10.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 32
Race Results for the IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 - Saturday, October 25, 2025
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA - 0.526 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 253 Laps - 133.078 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 10/25/2025 @ 10:11 PM Eastern
\Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 13 54 Taylor Gray # Operation 300 Toyota 253 5 46 Running 1 52 5
2 15 8 Sammy Smith (P) Pilot Chevrolet 253 35 Running
3 11 20 Brandon Jones (P) Menards/Dawn Toyota 253 4 7 45 Running
4 5 00 Sheldon Creed (P) Friends of Jaclyn Ford 253 9 9 37 Running
5 3 19 Aric Almirola (P) Young Life Toyota 253 2 8 44 Running 2 51
6 12 27 Jeb Burton NORMA Precision Ammunition Chevrolet 253 31 Running
7 24 41 Sam Mayer (P) Audibel Ford 253 5 4 43 Running 2 32
8 30 26 Dean Thompson Thompson Pipe Group Toyota 253 29 Running
9 38 88 Connor Zilisch # (P) WeatherTech Chevrolet 253 6 33 Running
10 14 18 Justin Bonsignore Soundgear Toyota 253 27 Running 1 1
11 1 25 Harrison Burton Dead On Tools Ford 253 7 30 Running 1 16
12 6 21 Austin Hill (P) Global Industrial Chevrolet 253 25 Running
13 23 17 Corey Day HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 253 10 25 Running
14 19 91 Myatt Snider SourBoys Chevrolet 253 23 Running
15 7 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 253 22 Running
16 29 42 Anthony Alfredo Routh ID Tag Chevrolet 253 10 22 Running
17 33 24 Patrick Staropoli SYFOVRE Toyota 253 20 Running
18 2 1 Carson Kvapil # (P) Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet 253 1 29 Running 1 40 1
19 18 48 Nick Sanchez # Borchetta Bourbon Chevrolet 253 18 Running 1 5
20 17 31 Blaine Perkins OptiWise Chevrolet 253 17 Running
21 27 28 Kyle Sieg Night Owl Companies Ford 253 16 Running
22 25 71 Ryan Ellis Southern Elevator Chevrolet 253 15 Running
23 21 2 Jesse Love (P) Whelen Chevrolet 253 14 Running
24 37 32 Austin Green OVERPLAY Chevrolet 253 13 Running
25 26 99 Connor Mosack(i) Viking Motorsports Chevrolet 253 0 Running
26 4 7 Justin Allgaier (P) Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet 253 1 6 27 Running 2 37 1
27 9 16 Christian Eckes # Celsius Chevrolet 253 8 3 21 Running
28 32 45 Josh Williams Call811.com Chevrolet 253 9 Running
29 10 4 Parker Retzlaff Handy Products Chevrolet 253 8 Running
30 31 14 Garrett Smithley ThermoTech Chevrolet 253 7 Running
31 28 07 Brad Perez Robinhood Roofing Chevrolet 253 6 Running
32 34 53 Mason Maggio Piedmont Triad Insurance Ford 252 5 Running
33 22 10 Daniel Dye # Champion Container Chevrolet 252 4 Running
34 35 51 Jeremy Clements Spartan Waste/Fox Sports 98.3 Chevrolet 226 3 Running
35 8 11 Brenden Queen Campers Inn RV Chevrolet 197 3 2 19 Accident 1 19
36 16 44 Brennan Poole Toxic Waste Chevrolet 195 1 DVP
37 36 35 Takuma Koga Macnica Toyota 149 1 Carburetor
38 20 70 Thomas Annunziata Wilhelmina Chevrolet 120 1 Rear Gear
Fastest Lap Bonus: # 7 lap 8 / 20.39
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 6 Mins, 30 Secs. Average Speed: 63.12 MPH Margin of Victory: .344 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 7, 19, 11, 20, 41, 88, 25, 16, 00, 17
Stage 2 Top 10: 1, 11, 16, 41, 54, 7, 20, 19, 00, 42
Race Comments: Taylor Gray won the IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 at Martinsville Speedway, his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following cars dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: Nos. 42, 88 (unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: (1) 50 Preston Pardus.
Caution Flags: 9 for 71 laps; Laps: 33-38 (91, 48 incident turn 2 [45]); 47-52 (99 spin turn 4 [91]); 62-72 (Stage 1 Conclusion [32]); 92-98 (27 spin turn 2 [99]); 122-137 (Stage 2 Conclusion [35]); 194-201 (#44, 11, 17, 45, 88 incident turn 4 [10]); 220-225 (#4, 07 spin turn 2 [2]); 228-233 (#1, 39 incident turn 4 [4]); 247-251 (#10 stalled on track [07]).
Lead Changes: 11 among 9 drivers; H. Burton 0; H. Burton 1-16; A. Almirola (P) 17-33; J. Allgaier (P) 34; B. Queen 35-53; S. Mayer (P) 54-57; J. Allgaier (P) 58-93; C. Kvapil # (P) 94-133; S. Mayer (P) 134-161; A. Almirola (P) 162-195; J. Bonsignore 196; N. Sanchez # 197-201; T. Gray # 202-253.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: November 1, 2025 - Phoenix Raceway
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CURRENT NASCAR XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS AND CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR
POS NO. DRIVER MFR +/-
1 88 Connor Zilisch Chevrolet +0 1 PLAYOFF WIN - 10 TOTAL WINS
2 1 Carson Kvapil Chevrolet +0
3 7 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet +0 3 TOTAL WINS
4 2 Jesse Love Chevrolet +0
ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFFS
8 Sammy Smith Chevrolet 1 TOTAL WIN
20 Brandon Jones Toyota 1 PLAYOFF WIN - 2 TOTAL WINS
41 Sam Mayer Ford 1 TOTAL WIN
00 Sheldon Creed Ford
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