The 2022 Xfinity 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 30, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 35th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, the ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8.
This race, won by Christopher Bell, was noted for Ross Chastain's "Hail Melon" finish, in which Chastain rode the wall in a move described as similar to those done in racing video games to secure a fourth-place finish that locked him to the Championship 4 race. Chastain's move also set an all-new track record.
Report
Background
Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Ty Gibbs (i) 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 45 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Noah Gragson (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 77 Landon Cassill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 19.916 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.916 95.079 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 19.917 95.075 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.949 94.922Official practice results
Qualifying Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.709 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.733 19.709 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.683 19.721 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.659 19.721 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 19.814 19.740 5 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.718 19.780 6 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 19.754 19.783 7 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 19.774 19.810 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.752 19.822 9 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 19.753 19.828 10 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 19.742 19.933 11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.763 — 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 19.766 — 13 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.788 — 14 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 19.825 — 15 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19.829 — 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.839 — 17 48 Noah Gragson (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.845 — 18 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.849 — 19 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 19.861 — 20 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.882 — 21 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 19.888 — 22 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19.891 — 23 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 19.898 — 24 45 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 19.924 — 25 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.942 — 26 23 Ty Gibbs (i) 23XI Racing Toyota 19.943 — 27 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19.958 — 28 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.980 — 29 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 19.987 — 30 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 19.998 — 31 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 20.086 — 32 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 20.103 — 33 77 Landon Cassill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 20.210 — 34 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 20.247 — 35 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 20.356 — 36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 20.840 — Official qualifying results
Race Heading into the finish, Ross Chastain clinched his spot into the Championship 4 by the way of a last-ditch wall-ride that has been described as a "video game-like move" in the final lap. Chastain's move also set a new Cup Series lap record on the track at 18.845 seconds. The move has been dubbed the Hail Melon by many in the sport. Christopher Bell's race victory also placed him into the championship race, with Joey Logano (who won a race in the Round of 8) and Chase Elliott also advancing.
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 130
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 84 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 48 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 39 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 210 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 130
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 75 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 57 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 48 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 39 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 210 45 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results Stage Three Laps: 240
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 20 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 512 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 503 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 500 434 9 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 500 395 11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 500 526 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 500 357 25 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 308 24 45 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 500 309 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 3410 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 4511 10 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 500 2612 7 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 500 2913 19 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 500 2414 5 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 3815 15 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 2316 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 500 2117 13 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 500 2018 23 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 498 1919 26 23 Ty Gibbs (i) 23XI Racing Toyota 498 020 27 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 498 1721 14 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 498 1622 31 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 498 1523 21 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 498 024 22 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 497 1325 17 48 Noah Gragson (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 497 026 30 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 497 1127 29 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 497 1028 36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 495 929 18 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 494 830 35 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 488 031 32 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 466 632 33 77 Landon Cassill (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 460 033 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 316 434 34 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 225 035 28 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 2DSQ 6 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 500 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 8 among 5 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 6 for 53 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 24 minutes and 18 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
NBCBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsParker KligermanMarty SniderDillon Welch
Radio MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 7 time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace had the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covered the action for MRN when the field raced down the backstraightway into turn 3. Steve Post, Winston Kelley, Brienne Pedigo and Kim Coon covered the action for MRN from pit lane.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Backstretch: Dave Moody Steve PostWinston KelleyBrienne PedigoKim Coon
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Joey Logano 5,000 5 2 Christopher Bell 5,000 (–0) 1 3 Ross Chastain 5,000 (–0) 1 4 Chase Elliott 5,000 (–0) 5 Denny Hamlin 2,350 (–2,650) 2 6 William Byron 2,339 (–2,661) 2 7 Kyle Larson 2,316 (–2,684) 2 8 Ryan Blaney 2,300 (–2,700) 1 9 Daniel Suárez 2,259 (–2,741) 2 10 Chase Briscoe 2,244 (–2,756) 11 Austin Dillon 2,204 (–2,796) 1 12 Austin Cindric 2,198 (–2,802) 1 13 Tyler Reddick 2,197 (–2,803) 14 Kyle Busch 2,194 (–2,806) 15 Alex Bowman 2,104 (–2,896) 16 Kevin Harvick 2,085 (–2,915)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 1,290 2 Ford 1,210 (–80) 3 Toyota 1,158 (–132)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes
References