Martinsville II NXS Race Report
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021
Race 32 of 33: Dead On Tools 250
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Buford’s Finish: 17th
Jade Buford and the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers team bested their previous Martinsville Speedway finish, placing 17th in the penultimate race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season on Saturday evening. Buford heads to Phoenix Raceway with 16 top-20 finishes so far in his rookie year in the series.
After some tough luck at Kansas Speedway the previous week, Buford rolled off the grid for Saturday’s 250-lap race from the 31st position. Undeterred by being deep in the field, the 33-year-old driver steadily improved his position. When the third caution of the race came out on lap 48, he was scored 23rd and relayed to the team team that his Spiked Coolers Camaro was pretty good.
Playing little bit of strategy, the team opted to come to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, giving them the opportunity to stay out during the forthcoming stage break. Buford restarted deep in the field and impressively worked his way to 29th before the green-and-white checkered flag waved to end the first stage on lap 60.
Staying out during the stage break allowed for Buford to take the green flag for Stage Two from the 14th position. He pressed forward during the restart, reaching as high as 12th, but he got stuck on the outside line causing him to lose track position. Buford was running 23rd at the midway point of the stage and managed to gain two more spots to finish Stage Two on lap 120 in 21st. During the stage-ending caution, crew chief Patrick Donahue made the call for four fresh tires, fuel and another round of adjustments to fine tune the Spiked Coolers Chevy.
A fast pit stop by the team moved Buford up to 16th for the start of the final stage. He continued to race inside the top 20 for much the eventful, caution-filled second half of the race. After the 13th yellow flag of the race waved with one lap to go, the race came down to a green-white-checkered finish in overtime. Buford lined up 19th for restart and advanced two positions in two laps to finish the Dead On Tools 250 in the 17th position.
Jade Buford, driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet:
“I am really proud of this Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers team. We unloaded with a fast Camaro and the team did a great job with adjustments and making some good strategy calls. Martinsville is a fun track and I’m already ready to get back here in 2022. But first, let’s go finish this season off on a high note at another one of my favorite tracks, Phoenix Raceway.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on Saturday, November 6. Tune in to NBCSN at 8:30 p.m. ET.