TC Daily Pit Stop: Taylor Gray Finally Pulls Through, Xfinity Championship 4 Finalized; Byron Scores Cup Pole; Sunday's TV Schedule
TC Daily Pit Stop: Sunday, October 26, 2025
Taylor Gray Finally Breaks Through For First Xfinity Series Win
It was deja vu, but just a little different for Taylor Gray Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway. Again, in the closing laps of the race, he found himself in the lead at the paperclip, trying to hold off his rival Sammy Smith, who crashed him from the win at the 0.526-mile short track in the spring.
This time around, Smith didn’t cross any ethical lines, and Gray closed out the race to pick up his first career NASCAR National Series win.
Despite the runner-up finish, Sammy Smith failed to advance to the Championship 4, as did third and fourth place finishers Brandon Jones, and Sheldon Creed as well as seventh-place finisher Sam Mayer.
The four drivers who will compete for the championship in Phoenix are Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, and Jesse Love.
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William Byron Captures Martinsville Pole Ahead of Must-Win Xfinity 500
William Byron gained the mental edge on his competition battling it out for the final Championship 4 berth spot in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Darlington Raceway as he secured the pole position for the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series season.
While it’s a track position advantage, Byron, who has suffered heartbreaking conclusions to his races the last couple of weeks, isn’t allowing himself to count his chickens before they hatch.
“It’s nice, but it doesn’t count for anything yet,” Byron said of the pole in his post-qualifying press conference.
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OFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP
Other NASCAR Headlines:
Harrison Burton Joins Expanding Sam Hunt Racing Team in 2026
Taylor Gray Still ‘Not Cool With’ Sammy Smith Despite Clean Battle
Jesse Love, Whelen Engineering Return to Richard Childress Racing in 2026
Final Stage of Xfinity Championship Race to Be Shown Commercial-Free
Layne Riggs Nabs Pole for Playoff Elimination Race at Martinsville
‘We’re in Limbo’ Alpha Prime Racing Unsure of 2026 Driver Lineup as Season Winds Down
Zane Smith Inks Multi-Year Extension with Front Row Motorsports
Martinsville Race Weekend Resources
Cup Results: Practice | Qualifying
Xfinity Results: Practice | Qualifying | Race
Truck Results: Practice | Qualifying | Race
Entry Lists: Cup | Xfinity | Truck
SUNDAY’S TV SCHEDULE
2:00 PM ET: NASCAR Cup Race - NBC/Peacock/HBO Max