By: Zach Arnold

MARTINSVILLE, Virginia — At the end 2023, Aric Almirola retired after 12 full-time NASCAR Cup Series seasons. Over the off-season, he signed a part-time deal with Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race with one goal: win races.

Almirola did exactly that at Saturday’s Dude Wipes 250 at Martinsville. It was no “lucky” win either, as the 40-year-old led 148 laps in the 250-lap event.

A week prior, Almirola came close to victory in Richmond, as he left the track with a second-place finish. “Just came up a little bit short there at the end, just didn’t have what I needed… just wanted one [position] better,” Almirola said after Richmond. His wish of getting “one better” came true one week later at Martinsville.

Joe Gibbs Racing continued to bring fast cars to the race track as three of their four cars finished inside the top ten. After seven races in the NXS season, JGR has solidified themselves as the team to beat.

The first two stages of Saturday’s race were Almirola and Justin Allgaier. There were a total of seven cautions throughout the race with over 20 different drivers involved throughout.

Carson Kvapil made his NXS debut with JR Motorsports in Saturday’s race; he resulted in fourth. After the race, he mentioned he was, “here to win races” even with it being his first-ever start in the series.

Last week’s winner, Chandler Smith, seemed a little frustrated after the race, “it is what it is” he said after being on the losing end of a bump and run with teammate Almirola.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway next week for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300. Tune into FS1 at 1:30 pm EST on Saturday to catch the 200-lap event.