Front Row Motorsports: Martinsville Speedway Race Report – Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith

Noah Gragson | Todd Gilliland | Zane Smith

Martinsville Speedway Race Report

Cook Out 400

Date:  March 23, 2025

Event: Race 8 of 38

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile)

Length of Race: 400 Laps over three hours, five minutes, and 11 seconds.

FRM Finish:

Todd Gilliland (Started 25th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

Zane Smith (Started 19th, Finished 16th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

Noah Gragson (Started 24th, Finished 29th / Running, completed 397 of 400 laps)

FRM Points Standings:

Todd Gilliland (22nd)

Zane Smith (23rd)

Noah Gragson (32nd)

Todd Gilliland Key Takeaways

Stage One: 22nd / Stage Two: 18th / Race Result: 10th

Todd Gilliland made his seventh Martinsville Speedway Cup Series start yesterday. Qualifying 25th for the 400-lap showdown, Gilliland buckled in for what was going to be a long day. Picking up spots off the start, Gilliland battled the tightness of his Ford. Gilliland pitted under the first caution of the day for debris, taking four tires and fuel. Gilliland took one more trip to pit road before finishing the stage in 22nd. Staying out at the end of the stage, Gilliland started Stage Two in the top-15. Gilliland took fresh tires under the lap 123 caution. Back on track, Gilliland finished Stage Two in 18th. Starting the final stage on fresh tires, Gilliland stayed out of the final stage chaos and continued to chip away at the competition. Gilliland finished the race in 10th, his second top-10 finish of the season. Gilliland now sits 22nd in the Driver Championship points standings.

Gillilands’ Thoughts:

“I felt like my team did a really good job,” said Gilliland. “We didn’t make any mistakes all day and capitalized on others’ mistakes and just kind of chipped away at it and made our way forward. We struggled with our balance a little bit and just overall grip, and then on that last run my guys did a really good job getting our car a lot better and I was able to pick off one or two guys on all those restarts. It was tougher to pass once you started getting to go, but I was happy with it. We managed our stuff well and managed our whole race well.”

Zane Smith Key Takeaways

Stage One: 30th / Stage Two: 15th / Race Result: 16th

Zane Smith qualified 19th for Sunday’s 400 lap race, his fifth top-20 starting spot of the season. Sunday’s event also marked Smith’s fourth Cup Series start at the famed short track. Smith struggled in Stage One, ending the stint in 30th. Stage Two showed promise for Smith and the No. 38 team, with Smith’s Ford handling better. Through pit strategy and hard racing, Smith finished Stage Two in 15th. In a caution-filled final stage, Smith was involved in an incident on lap 299, colliding with the No. 54. With little damage, Smith worked his way back into the top-20, maintaining his position to finish the race in 16th. Smith is now 23rd in the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championship points standings.

Smith’s Thoughts:

“Good recovery today from this group,” said Smith. “I’m really proud of everyone on our No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford team with the speed we’ve been bringing. We could have left here today with a bad result after our incident with the 54 but we battled back to 16th.”

Noah Gragson Key Takeaways

Stage One: 24th / Stage Two: 14th / Race Result: 30th

Noah Gragson qualified 24th for Sunday’s race at the Martinsville Speedway. In a mostly calm Stage One, Gragson drove within the top-25, finishing Stage One in 24th. On the same pit strategy as Zane Smith, Gragson spent Stage Two within the top-15. Gragson finished the stage in 14th. With just 90 laps remaining in the race, Gragson was involved in an incident with the No. 17. Gragson brought his Ford to pit road for the team to make the necessary repairs to get Gragson back on track. Gragson finished the race in 30th, three laps down.

Gragsons’ Thoughts:

“The car wasn’t bad, just teetering on being right,” said Gragson. “Worked on making air pressure adjustments but didn’t get it figured out. The lap times are so close together it doesn’t take much to go from a good day to a bad day.”

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 Craftsman Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 4, No. 34, and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 34 and No. 38 Craftsman Truck Series teams from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @teamfrm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.