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Taylor Gray earns first career Xfinity win, drivers eliminated after Martinsville

JHby: Jonathan Howard10/26/25Jondean25
Taylor Gray Martinsville win
Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images

Taylor Gray came back to take what was rightfully his, a new grandfather clock from Martinsville Speedway. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs have come to this moment, and now, the Championship 4 has been decided. Tonight was some good short track racing.

With tonight’s win, Taylor Gray breaks through that ceiling. Well, he also quite literally broke through the ceiling on his car. Gray took the new-school approach that Connor Zilisch has pioneered after his fall from the window. He went through the roof hatch.

This is a big win for Gray. It proves that he can win at this level. He had yet to win in a NASCAR national series. There were many who were skeptical, including me, when he moved up to the Xfinity Series this year. He’s proven those skeptics, and me, wrong.

Of course, Taylor Gray should have won the Spring race at Martinsville if it wasn’t for Sammy Smith’s wild moves at the end of that race. Tonight, he came back and got the deal done. Credit to Smith, who was runner-up, for not repeating his mistake from earlier this year.

For how horrible the final restart was in the Spring, the final restart tonight was really good. It was strong, hard racing but it wasn’t a wreckfest. We had a single overtime and the race was over.

Taylor Gray wins, drivers advance to Championship 4

As a result of tonight’s race, Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil are moving on to the Championship 4. They will be joined by Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier who had advanced on points already. When it comes to the Owners’ Championship, Zilisch and Allgaier are racing against Austin Hill’s 21 team and Aric Almirola’s 19 team.

One more race left in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Zilisch is the clear favorite but others can play spoiler. In fact, we could have a non-championship driver rise up and win the race at Phoenix. Then there is the possibility of a split championship if Hill or Almirola claims the Owners’ title. There are a lot of storylines that are possible.

Taylor Gray had a strong race today. He led the most laps today, didn’t drive above himself, and made smart decisions. When it was time to put his foot down and get the job done on the restart, he did it. That NHRA/drag racing background might help with those reaction times, don’t you think?

A massive win for Gray. The Championship 4 is set. Who will be crowned champion a week from tonight?