2022 Xfinity 500

2022 Xfinity 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Race 35 of 36 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series
Date	October 30, 2022 (2022-10-30)
Location	Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	.526 miles (.847 km)
Distance	500 laps, 263 mi (423.5 km)
Weather	Clouded sky
Average speed	113.5 mph (182.7 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	19.709
Most laps led
Driver	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	203
Winner
No. 20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	NBC
Announcers	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (Backstretch)

The 2022 Xfinity 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 30, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 35th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, the ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8.

This race, won by Christopher Bell, was noted for Ross Chastain's "Hail Melon" finish, in which Chastain rode the wall in a move described as similar to those done in racing video games to secure a fourth-place finish that locked him to the Championship 4 race. Chastain's move also set an all-new track record.^[8][9]

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 19.916 seconds and a speed of 95.079 mph (153.015 km/h).^[10]

Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.709 and a speed of 96.078 mph (154.623 km/h).^[11]

Heading into the finish, Ross Chastain clinched his spot into the Championship 4 by the way of a last-ditch wall-ride that has been described as a "video game-like move" in the final lap.^[8] Chastain's move also set a new Cup Series lap record on the track at 18.845 seconds.^[9] The move has been dubbed the Hail Melon by many in the sport. Christopher Bell's race victory also placed him into the championship race, with Joey Logano (who won a race in the Round of 8) and Chase Elliott also advancing.

Stage One Laps: 130

Stage Two Laps: 130

Stage Three Laps: 240

• Lead changes: 8 among 5 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 6 for 53
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 24 minutes and 18 seconds
• Average speed: 77.239 miles per hour (124.304 km/h)

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 7 time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace had the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covered the action for MRN when the field raced down the backstraightway into turn 3. Steve Post, Winston Kelley, Brienne Pedigo and Kim Coon covered the action for MRN from pit lane.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Joey Logano 5,000 5 2 Christopher Bell 5,000 (–0) 1 3 Ross Chastain 5,000 (–0) 1 4 Chase Elliott 5,000 (–0) 5 Denny Hamlin 2,350 (–2,650) 2 6 William Byron 2,339 (–2,661) 2 7 Kyle Larson 2,316 (–2,684) 2 8 Ryan Blaney 2,300 (–2,700) 1 9 Daniel Suárez 2,259 (–2,741) 2 10 Chase Briscoe 2,244 (–2,756) 11 Austin Dillon 2,204 (–2,796) 1 12 Austin Cindric 2,198 (–2,802) 1 13 Tyler Reddick 2,197 (–2,803) 14 Kyle Busch 2,194 (–2,806) 15 Alex Bowman 2,104 (–2,896) 16 Kevin Harvick 2,085 (–2,915) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 1,290 2 Ford 1,210 (–80) 3 Toyota 1,158 (–132) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.