2023 NOCO 400


The 2023 NOCO 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 16, 2023, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the 0.526 mile paperclip-shaped short track; it was the ninth race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Report

Background

Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track on the NASCAR circuit since its beginning in 1948.
This race saw the return of Chase Elliott, after he missed the prior six races after an injury from a skiing accident.

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
  • ' denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.

Practice

Tyler Reddick was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 20.217 seconds and a speed of.

Qualifying

Ryan Preece scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.979 and a speed of.

Race

Race results

Stage Results

Stage One
Laps: 80
Stage Two
Laps: 100

Final Stage Results

Stage Three
Laps: 220

Race statistics

  • Lead changes: 10 among 9 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 5 for 50 laps
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 2 hours, 50 minutes, and 35 seconds
  • Average speed:

Media

Television

Fox Sports covered their 23rd race at the Martinsville Speedway. Mike Joy, 2018 Spring Martinsville winner Clint Bowyer and 2002 Spring Martinsville winner Bobby Labonte called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled the pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Todd Gordon called the race in the booth when the field races down the front stretch. Dave Moody called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field races down the backstretch. Steve Post, Kim Coon, and Dillon Welch worked the pit road for the radio side.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings
;Manufacturers' Championship standings
PosManufacturerPoints
1Chevrolet342
2Toyota313
3Ford303
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.