The NASCAR Xfinity Series made the trip last Saturday to Martinsville Speedway for 250 laps of action. Unlike the other two races last weekend, weather was not a problem here.

What was an issue was whether or not FOX Sports 1 was going to get to Martinsville before the race started as the San Diego Padres-Milwaukee Brewers game ran long. Ultimately, nearly 20 minutes of NASCAR RaceDay - Xfinity Edition were lost. When I saw the schedule for last Saturday, I knew it was going to be a problem, so I'm not particularly surprised. It won't be a problem this weekend since the Ag-Pro 300 will be run as the second half of a doubleheader and the weekly baseball game won't be until the races.

As a result, there really wasn't all that much pre-race coverage. Viewers got an interview and a feature where Noah Gragson interviewed Brandon Jones.  Even though they talked about what Jones was expecting for Martinsville, it seemed like a repeat of a previous feature, just with some Martinsville tacked on. It's as if they shot the whole piece in February and just cut in a piece that wasn't part of the original version of the feature.

For the race, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were back in the booth with Adam Alexander. This has been the most common lineup that we've had for Xfinity races this year. It's not an every week thing, but they've spent enough time together to work into something resembling a rhythm. Over the past couple of years, this lineup has provided the only real rhythm on FOX broadcasts. Plus, you have the advantage of Keselowski and Logano being former teammates at Team Penske. As a result, the two of them have spent a lot of time around one another and easily bounce things off each other. I seriously doubt that a Team Penske team meeting when Keselowski was still at Team Penske looked like the broadcasts do, though.

We learned Saturday that Logano legitimately enjoys working on the Xfinity broadcasts and likely enjoys working with Keselowski quite a bit. It's fun for him. I find this interesting if only because Logano is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champ. I'm surprised that his sponsors are cool with this. You'd figure that Shell/Pennzoil, AutoTrader, Planet Fitness or someone else would want his time to promote something. Also, as FOX Sports has stated multiple times over the past eight years, the Cup drivers aren't being paid directly to be there. They're doing it in exchange for donations to charities of their choice.

Does that mean that Logano could just do TV once he retires? Couldn't tell you. He's only 32. Unless something bad happens in the near future, we're a long way from that conversation. Regardless, I'm happy that he's having some fun on Saturdays. Maybe it loosens him up a little so he doesn't overthink things while prepping for Cup races.

Saturday will be more of the same as Keselowski and Logano will be back with Alexander for the Ag-Pro 300. That's probably a thing. Great racing will typically bring good commentary, although that isn't necessarily guaranteed. Having additional familiarity will only help. 

For years, I've stated that the Xfinity Series broadcasts need a regular on-air crew. FOX Sports has not given viewers that since they returned to the series in 2015. I don't know why they don't want to do it. Perhaps it's because they've released too many people to make such a good idea workable.

Next year, FOX will finally have a regular Cup broadcast booth again with Kevin Harvick joining Clint Bowyer and Mike Joy. It is long past time for FOX Sports to put in a permanent booth for Xfinity races as well. Perhaps the Cup booth also does Xfinity races like they did during the first series-wide TV deal from 2001-2006?

Racing-wise, Saturday night's coverage wasn't horrible. It was just too focused on the front of the field. John Hunter Nemechek led 198 of 250 laps and really wasn't being challenged for most of the race. Coverage away from the very front was ok, but there probably should have been more of it.

There was some anger during the race, mostly from teams not happy with their handling characteristics. No shenanigans, though. Ryan Ellis and Joe Graf Jr. did apparently have beef after their crash. Frontstretch caught the two drivers on video discussing their incident after the race, but the discussion would likely have taken place after the broadcast ended.

Post-race coverage will likely be best remembered for Nemechek nearly roasting his own car, something that is just ridiculous. Still don't think the mud flaps are solely to blame for that. What would these things be made off to cause a huge fire?

Also, burnouts in general have become rather passé in recent years. Sure, it was great 25 years when Alex Zanardi was doing them in the tight confines of Surfer's Paradise in Australia, but now it's just...there. You're just burning stuff up.

Since the race went long by 15-20 minutes, post-race coverage was short. The extreme basics and not much more.

Overall, I've found that the Xfinity broadcasts are the least objectionable of FOX Sports' NASCAR broadcasts in 2023. The booth of Alexander-Keselowski-Logano is probably the best setup here. Despite that, they need to just have a regular booth and be done with it. Or, figure out their schedule and make it public way earlier than what they currently do.

For now, we know the booth analysts for the next three races (Talladega, Dover and Kansas). Charlotte has the Drivers Only thing, which I think is basically organized chaos where no one takes anything seriously.

Saturday night's broadcast was about average for this bunch. There was nothing truly detestable on the broadcast (thankfully). I do believe that they just need to show as much action as they can. There's always something going on, especially at a place like Martinsville.

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.  Photo is courtesy of NASCAR Media via Jared C. Tilton of NASCAR Media.