For six NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contenders, it all comes down to this. One last shot to make an entire season of blood, sweat, and tears result in a Championship 4 appearance as Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway will serve as the final race of the Round of 8.
Chase Briscoe, with a win at Talladega, and Denny Hamlin, with a win at Talladega, have already claimed their spots in the Championship 4 field. Who will be next?
In addition to the NASCAR Cup Series, the Championship 4 fields will also be finalized for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff battles this weekend at the 0.526-mile paperclip.
Last season, Ryan Blaney won the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway to secure his place in the Championship 4. As Blaney was winning, William Byron advanced to the Championship 4 over Christopher Bell as a cloud of race manipulation rolled over the end of the race.
Hopefully, this time around, there are no late-race shenanigans, and we have a straight-up race.
Christopher Bell (+37 points to the cutline) and Kyle Larson (+36) will battle amongst themselves, while hoping none of the four drivers below the Playoffs cutline — William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, or Chase Elliott can win the race.
Here is the full Martinsville Speedway NASCAR weekend TV schedule:
Friday, October 24 – NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (FS1, FS2)
- 2:05 PM ET – Craftsman Truck Series Practice – FS2
- 3:10 PM ET – Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying – FS2
- 6:00 PM ET – Craftsman Truck Slim Jim 200 Race – FS1
Saturday, October 25 – NASCAR Xfinity & Cup Series (CW App, The CW, TruTV)
- 1:00 PM ET – Xfinity Series Practice – CW App
- 2:05 PM ET – Xfinity Series Qualifying – CW App
- 4:30 PM ET – Cup Series Practice – TruTV
- 5:40 PM ET – Cup Series Qualifying – TruTV
- 7:30 PM ET – Xfinity Series IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250 Race – The CW
Note: If you’re having a hard time finding The CW in your area, utilize the channel finder feature from The CW.
Sunday, October 26 – NASCAR Cup Series (NBC / Streaming)
- 2:00 PM ET – Cup Series Xfinity 500 Race
TV: NBC
Streaming: Peacock, HBO Max
