NASCAR Playoffs Enter Final Elimination at Martinsville
The pressure is at an all-time high for drivers in Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The NASCAR Cup Series' penultimate race determines which four drivers will fight for a championship next week in Phoenix.
Between the drama of filling the final two spots in the Championship 4 and the close-quarters nature of short track racing, fans will be on the edge of their seat at the 0.526-mile facility.
Fast Facts: Xfinity 500
Date: October 26, 2025
Track: Martinsville Speedway (Ridgeway, Virginia)
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
TV: NBC/Peacock
Stages: 130/260/500
Defending Winner: Ryan Blaney
Entry List: 37 cars for 40 spots
Xfinity 500 Schedule
Date | Time | Session | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
Sat., Oct. 25 | 4:30 p.m. ET | Practice | truTV |
Sat., Oct. 25 | 5:40 p.m. ET | Qualifying | truTV |
Sun., Oct. 26 | 2 p.m. ET | Xfinity 500 | NBC/Peacock |
Why Winning Martinsville Matters for Championship Hopefuls
Two spots remain in the Championship 4 for six drivers still alive in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. While at least one of those drivers will reach the championship battle at Phoenix based on points, all six must approach Martinsville as a must-win race.
For four of the six drivers, the math is against them. William Byron is 36 points below the cutoff for the top four, with Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott all behind him. With all four drivers boasting Martinsville wins in the past, one of those drivers may stand in victory lane, as Blaney did last fall.
While Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson enter Martinsville 37 and 36 points above the cutline, respectively, that line moves up one spot if a driver from that quartet takes the win. If that happens, now only one point separates the two drivers for that final Championship 4 berth. It might just take a win by Larson or Bell to stay ahead of their playoff contenders.
Can Anyone Stop Denny Hamlin?
While the Round of 8 is littered with drivers with Martinsville success, no one in the NASCAR Cup Series today has enjoyed more of that success than Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin doesn't need a win at Martinsville on Sunday, as he punched his Championship 4 ticket with a victory in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to start the Round of 8. However, nothing would make a bigger statement than winning the elimination race, just like he won at Martinsville in March by leading 274 of 400 laps in the Cook Out 400.
Six of Hamlin's 60 career NASCAR Cup Series wins have come at the Martinsville Speedway. He is the leader among active NASCAR Cup Series competitors in Martinsville wins, and tied for sixth all-time at the track with Dale Earnhardt, Fred Lorenzen and Cale Yarborough, a trio of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees.
If someone is going to take the pivotal Xfinity 500 win on Sunday, they'll likely have to go through Hamlin to do it.
Avoiding Short Track Tempers and Chaos
In order to win at Martinsville, drivers have to avoid the cautions, tempers and chaos that unfold on NASCAR's short tracks.
While Martinsville briefly saw a "calm" period around the introduction of the Next Gen car into the NASCAR Cup Series, the track has returned to its typical beating and banging. March's Cook Out 400 saw 10 caution flags, with last year's Xfinity 500 slowed nine times.
With 37 cars packed onto the tight, narrow half-mile and its sharp hairpin turns, contact is inevitable. The constant close-quarters racing wears down tempers and patience over the course of 500 laps.
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Zach Evans is the Managing Editor of RacingAmerica.com, with nearly a decade of experience in motorsports. He has been with Racing America since 2017.
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