NASCAR Cup Series News & Notes – Martinsville Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series – Martinsville Speedway

Next Race: Xfinity 500
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
Track Length: 0.526 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, October 26
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $9,797,935
TV: NBC & Peacock, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 263 miles (500 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 130),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 260), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500)

Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:

Friday, Oct. 24

NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 2 p.m. ET)

NCTS Race: Slim Jim 200 (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM at 6 p.m. ET)

Saturday, Oct. 25

NXS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (CW App at 1 p.m. ET)

NCS Practice & Busch Light Pole Qualifying (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM at 4:30 p.m. ET)

NXS Race: IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 (CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Sunday, Oct. 26

NCS Race: Xfinity 500 (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM at 2 p.m. ET)

Martinsville Speedway Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend marks the 113th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, the 34th of 2025 and the second of the three races in the Round of 8.
• The current Playoff field won all seven Next Gen races at Martinsville.
• William Byron and Ryan Blaney won four of the seven Next Gen races at Martinsville.
• Seven of the eight Playoff drivers have won at Martinsville, all but Chase Briscoe.
• The six remaining Playoff drivers not locked into the Championship 4 are all Martinville winners with a combined eight wins there.
• A Playoff eligible driver ranked 4^th or worse in the Playoff standings won 5 of the last 8 Playoff Martinsville races.
• One driver that was below the cutline entering the final Round of 8 race moved on to the Championship Four in five of the last six seasons – four of them were more than 20 points back entering the final race.
• The largest gap above the cutline to enter the final Round of 8 race to miss the Championship Four is +42 by Kevin Harvick in 2020.
• The largest cutline deficit ever overcome to move on without a win in a cutoff race is 22 points by Chase Elliott in the Round of 12 in 2019.
• Christopher Bell holds the record for the largest deficit ever overcome in a Playoff round by winning the Round of 12 cutoff race in 2022 at the Roval (he was -45).
• Ryan Blaney won the last two cutoff races at Martinsville to transfer to the Championship 4.
• Joey Logano finished top-10 in the last 12 Martinsville races, the fourth longest streak all-time but his last Martinsville win was 2018.
• Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson each finished in the top-five in the last three Martinsville races, the longest active top-five finish streaks at the track.
• 10 drivers led at least 100 laps at Martinsville in the Next Gen car, eight of the 10 are current Playoff drivers.
• 27 of the 35 top-five finishes in the Next Gen car at Martinsville were by current Playoff drivers.
• Four of the five short track races in 2025 were won by current Playoff drivers.
• Six of the eight Playoff drivers finished top-10 at Martinsville in the Spring.
• This is the fourth-time Joe Gibbs had multiple cars in the Championship Four, only won one of the prior three.
• 12 of the last 16 races were won from a front row starting position including all but two of the eight Playoff races but five of the last six Martinsville races were won from a starting position of 11^th or worse.
• Seven races in 2025 ended with a last lap pass, the most ever in a single season.
• The last six races of 2025 were won by six different drivers.
• Joe Gibbs Racing’s 13 wins in 2025 are the team’s third most all-time in a season behind 19 in 2019 and 14 in 2015, a JGR car won the Championship both prior seasons.
• Joe Gibbs Racing won five of the last eight races of 2025 with three different drivers: Denny Hamlin-2, Chase Briscoe-2, Christopher Bell-1.
• The most wins by a team in the Playoffs by a team is six (three times), Joe Gibbs Racing has five in the 2025 Playoffs.
• Pit stall 1 is winless at Martinsville in the last 24 races there.
• Hendrick Motorsports (5), Joe Gibbs Racing (5) and Team Penske (4) combined won the last 14 Martinsville races.
• The winner of the Martinsville Playoff race went on to win the Championship in four of the last nine seasons.
• There were eight speeding penalties at Martinsville in March and six in this race last year.
• Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 1,106 laps led, it’s his third straight season leading over 1,000 laps and his fourth in five seasons with Hendrick Motorsports.
• Chase Briscoe’s 15 top-five finishes in 2025 lead all drivers and are more than he had in his career combined entering the season.
• Christopher Bell finished in the top-10 in the last seven races, his longest Cup top-10 finish streak.
• Kyle Larson is currently on a 22-race winless streak, tied for his longest since joining Hendrick Motorsports.
• The final bubble to make the Championship round has been 10 or less points in each of the last six seasons.
• No manufacturer has ever had three Playoff cars sweep the Round of 8 races.

NCS Clinch Scenarios for Martinsville Speedway (Playoff Race #9):

Already Clinched

• The following two drivers have clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round: Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin 

Can Clinch Via Points

• If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 3rd winless driver in the standings.  The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Christopher Bell or Kyle Larson.
  • Christopher Bell: Would clinch with 20 points
  • Kyle Larson: Would clinch with 21 points
  • William Byron: Could only clinch with help
  • Joey Logano: Could only clinch with help
  • Ryan Blaney: Could only clinch with help
• If there is a new winner from William Byron or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 2nd winless driver in the standings.
  • Christopher Bell: Would clinch with 54 points
  • Kyle Larson: Would clinch with 55 points
  • William Byron: Could only clinch with help
  • Joey Logano: Could only clinch with help
  • Ryan Blaney: Could only clinch with help

Can Clinch Via Win

• The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott.

Historical & Significant Events at Martinsville Speedway:

• Opened in September of 1947 by Henry Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.
• Located at an overgrown 30 acre cornfield just outside Martinsville. Construction of the track was soon underway in 1947 and ended up costing $60,000.
• The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville Speedway was on July 4, 1948.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on September 25, 1949, and was a 200 lap (100 mile) race that was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks.
• The track was paved during the summer months of 1955. The first race at the track that season was on dirt (May 15) and the second race of the year was the first on the paved track (Oct. 16). Prior to paving the track, the Cup Series ran 12 races total on the dirt at Martinsville (1949-1955).
• The first 500-lap (250 mile) event at Martinsville Speedway was in 1956 and was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker from the pole position. Baker was driving a 1956 Dodge for car owner Carl Kiekhaefer.
• In 1964 Earles decided it was time for a different type of trophy for race winners. His choice was a grandfather clock produced by nearby Ridgeway Clock Company. On September 27, 1964, Earles awarded the first clock trophy to Fred Lorenzen, the winner of the Old Dominion 500 that afternoon.
• Richard Petty has the most clocks with 12 (he won three times at Martinsville prior to the introduction of the clock). Darrell Waltrip won 11, while Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson each have 9 clocks.
• Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976 at Martinsville Speedway.
• International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) purchased the privately owned Martinsville Speedway in 2004 for $192 million.
• In the past 20 years the track has stepped up its investment in improvements and additions to establish the once dusty ½ mile dirt track on 30 acres into a modern facility encompassing over 300 acres.
• In 2017, lights were added to Martinsville Speedway. The project cost an estimated $5 million to complete.
• In total, there have been 153 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.