First of all, let’s get the Martinsville results out of the way. Ryan Blaney drove his rear off and won the race to complete his effort to try for his second title. That makes it Blaney, Joey Logano (for title number three), Tyler Reddick and William Byron as the Championship Four. That is quite the foursome, but it also begs the question, is this the right foursome to compete for the title?
Martinsville
MotorSportsNews.Net posts about the Martinsville Speedway, one of the race tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series, XFINITY Series, and Gander Trucks series
NASCAR Penalizes Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon For Martinsville Race Manipulation
NASCAR has handed out penalties to Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and their teams for actions on the track at Martinsville Speedway.
All three drivers were penalized for race manipulation in the Martinsville NASCAR race on Sunday, NASCAR announced Tuesday. (more…)
How Did New England-Connected NASCAR Drivers Do At Martinsville?
Ryan Blaney won the Cup race while Joey Logano of Middletown, CT came in tenth with Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT finishing 14th while Boston’s Kaz Grala had to settle for 27th. Then it was Corey LaJoie that placed 35th. Corey LaJoie is the son of Two-Time Xfinity Champion Randy Lajoie who grew up in Norwalk, CT before he decided to head for Charlotte, NC in order to be closer to the top NASCAR action.
Aric Almirola took the checked flag first in the Xfinity race with seventh place going to Anthony Alfredo of Ridgefield, CT while Parker Kligerman of Weston, CT came in eighth. Blaine Perkins finished 19th with Long Island’s Patrick Emerling caming home in 23rd. Alfredo and Perkins both drive Team Cars for Cape Cod’s Chris Our and his daughter Mary who reside in Chatham, MA.
Ryan Blaney Gets Second Straight Walk-Off Win at Martinsville to Join Championship 4
MARTINSVILLE, Va.— He did it again.
For the second straight year, defending series champion Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4.
NASCAR Weekend Preview: Martinsville Speedway
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
Race for the final two NASCAR Cup Championship 4 spots is wide open
In a tripleheader weekend that will decide the Championship 4 contenders in each of NASCAR’s top three national series, the marquee event is Sunday’s Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Two-time champion Joey Logano and this season’s Regular Season Champion Tyler Reddick already have qualified for the Nov. 10 Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway by virtue of their respective victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in the first two races of the Round of 8.
Penultimate NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race From Martinsville Speedway This Sunday, Nov. 3, At 2 P.M. ET On NBC
Live Pre-Race Coverage of Final NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 Playoff Race from Martinsville Speedway Begins Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC
Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano Have Clinched Berths in Championship 4
With Only Two Spots Remaining, Christopher Bell and William Byron Round out Top Four in Final Race Before Next Weekend’s Cup Series Championship
Last Week’s Race from Homestead-Miami Speedway Averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 2.4 Million Viewers, Up 4% vs. 2023
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 31, 2024 – It’s an elimination race! With Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano’s Championship appearances already clinched, the final two drivers that will compete for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship will be determined this weekend during NBC Sports’ coverage of the Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., this Sunday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. A 30-minute Countdown to Green Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC leads into live race coverage. Martinsville is the fifth of six consecutive Cup Series playoff races to be presented live on NBC, culminating in the Cup Series Championship next weekend on Nov. 10.
Title Favorite In Peril: Could This Be It For Kyle Larson’s 2024 Season?
by Nick DeGroot
There is one driver who stands above the rest this season in the NASCAR Cup Series. This weekend, Martinsville will determine his championship fate.
Homestead-Miami Speedway was a microcosm of Kyle Larson’s entire season. A fast car, shocking setbacks, unforced errors and remarkable comebacks — and in the end, it was all for naught. (more…)
Penultimate Cup Series Playoff Race at Martinsville to Finalize Championship Four
Time has come to decide who will make-up the Championship 4 Round this season, and the historic 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway will once again play host to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 elimination race, the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, November 3 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
After a dazzling display of talent in the closing laps of the Homestead-Miami Speedway Playoff race, which saw 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick now joins Team Penske’s Joey Logano as the only two drivers locked into the next round. With two spots still available, at least one will be filled by a driver that earns their position in the Championship 4 Round on points.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Heads Back to the ‘Paperclip’ of Short Tracks
As the NASCAR Xfinity Series winds down the 2024 season, the drivers and teams will now be heading to Martinsville Speedway for the Playoffs’ penultimate race, the National Debt Relief 250, on Saturday, November 2 at 4 p.m. ET on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
This will be the 43rd NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway. The previous 42 races have produced 28 different race winners and 22 different pole winners. Only six races have been won from the pole or first starting position, but it’s been over 35 years since a driver was able to accomplish the feat – most recently by Jimmy Hensley in 1987.
CRAFTSMAN Truck Series To Wrangle Martinsville Speedway In Playoffs’ Penultimate Race
For the first time since 2021, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to Martinsville Speedway for the Playoffs’ penultimate race – the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 – on Friday, November 1 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM Radio (Channel 90).
The historic 0.526-mile track has hosted 47 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races since its inaugural event on September 25, 1995 – a race won by Joe Ruttman piloting the No. 84 Irvan-Simo Racing Ford.
Michael McDowell To Make 500th Career Cup Series Start at Martinsville with Benebone
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 30, 2024) – Michael McDowell will celebrate his 500th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway this weekend for the penultimate race of the 2024 season.
McDowell will become the 47th different driver in series history to make 500 starts or more and is one of six active full-time drivers in the Cup Series to reach the 500 start-plateau joining Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. The 39-year-old also made is first Cup Series start at Martinsville in 2008 driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. McDowell will be making his 28th start at the Martinsville Speedway, looking to improve on his 21st place result in the spring. (more…)
Goodyear Fast Facts — Martinsville
NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 35 – 500 laps / 263 miles
Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval) – Martinsville, Va.
Fast Facts for November 2-3, 2024
Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Short Track Radials
Set limits: Cup: 2 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 10 sets for the race
(9 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying) (more…)
Sacrificing It All: Parker Kligerman Reflects On NASCAR Journey
Article by Dustin Albino, Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
Parker Kligerman had been contemplating the next chapter of his professional career prior to taking a full-time gig with Big Machine Racing in the Xfinity Series ahead of the 2023 season. But he wanted to taste Victory Lane once more.
After spending two seasons adapting to the grind of the Xfinity Series, team owner Scott Borchetta hired Kligerman to be the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet. Kligerman, a racing journeyman, hadn’t competed in an entire schedule in any series in a decade. Simultaneously, he beefed up his broadcasting resume as a pit reporter for NBC Sports. (more…)
Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Xfinity 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 29, 2024) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, going into the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, November 3 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). (more…)
Team Penske, Shell And Joey Logano Foundation Team Up For Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts
Special “Partners Powering Hurricane Recovery” scheme to be featured on the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series Race at Martinsville Speedway
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 29, 2024) – Team Penske, Shell USA and The Joey Logano Foundation (JLF) announced today a collective program to support ongoing recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Helene that ravaged parts of five states in late September. This collaboration includes a special livery on the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang that Logano, the 2018 Martinsville Speedway fall race winner, will pilot at the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race at the Virginia half-mile oval on Sunday, November 3.
Hettinger Racing Purchases Bret Holmes Racing
Team Owner Chris Hettinger To Field No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado for Driver Brett Moffitt in Final Two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Races of 2024
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 29, 2024) – Chris Hettinger, a longtime and winning Late Model team owner from Dryden, Michigan, has purchased the assets of Bret Holmes Racing. The organization will complete the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule with 2018 Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt under its new name, Hettinger Racing.
Hettinger is a second-generation racer whose father, Jim, raced open-wheel Midgets and Sprint Cars and won two championships in 1984 and 1990, accolades that earned him a spot in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Chris began his racing career behind the wheel, winning in Midgets and Late Models before becoming a fulltime team owner.
Whelen Engineering Inc. Returns as NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Entitlement Partner
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2024) – NASCAR today announced an extension of the entitlement partnership of its original series as Whelen Engineering, Inc. returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour through 2029 in a partnership that guarantees increased team payouts starting with the 2025 season. In conjunction with the announcement, NASCAR released the 16-race 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
Justin Bonsignore Dominates Season Finale to Capture 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship
Photo: Tom Morris Racing Photography
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 26, 2024) – Justin Bonsignore wasn’t going to be denied his fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, as he dominated the season finale Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway to take home the Grandfather Clock and the year-end title.
The championship marks Bonsignore’s fourth title (2018, 2020, 2021, 2024), and the win – his first at Martinsville Speedway – gave him sole possession of second on the all-time Whelen Modified Tour wins list with 45.
NOTEBOOK: At Martinsville, a Justin Bonsignore championship over Ron Silk is ‘anything but a gimme’
Photo: Tom Morris Racing Photography
Just like last year, a season-long NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points battle between Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk comes down to the season finale at Martinsville Speedway.
What is different this time around is that Bonsignore holds the advantage going into the final race rather than Silk. A dominant day from Bonsignore at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday allowed him to usurp Silk in the point standings and build a 10-point advantage with one event remaining. (more…)
Bonsignore and Silk Bring Contentious Championship Rivalry to NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Finale
Friends now foes to settle title bout under the lights at Martinsville Speedway this Saturday
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 22, 2024) – In a contentious championship battle that began in the first race of the season at New Smyrna Speedway only miles from the birthplace of NASCAR, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title will once again be decided in the final race of the season at one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks as Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk enter the finale at Martinsville Speedway separated by 10 points.