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NASCAR Weekend Preview: Martinsville Speedway

by MikeNovember 1, 2024

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.

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Penultimate NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race From Martinsville Speedway This Sunday, Nov. 3, At 2 P.M. ET On NBC

by MikeOctober 31, 2024

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.

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Title Favorite In Peril: Could This Be It For Kyle Larson’s 2024 Season?

by MikeOctober 31, 2024

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

by MikeOctober 31, 2024October 31, 2024

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.

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The NASCAR Xfinity Series Heads Back to the ‘Paperclip’ of Short Tracks

by MikeOctober 31, 2024

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.

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CRAFTSMAN Truck Series To Wrangle Martinsville Speedway In Playoffs’ Penultimate Race

by MikeOctober 31, 2024

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.

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Michael McDowell To Make 500th Career Cup Series Start at Martinsville with Benebone

by MikeOctober 31, 2024

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

by MikeOctober 30, 2024

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

by MikeOctober 30, 2024October 30, 2024

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

by MikeOctober 30, 2024

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…)