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RIDGEWAY, Va. -- A ways away from the sport's hub in the greater Charlotte, N.C. area, and far from the major markets and cities that the sport has made its way to, there is something pure about going to race at Martinsville Speedway. Drive along the country roads that take you from the small towns north of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Burlington to the state line of North Carolina & Virginia, and you will find yourself at a simple, paperclip-shaped short track in the town of Ridgeway that matters to everyone who loves stock car racing -- and matters enormously in the final moments of the race for NASCAR's championship.

After 34 races and eight playoff events, the penultimate race of the 2025 season comes in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the elimination race in the Round of 8 and the one that will determine the Championship 4. Two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, already know they will race for the Cup championship next weekend in Phoenix by virtue of their wins at Las Vegas and Talladega. But for Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson -- separated by just one point their spots above the cut line are far from safe, as past Martinsville winners William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott all seek to strike and take a spot in the Championship Race with a win and one of Martinsville's signature Grandfather clocks.

Where to watch the NASCAR playoffs at Martinsville

  • When: Sunday, Oct. 26 | Time: 2 p.m. ET
  • Where: Martinsville Speedway -- Ridgeway, Va.
  • TV: NBC | Stream: Fubo (try for free)

Storyline to watch

This year's Martinsville playoff race comes amid the echoes of last year's race, and the way it marred the formation of the 2024 Championship 4. While Christopher Bell and William Byron tried to earn the final spot above the cut line, the closing laps saw a number of teams try to manipulate the outcome of the points race in the name of getting a fellow Toyota or Chevrolet in the final round. Bubba Wallace backed off considerably on the final lap to allow Bell to gain a spot and point he needed, doing so under the pretense that he had a tire going down. That came a few laps after the Chevrolets of Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain ran a blockade to protect Byron from losing spots, communicating about a "deal" over their team radios.

The subterfuge became a moot point when Bell was penalized for riding the wall in the final corner, knocking him out of the Championship 4 anyway. But NASCAR reacted swiftly and firmly by suspending nine people, handing out $600k in fines, and even adding language to their rule book to allow them to hold OEMs like Chevy, Ford and Toyota accountable for race manipulation and other such violations. Still, NASCAR officials will be on the lookout for such behavior this weekend, particularly after a number of eyebrow-raising radio communications and non-passes that occurred late in the last elimination race at the Charlotte Roval.

In advance of Sunday's race, NASCAR shared that they increased staff at their remote race control for Martinsville and Phoenix, giving officials greater bandwidth and oversight to ensure that the final two races of the year are conducted fairly. The behavior of teams involved in the battle to make the Championship 4 and the actions of aligned teams around them will be worth monitoring closely, particularly in the last 50 laps.

NASCAR news of the week

  • Spire Motorsports announced Wednesday that Daniel Suarez will join the team in 2026 as the new driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet, with Freeway Insurance following Suarez to Spire as anchor partner of the No. 7. Suarez joins Spire after five seasons at Trackhouse Racing, where he earned the first two victories of his Cup Series career.
  • Front Row Motorsports announced that Zane Smith will return in a multi-year deal, keeping him at Front Row as the driver of the No. 38 Ford long-term. With the exception of a one-year detour to Spire Motorsports and Trackhouse Racing, Smith has spent the bulk of the past four years with Front Row, winning the 2022 Truck Series championship for the organization.
  • NASCAR announced that the 2027 Daytona 500 will be run on Feb. 21, preemptively avoiding a conflict with the Super Bowl as the NFL angles to expand to an 18-game season and push its championship game all the way to President's Day weekend. The 2026 Daytona 500 remains scheduled for Feb. 15.
  • NASCAR, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports held two days of settlement talks this week, but ended talks without an apparent agreement to settle the antittrust lawsuit the teams have levied against the sanctioning body. The parties were back in a Charlotte, N.C. court on Thursday, which heard motions for summary judgments ahead of the case's December court date.
  • NASCAR "declassified" the design for the new street course around Naval Base Coronado in San Diego this week, showing off the planned 16-turn, 3.4-mile street course that will integrate the sights of the naval base, the Pacific Ocean, and the San Diego skyline. The course will be the longest that NASCAR races on in 2026.

Pick to win

Chase Briscoe (+1600) – Here's a thought: Briscoe earned his very first Championship 4 spot by winning at Talladega last week, relieving him of having to sweat out Martinsville despite being very, very good at this racetrack. There's not much else Briscoe can do to help himself in the Championship 4, but what he can do is send a statement to the rest of the championship contenders by getting his first Martinsville Cup win, which is more than within the realm of possibility.

Briscoe made nine Martinsville starts in his career with two top fives and six top 10s, with all but his ninth place finish in the spring of this year coming while he was driving for a declining Stewart-Haas team. And that ninth place finish came well before Briscoe transformed into one of NASCAR's most consistent drivers in the second half of this year, as his 15 top five finishes now lead all drivers in Cup.