NASCAR championship implications in the Cup and Xfinity series will be the dominant storyline Saturday at Martinsville Speedway with cars on track for about nine hours.
The action will begin at 1 p.m. ET with Xfinity practice and qualifying on the 0.526-mile oval, which will play host to a 250-lap race at 7:30 p.m. The Round of 8 finale will determine which two drivers advance to the title race, joining JR Motorsports teammates Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier in the Championship 4.
Jesse Love (plus-40 points) and Carson Kvapil (+11) are above the cutline entering Martinsville, and Sammy Smith (-11), Brandon Jones (-20), Sam Mayer (-22) and Sheldon Creed (-41) are outside a provisional championship-eligible spot in the Nov. 1 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
There also are two spots remaining in the Cup Series’ Championship 4 with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin (Las Vegas) and Chase Briscoe (Talladega) having advanced on wins.
Of the remaining six playoff drivers, Christopher Bell (+37 points) and Kyle Larson (+36) are comfortably above the cutline, and William Byron, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney are in must-win territory to race for the title Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.
Cup practice will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying for Sunday’s 500-lap race that will set the Championship 4 field.
Kyle Larson holds the final transfer spot heading into Sunday’s Round of 8 finale on NBC and Peacock.
Martinsville Speedway Saturday schedule
(All Times Eastern)
Saturday, Oct. 25
Garage open
- 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. — Cup Series
- 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 p.m. — Xfinity Series
Track activity
- 1 – 1:55 p.m. — Xfinity practice (CW App)
- 2:05 – 3 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (CW App)
- 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. — Cup practice (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 5:40 – 6:30 p.m. — Cup qualifying (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 7:30 p.m. — Xfinity race (250 laps, 131.5 miles; Stage 1 at Lap 60, Stage 2 at Lap 120; CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Weather
Saturday: Cloudy with a high of 61 degrees and a 5% chance of rain with light and variable winds. It’s expected to be 49 degrees with a 0% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race.
