How To Watch The NASCAR Playoff Elimination Race At Martinsville

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Discount Tire Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 29, 2023 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

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Time is running out for some of the remaining drivers in NASCAR’s Round of 8 as they enter the final elimination race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

There are two positions open for NASCAR’s Final Four drivers that will fight it out for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 2. Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe are already locked in by winning the first two races of the current Round of 8 remaining drivers in NASCAR’s playoff.

For former champions such as Team Penske’s Joey Logano, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney, they will have to win to get in. They are too far back in the points to have a reasonable chance to advance.

Logano is 38 points below the cutoff and Blaney is 47 points out. Two-time Daytona 500 winner William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports is fifth in the Round of 8, but is 36 points behind teammate and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson, currently fourth in the standings. Another Hendrick Motorsports driver, former Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott, is a whopping 62 points below the current cutoff.

All four of those drivers understand the pressure. For the most part, they have to win to get into the NASCAR Championship Race.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race Has Much At Stake

With so much at stake in one final race, there could be some bold strategic moves near the end of the race to gain track position for the fight to the checkered flag. Also, Goodyear has designed a different left-side tire for the flat short track, which adds to the uncertainty for the crew chiefs.

“I think it’s hard to say right now with bringing a new tire to this race, something we haven’t seen yet on track.,” said Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief at Team Penske. “I think we’ve got to wait and see how some of the practice stuff look and obviously longer stages than we had in the spring race. Are you going to see guys try to split that stage and all of those types of scenarios?

“It’s really hard until we get on track and really see what we have with that tire, it’s hard to make some of those decisions, but obviously at the end of the day points don’t matter a whole lot to a few of us here. It comes down to the end of the race.

“You’re going to have to do what you’ve got to do to try to make something happen. I’m sure you can see guys get aggressive, but ultimately until we know what we’re going to have with this new tire it’s hard to say what that may be.”

There is plenty of drama heading into Martinsville Speedway for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule.

For the second straight week, the NASCAR Playoffs will be on NBC Sports.

The final two drivers will be locked into the Final Four after the checkered flag drops. If one of the drivers in the Round of 8 wins the race, they will join Hamlin and Briscoe in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. The fourth driver would be added with the highest driver in the playoff points.

If a driver outside of the Round of 8 wins at Martinsville, then the final two positions will go to the two drivers still eligible with the most points who have not won during this round.

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue on NBC and Peacock with the final race of the Round of 8 – and penultimate race of the season – with the Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia., this Sunday, October 26, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC and Peacock.

Live pre-race coverage on NBC and Peacock begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green.

The final Round of 8 playoff race, this Sunday’s contest will see the final two drivers earn their way to the Championship 4 at the final race in Phoenix on November 2 alongside Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe. Hamlin won the opening Round of 8 playoff race in Las Vegas earlier this month, while Briscoe won at Talladega last week to join him. This is the second of the three final races of the Cup Series Playoffs, all of which are on NBC and Peacock.

Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson make up the remaining two drivers above the cutoff line who have yet to punch their ticket to Phoenix. Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and 2023 champion Ryan Blaney still find themselves below the cutoff line with only one race left before the Championship. Blaney is the back-to-back defending champion of this race.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Voices on NBC

NBC Sports’ broadcast team of veteran motorsports play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey, 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, who won this race in 1997, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will call the action. Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns, and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters.

Marty Snider will host post-race coverage alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett, with Diffey, Burton, Letarte, Coon, Burns, and Kligerman joining for pre-race coverage.

NASCAR CUP Series Round Of 8 Standings

Position, Driver, Points

1. Denny Hamlin, Won at Las Vegas

2. Chase Briscoe, Won at Talladega

3. Christopher Bell, +37

4. Kyle Larson, +36

ON THE BUBBLE

5. William Byron, -36

6. Joey Logano, -38

7. Ryan Blaney, -47

8. Chase Elliott, -62

NASCAR Cup Series TV Feature

This week’s broadcast will shine a light on Hendrick Motorsports and co-owner Jeff Gordon. Gordon, a four-time Cup Series champion, famously won at Martinsville in 2015 to propel himself to the Championship 4 in what would be the final win of his NASCAR career.

NASCAR Cup Series Broadcast Team

Play-by-Play: Leigh Diffey

Analysts: Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte

Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman

Studio Team

Host: Marty Snider

Studio Analysts: Dale Jarrett