Xfinity 500 Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson speeds to pole position for Martinsville elimination race MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Kyle Larson backed up last Sunday’s victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a pole-winning run at Martinsville Speedway. Though Larson has been eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, he’ll lead the field to green in the race to decide which three drivers will join Joey Logano in the November 6 Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway—Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). After locking upRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Seven drivers. Three transfer spots into the Championship 4. One race. The Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs all comes down to Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, a half-mile bullring in southern Virginia where bent sheet metal and hurt feelings are all but inevitable. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic track, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine over 500 grueling laps. The track has basically one groove, meaning the only wayRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kyle Busch will be required to attend sensitivity training before the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series campaign. NASCAR announced Monday the 2015 champion must complete this after using the r-word which violated NASCAR’s conduct guidelines. After failing to make the Championship 4 during Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, an irate Busch vented his frustrations on Brad Keselowski to the media bullpen. Busch slammed Keselowski for racing him hard when he didn’t have a shot of fighting for the championship this Sunday at PhoenixRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Denny Hamlin may be moving on to the Championship 4 to fight for a NASCAR Cup Series championship next week, but after Sunday’s race at Martinsville, it’s clear his focus is currently on Alex Bowman and the late race contact between the two. As the two drivers battled for the lead with less than 10 laps to go, Bowman got into Turn 3 too hot, moving up the track into Hamlin’s left-rear quarter panel, sending him for a spin into the outside wall. While Hamlin wasRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Denny Hamlin provided the perfect capstone to a day of banged-up stock cars, hurt feelings and crushed dreams. Alex Bowman took the checkered flag in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after sliding up into Hamlin’s race-leading Toyota on Lap 494 of 501 and knocking Hamlin’s car up the track and into the outside wall. As Bowman tried to start a burnout to celebrate his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and his first at the .526-mile short track,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Seven drivers enter Martinsville Speedway with a shot at moving on to next week’s NASCAR Cup Series championship race, but only three will leave Sunday’s Xfinity 500 with those title hopes still intact. The Round of 8 in the Cup Series Playoffs all comes down to the half-mile bullring in southern Virginia, where bent sheet metal and hurt feelings are all but inevitable. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic track, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man andRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor And then there were four. Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville marked the end of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, which would see four drivers moving on to compete for the championship and the end of the line for the other four. Three of the four drivers eliminated when the checkered flag flew were in must win positions coming into the day, but a fierce battle for the final spot between Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin would become the focusRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Chase Elliott cruised to an impressive 6.577-second victory over Ryan Blaney Sunday in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the most clutch victory of the 24-year old’s young career – earning a position in next week’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 season finale. Equally as dramatic was a failed last lap pass for position that has eliminated the regular season champion and nine-race winner Kevin Harvick from advancing to that final round. Harvick had to pass 2019 series champ Kyle Busch forRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NASCAR drama personified as Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway sure got people fired up in more ways than one. While Chase Elliott took the checkered flag and punched his ticket to the Championship 4, there was a lot of frustrated drivers because a shot at a championship were officially dashed. Four in particular had their dreams crushed like my Seattle Mariners do every year were Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., and Kevin Harvick. Yes indeed, the biggest shock of the season wasRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 will be decided by Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and expectations are high that positions in this championship foursome are still very much up for grabs. Team Penske’s Joey Logano is the only driver locked-in to a position in the Championship 4 with his victory at Kansas two weeks ago. Regular season champion Kevin Harvick leads the points standings by 15 points over Denny HamlinRead More