MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Today’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway marks the final chance for playoff drivers to move on to next week’s championship race.
Ryan Blaney won last year’s race to advance and then won his first Cup title a week later. Blaney enters today’s race (2 p.m. ET on NBC) in a must-win situation. Can he do it again?
That’s just among the storylines for the 35th Cup race of the season.
1. What is a driver willing to do?
Desperation can lead to unforgettable moments at this track.
Last year, Ryan Blaney had to win to advance and did. William Byron became ill in his car but hung on to also advance. Two years ago, it was Ross Chastain’s “Hail Melon” where he rode against the wall in the final two corners, gaining five spots to secure a spot in the title race.
Christopher Bell and William Byron hold the final two transfer spots. Byron, who is seven points above the cutline, said Saturday that he considers this a must-win race because of the competitors he’s racing and their success at this track.
Those below the cutline are all former winners at Martinsville: Kyle Larson (-7 points from the cutline), Denny Hamlin (-18), Blaney (-38) and Chase Elliott (-43).
So, what will we see Sunday? Already this weekend, the Truck Series saw Taylor Gray walk to Victory Lane to express his displeasure at winner Christian Eckes for how he raced Gray. Then on Saturday, Chandler Smith slapped Cole Custer after the Xfinity race for how Custer raced him.
What’s next?
2. Shut out or half the title field?
For about an hour three weeks ago at the Charlotte Roval, Hendrick Motorsports had four cars advance to the Round of 8 — the first time the organization had all four cars go that far in the playoffs.
“You always talk about trying to get them in the Round of 8,” car owner Rick Hendrick said that day last month. “We had our big kickoff and that was our goal.”
Things changed when Alex Bowman’s car was disqualified after failing post-race inspection.
Joey Logano then won at Las Vegas and Tyler Reddick won at Homestead to advance to the Championship 4.
That leaves two spots. Hendrick Motorsports has three of the remaining six cars. At best, Hendrick Motorsports can have half the championship race field. At worst, Hendrick could be shut out for the first time since 2019.
With Hendrick Motorsports winning five of the last eight Martinsville races, it seems a good bet that Hendrick will have at least one driver in the title race. But who will it be?
3. Will tires make an impact?
In an effort to enhance passing at the short tracks, NASCAR has had Goodyear make tires that wear more for select short tracks.
The right-side tire this weekend is the same that was the option tire at the All-Star Race in North Wilkesboro in May and at Richmond in August. The left-side tire this weekend is intended to have more wear.
Cup teams were given 45 minutes of practice instead of the typical 20 minutes to better understand the new tires.
“I think we’ve seen quite a lot more tire wear (Saturday) than we have with this car lately,” Martin Truex Jr. said after winning the pole. “Is it enough? I don’t know. You never know until the race starts.
“… This place is just very, very tricky. It is hard to know what is going to happen, but from what I’ve seen, there is enough fall off, there is enough tire wear – stickers are way faster than 30-, 40-, 50-lap tires. Hopefully that continues.”
4. Will Martinsville again haunt Denny Hamlin?
Two years ago, Hamlin was in position on the last lap to advance to the championship race only to see Ross Chastain’s “Hail Melon” eliminate him.
Hamlin has five wins at Martinsville but none since March 2015.
His quest to advance became more difficult when he crashed in practice. His team repaired his car, but he will start at the rear after not making a qualifying attempt. That also meant that he got the last pick of pit stalls, giving him one of the least desirable pit stalls at Martinsville.
Hamlin concedes that his quest to make the Championship 4 “got infinitely harder but it’s not impossible.”
