The NASCAR playoff weekend continues with a busy Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.
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The Cup Series teams will take on the .526-mile short track first. They will practice and qualify in preparation for Sunday's Round of 8 elimination race. Xfinity Series teams will then take on the track Saturday evening in a race that will set the Championship 4 lineup.
The Cup practice session will feature cars on track for an extended period of time. The normal session for most tracks lasts 20 minutes per group. This weekend will feature a 45-minute session as teams adjust to a brand-new tire setup.
Thirty-seven Cup cars are on the entry list for Sunday's race. The lone non-chartered entry will be the No. 66 for MBM Motorsports with Josh Bilicki as the driver.
Shane van Gisbergen will return to the Kaulig Racing lineup for his final Cup start of the year. He will move to Trackhouse Racing's Cup lineup full-time next season.
Martinsville Speedway forecast and Saturday schedule
Saturday forecast: The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a high of 63 degrees, and a 1% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity Series race.
Saturday, Nov. 2, schedule (Eastern Time)
- 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. — Cup Series garage hours
- 11:30 a.m. — Xfinity Series garage hours
- 1 - 1:45 p.m. — Cup Series practice (Streaming on NBC Sports app, radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 2:05 - 3 p.m. — Cup Series qualifying (Streaming on NBC Sports app, radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 4 p.m. — Xfinity Series race (250 laps, 131.5 miles. CW, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
The playoff situation: Two of the eight remaining Cup playoff drivers have spots in the Championship 4. Joey Logano punched his ticket with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tyler Reddick then took the second spot with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Three drivers are in positions where they could potentially move to the Championship 4 on points. Christopher Bell is 29 points above the cutline. William Byron is seven points above the cutline. Kyle Larson is seven points below the cutline.
Denny Hamlin (-18), Ryan Blaney (-38), and Chase Elliott (-43) will simply focus on winning the race.
