Four Drivers To Watch In The Xfinity 500 At Martinsville

Ryan Blaney (pictured) is a three-time winner at Martinsville Speedway in recent history. (Christian Wilson/SWN photo)

By Christian Wilson, SWN Staff Writer & Photographer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 29, 2026) – The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Martinsville Speedway in Virginia this weekend for the much-anticipated Xfinity 500, the penultimate round of the Chase for the Championship. 

Martinsville is the oldest and smallest track on the schedule, having held races since 1949, and Sunday's event will be the 156th Cup race at the historic track. With only two races left in the season, the stakes are even higher and patience will be thin.

Kyle Larson leads with a 73-point advantage heading into Sunday and is looking to wrap up the title. For the rest of the Chase contenders it's go time in a virtual must-win scenario. Here are the four drivers you need to watch in Sunday's 500-lap slugfest. 

1. Ryan Blaney

It's not hard to argue that Blaney is currently the best driver at Martinsville Speedway. He has won two of the last three fall races for Team Penske and boasts an average finish of 4.7 in his last seven starts there. For his career, Blaney has 14 top 10s and 733 laps led at NASCAR's shortest track.

In the 2023 Xfinity 500, Blaney led 145 laps and passed Aric Almirola with 23 laps remaining to advance to the Championship 4 at Phoenix. The next year, Blaney was in a must-win situation to return to the Championship 4 and passed Chase Elliott with 15 laps remaining for the victory.

Last year, Blaney led 177 laps but was passed late by William Byron, ending his championship hopes. Currently sixth in the standings, 107 points back, count on Blaney to give his all this weekend to try and stay in mathematical contention going into the finale. 

2. Denny Hamlin

Second in points heading into this weekend, Hamlin needs a win at his home state track and a bad day for Kyle Larson to get back in contention for the championship. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver leads all active drivers with six wins and an impressive 3,014 laps led at Martinsville.

Hamlin has five top fives, 824 laps led, and an average finish of 8.7 in his last seven starts there. In 2025, he led 274 laps on the way to victory in the Cook Out 400, but blew an engine and finished 35th in the Xfinity 500.

Earlier this spring, Hamlin started on the pole and led 292 laps, but finished second to Chase Elliott. Will heartbreak history repeat itself in the fall for Hamlin or will he close on Larson? 

3. Chase Elliott

Elliott won earlier this spring and has a solid history at Martinsville Speedway. In the Next-Gen era, Elliott has an average finish of 6.66, eight top 10s, and has not finished out of the top-five there since 2023.

Also, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has led 1,359 laps in his career at the Paper Clip. It will be interesting to see his team's strategy for this race, considering the chance of sweeping the Cup races at the track this season and his teammate Kyle Larson leading the point standings. 

4. Kyle Larson 

Larson has the opportunity to clinch his third career championship on Sunday. "Yung Money" leads all active drivers with an average finish of 4.4 at Martinsville since 2023 and hasn't finished outside the top 10 there since 2022. Also, Larson has four career pole positions and one win at the track.

In the 2024 Xfinity 500, Larson led 71 laps and finished a strong third, but he didn't battle for the championship at Phoenix Raceway. In last year's event, Larson didn't lead a lap, but his fifth-place finish and valuable stage points were enough to lock him into the Championship 4 and he went on to win the title in dramatic fashion at Phoenix.

We'll have to see what strategy Larson's crew chief Cliff Daniels puts into effect and how careful they might be considering their 73-point lead, but a lot of it depends on how well the rest of the Chase drivers run. For Larson, getting more stage points and finishing toward the front might seal the title for him one week early. 

Broadcast coverage of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway is slated for Sunday afternoon, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. ET, live on NBC, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.