NASCAR at Martinsville results: Bowman wins Xfinity 500; Elliott, Hamlin, Truex advance to Championship 4

Alex-Bowman-Martinsville-10312021

Last week in Kansas, there were seven drivers competing for the final three spots in the Championship 4. Then, Kyle Larson, who already punched his ticket, won at Kansas and prevented another driver from clinching automatically.

So that means this week at Martinsville, there'll yet again be seven drivers competing for just the final three spots in the Championship 4. The race for the second and third spot in the standings is separated by just two points between Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. However, they have a comfortable lead — 31 points — over the current fourth place driver, Kyle Busch.

But while Busch has the lead for the fourth place spot right now, he too is locked in a close race. Just six points separate the field's seventh place driver (Brad Keselowski, 4,068 points) and it's fourth place driver (Busch, 4,074 points).

Any one of those drivers could make the point differential moot with a win, though Larson's won three races in a row, including the last two Round of 8 races. Otherwise, another Larson win means it'll come down to points and a lot of drivers will need everything to go their way.

Martin Truex Jr., who currently sits at sixth in the standings, won last time out at Martinsville in April. He beat out Denny Hamlin after passing him with 16 laps to go to take the lead, never giving it up. If he can repeat, then he'll clinch a spot automatically, otherwise it'll be up to the field.

Sporting News is tracking live updates and highlights from the XFinity 500 at Martinsville. Follow along below for updates throughout.

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NASCAR at Martinsville live updates, highlights from Xfinity 500

The race is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET. Live updates will begin at that time.

NASCAR start time today

  • Time: 2 p.m. ET (TV time)
  • TV channel: NBC (TSN5 in Canada)
  • Live stream: NBC Sports.com | NBC Sports App | Peacock | fuboTV (7-day free trial)
  • Radio: MRN

The green flag for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race on Martinsville Speedway's 0.526-mile short track is scheduled to drop at 2:12 p.m. ET Sunday. The track has lights, so the race can finish after sunset if there is a delay.

Weather conditions should ensure an on-time start. The National Weather Service forecast for Ridgeway, Va., where Martinsville Speedway is located, is for mostly sunny skies and a high temperature near 65 degrees. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph, however.

NASCAR playoff standings

The bubble drivers figure to produce the most drama Sunday. Positions 4 through 7 are separated by six points. Kyle Busch is in the No. 4 spot but he's just one point ahead of Ryan Blaney, the first driver out at the moment. The live standings will be volatile.

Elliott (34 points) and Hamlin (32 points) come into the race with sizable leads over Blaney as they sit in second and third in the standings, respectively. 

Aside from the closeness of the standings, there's another reason the four drivers below can have hope: A playoff driver who wins a race in the Round of 8 automatically qualifies for the Championship 4 race Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway. Problem is, only Larson has won a race thus far in the Round of 8.

Pos. Driver Points
1 x-Kyle Larson 4181
2 Chase Elliott 4107
3 Denny Hamlin 4105
4 Kyle Busch 4074
5 Ryan Blaney 4073
6 Martin Truex Jr. 4071
7 Brad Keselowski 4068
8 Joey Logano 4048

x-Advanced to Championship 4 race.

NASCAR starting lineup at Martinsville

Here is the complete starting lineup for Sunday's playoff race at Martinsville Speedway, the Xfinity 500.

Start pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 P-Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
2 P-Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
3 P-Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
4 P-Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 P-Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
6 P-Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
7 P-Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 P-Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
9 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
11 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
12 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
14 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
15 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
16 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
17 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
18 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
19 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
20 Daniel Suarez 99 TrackHouse Racing
21 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
22 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
23 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
24 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
25 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
26 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
27 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
28 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
29 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
30 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
31 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
32 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
33 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
34 Joey Gase 53 Rick Ware Racing
35 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
36 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
37 Garrett Smithley 15 Rick Ware Racing
38 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
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