NASCAR: 2024 Martinsville playoff qualifying updates, full starting lineup

There is just one race remaining on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule before the championship decider at Phoenix Raceway next Sunday afternoon, and that race is scheduled to take place at Martinsville Speedway this Sunday afternoon.

Since 2020, the 500-lap Xfinity 500 at the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Ridgeway, Virginia oval has served as the cutoff race ahead of the Championship 4, and on two of four occasions since then, the winner has come from below the cut line to advance to the final round. The winner has gone on to win the championship at Phoenix twice during that four-year stretch.

Track position has been key at short track races in the Next Gen era, placing a greater emphasis on qualifying ahead of what is arguably the most important race on the schedule to date.

Because Martinsville is a short track, the single-car qualifying session is set to see each driver make a two-lap qualifying attempt, rather than a one-lap qualifying attempt. The qualifying groups, specifically the orders of each, were determined by the four-variable formula that NASCAR introduced in 2020. A full description of that metric can be found here.

The eight remaining championship contenders are not factored into that metric until the rest of the drivers are slotted into their respective groups, meaning that there are four playoff drivers in each group and they do not make their qualifying attempts until everybody else makes theirs.

The fastest five drivers in each group then advance to the second round. Unlike when NASCAR raced at Martinsville back in April, the second round is also group-based, thanks to a somewhat surprising mid-season rule change.

This change effectively means that the second fastest driver in round two is no longer guaranteed a front row starting spot, while the sixth fastest driver could technically start on the front row.

NASCAR at Martinsville: Full starting lineup

1st - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3rd - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4th - Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6th - Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
7th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
8th - Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
9th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
11th - Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
12th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
13th - Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
14th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
15th - Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
16th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
17th - Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
18th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
19th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
20th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
21st - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
22nd - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
23rd - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
24th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
25th - Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
26th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
27th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
28th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
29th - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
30th - Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
31st - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
32nd - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
33rd - Kaz Grala, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
34th - Corey LaJoie, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
35th - Josh Bilicki, No. 66 MBM Motorsports Ford
36th - Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
37th - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Group A - Advanced

1st - Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

2nd - Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

3rd - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

4th - Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

5th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Group B - Advanced

1st - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2nd - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

3rd - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

5th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

NBC is set to broadcast the Xfinity 500 live from Martinsville Speedway starting at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, November 3. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney won this race last year before going on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, while Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron won at Martinsville back in April. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss the final race before the 2024 title decider!