After a thrilling overtime finish at Talladega Superspeedway saw Chase Briscoe prevail for his first superspeedway win and advance to his first Championship 4, the latest sign of his improvement throughout the season, six drivers are left fighting for the final two spots in the championship decider at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 2.
Before we get to that point, the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia is the site of this Sunday's round of 8 cutoff race, where those six drivers can make one last push to secure their championship opportunity this year.
Aside from Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who locked up his spot one week earlier at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, no one else is safe at a track known for bringing out aggressiveness and tempers.
Although Christopher Bell (+37) and Kyle Larson (+36) appear to be relatively comfortable above the cut line, a win from one of the drivers below them would knock one of them out, making stage points extremely valuable on Sunday.
It does not help, either, that William Byron (-36), Joey Logano (-38), Ryan Blaney (-47) and Chase Elliott (-62), all past winners at Martinsville, are the ones chasing them.
Martinsville is set up for more drama in the playoff cutoff race once again
It is important to keep in mind that Larson and Byron, and even Logano and Blaney for that matter, could have easily secured their shot at a title at Talladega if they did not let a golden opportunity slip away in the closing laps. As a result, they find themselves in an uncomfortable position this weekend.
Byron has two Martinsville spring race wins, while Blaney has won two cutoff races there in a row. Elliott took the 2020 cutoff race on his way to a title, and Logano moved Martin Truex Jr. out of the way in 2018 when Martinsville hosted the round of 8 opener.
It proves that Bell and Larson are not safe at all, and rather than their 37-point and 36-point gaps above the cut line, the real number to watch could be the one-point gap between them.
In two of the three cutoff races at Martinsville in the Next Gen era, there has been some sort of last-lap drama. In 2022, Ross Chastain used what was deemed the "Hail Melon" when he grabbed an extra gear and drove around turns three and four against the wall to pick up the spots that were needed for him to advance to the Championship 4.
Then in 2024, Bell used a similar move, but NASCAR viewed his attempt as unsafe and penalized him, which kept him from advancing and put Byron in instead.
It all adds up to another dramatic Martinsville cutoff race this Sunday afternoon, one that will likely not be decided until the closing laps. With so much on the line, Bell and Larson, who are both former Martinsville winners themselves, may need to add another grandfather clock to their resume if they want to ensure a spot in the Championship 4.