Schedule, TV info, picks for Xfinity 500 – NBC Los Angeles

It’s time to decide who will race for a championship.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway in Virginia this weekend for the penultimate race of the 2024 season. Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick are already locked into the title race, leaving six drivers fighting for the final two spots in the Championship 4.

Martinsville is NASCAR’s oldest and most historic track, serving as the only venue to host a race every year since the sport’s inception in 1949. The half-mile, paper-clip shaped oval often produces high drama with playoff contenders battling to stay alive in the fight for a title.

So, who is racing at Martinsville? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for 2024 Xfinity 500:

When is the NASCAR race at Martinsville?

The Xfinity 500 is set for Sunday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday. All 37 drivers will hit the track for 45 minutes of practice before they are split into two groups (found here) for two-round qualifying. Here’s how it works:

• Each driver will make two laps in the first round, with the five fastest drivers in each group advancing.
• In the final round, the remaining drivers each get two laps to set the top 10 starting order. The fastest driver overall will start on the pole, the fastest driver in the other group will start second.
• Positions 3 through 10 are set on final round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th), Group B filling the odd-numbered positions (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th).
• Positions 11 through 37 are set based on first round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions, Group B filling the odd-numbered positions.

What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?

Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC with Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns and Parker Kligerman serving as pit reporters. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Saturday, Nov. 2 (streaming)

Sunday, Nov. 3 (NBC and streaming)

NASCAR Martinsville entry list, drivers

Thirty-seven drivers will race at Martinsville – the 34 full-timers, plus three others.

Shane van Gisbergen and Kaz Grala will continue their part-time schedules for Kaulig Racing and Rick Ware Racing, respectively. Elsewhere, Josh Bilicki will make his fourth start of the season for MBM Motorsports.

Here’s the full entry list for Martinsville:

NASCAR Martinsville predictions, picks, favorites

All six playoff drivers who aren’t locked into the Championship 4 have won at Martinsville. Those will be the guys to keep an eye on this weekend.

It all starts with Hamlin, who has five Martinsville wins and likely needs a sixth if he wants to race for a title. The Virginia native has 25 top-10s and 2,448 laps led in 39 starts at his home track, though he hasn’t won there since 2015.

The Hendrick Motorsports trio of Byron, Larson and Elliott are always dangerous at this track. The organization has a long, storied history at Martinsville – from the highs of their first win in 1984 to the lows of a devastating plane crash in 2004. So, when Hendrick heads to Martinsville, it always means a little more for their drivers.

Byron, Larson and Elliott claimed the top three spots at Martinsville earlier this year, and each led at least 60 laps in that race. Byron has won two of the last five Martinsville races, Larson has finished sixth or better in four straight starts and Elliott won this race with his back against the wall in a similar position in 2020.

Then there’s Blaney and Bell, who have won this race in a must-win position the last two years. Blaney’s victory last year was critical in him winning the title one week later, while Bell’s 2022 triumph got him to the Championship 4 for the first time.

If you’re looking beyond those six, some drivers to monitor include Busch, Logano and Truex – who have all led over 1,000 laps at this track in their careers.

NASCAR Martinsville winners list, race history

Eleven of the 37 drivers in the field are past winners at Martinsville, including five with multiple victories.

Hamlin leads all drivers with five Martinsville wins, followed by Truex with three and Byron, Busch and Keselowski with two. The one-time winners are Logano (2018), Elliott (2020), Bowman (2021), Bell (2022), Larson (2023) and Blaney (2023).

NASCAR playoff standings for Martinsville

With Logano and Reddick winning the first two races in the Round of 8, there are just two spots remaining in the Championship 4. The remaining six playoff drivers will either need to win at Martinsville or score enough points to advance to the title race.

You can find a full explanation of NASCAR’s playoff format right here.

Here’s the playoff standings entering Martinsville, with the bottom four set to be eliminated unless they can win the race or gain enough points to get into the top-four: