The NASCAR Cup Series teams return to Martinsville Speedway for a Sunday afternoon short track race.
This is the seventh race of the season, and it is another opportunity for drivers to lock up a spot in the playoffs. William Byron is the defending winner of the Martinsville spring race. Ryan Blaney won last season's playoff race at the Virginia short track.
Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway information
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for cloudy skies throughout the day. A high of 69 degrees and a 39% chance of rain at the start of the Cup Series race.
Green flag time: The command to fire engines will be at 3:02 p.m. ET. The starter will wave the green flag at 3:11 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Qualifying will take place on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. ET.
Pre-race: The garage opens at 12 p.m. ET. Driver introductions will take place at 2:25 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins with "NASCAR RaceDay" on FS1 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues on FS1 at 3 p.m. ET.
The invocation will be at 2:54 p.m. ET. The national anthem will be performed at 2:55 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 80. The second stage ends at Lap 180. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 400.
Playoff picture: The Cup Series drivers have completed six points-paying races. Only four have locked up spots in the playoffs.
William Byron secured his spot by winning the Daytona 500. Christopher Bell then won the following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bell also won at Circuit of the Americas and Phoenix Raceway.
Josh Berry punched his ticket to the playoffs for the first time by winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson then won at Homestead-Miami Speedway to secure his spot.
Ryan Preece is the first driver above the playoff cutline with 130 points. Kyle Busch is the first driver below the cutline.
Past winners: Multiple Cup Series drivers have celebrated wins at Martinsville Speedway. Denny Hamlin leads this group with five trips to victory lane (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2015).
Ryan Blaney (2023, 2024), William Byron (2022, 2024), Brad Keselowski (2017, 2019), and Kyle Busch (2016, 2017) have two wins each at the short track.
The list of one-time Martinsville winners includes Kyle Larson (2023), Christopher Bell (2022), Alex Bowman (2021), Chase Elliott (2020), and Joey Logano (2018).