When NASCAR made Martinsville’s fall date the elimination race in the Round of 8, the hope was that the short track could provide big playoff moments.
Three times since, a driver in a must-win situation won at Martinsville to reach the championship race.
With four drivers in a must-win situation in Sunday’s race (2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock), could history repeat?
Two of the three drivers who triumphed in their must-win situation at Martinsville — Ryan Blaney in 2024 and Chase Elliott in 2020 — face the same daunting challenge this weekend.
Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney face a must-win situation at Martinsville to race for a Cup championship.
Blaney is 47 points below the cutline, and Elliott is 62 points below the cutline. Also facing a must-win situation is William Byron, who is 36 points below the cutline, and reigning Cup champion Joey Logano, who is 38 points below the cutline.
Blaney has won the past two playoff races at Martinsville. Last year, he entered 38 points below the cutline and won to reach the Championship 4.
“There’s definitely stressful moments, but during those stressful moments I try not to think about it too much,” Blaney said ahead of the playoffs on how he handled such situations in the postseason. “I try to just (think), ‘Hey, this is a high-pressure situation. This is what it is. Let’s just go do the job.’ I try to not let it eat at me because I think that can really hurt you if you get in your head about stuff.
“When it comes down to your season and your championships, yeah, it’s stressful. Hell yeah it is. You’re trying to do this for hundreds of people that support you and put in a lot of effort and watch you every week and have their hands on the car or partners that invest a lot of money and time into the program.
“It can be stressful if you look at it that way, but I try to not let that get to me. You understand that this is what you signed up for. This is stressful. Sports are stressful, but that’s why you compete and that’s why you do it is who can overcome that stuff the best.”
Joe Gibbs Racing is guaranteed to have at least half of the Championship 4 field.
After Elliott was eliminated in a crash last weekend at Talladega, he was matter of fact about what he has to do at Martinsville.
“I’m looking forward to Martinsville,” Elliott said. “Got one more shot at it.”
That’s all he needed in 2020. Elliott entered Martinsville 25 points below the cutline and won to reach the championship race — and then won the title the next weekend at Phoenix.
Christopher Bell, who enters Sunday’s race in a transfer spot 37 points above the cutline, is the third driver to have won at Martinsville in a must-win situation in the last five years. He did so in 2022 when he entered that race 33 points below the cutline.
But Martinsville also has proved heartbreaking to Bell. It took series officials nearly 30 minutes after the checkered flag waved in last year’s playoff race there to determine that Byron had claimed the final transfer spot over Bell, who was penalized for running against the wall for part of the final lap.
“Certainly Martinsville 2024 was the bottom of how I’ve ever felt in my professional career,” said Bell before this year’s playoffs. “And, yeah, Martinsville 2022 was probably the highest I’ve ever felt in my professional career.”