Martinsville Speedway’s Xfinity 500 is set to solidify the other half of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 field following wins by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe to open up the round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, respectively.
The qualifying order for Sunday afternoon’s 500-lap race around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) was determined by the two-variable metric NASCAR introduced 2025.
This very metric was used back in March at Martinsville, and it replaced the old (and more complicated) four-variable formula that had been used from 2020 to 2024.
A full breakdown of the formula can be found here.
Notably, the eight remaining championship contenders are not factored into the equation until the other 29 drivers are lined up, meaning they aren’t set to qualify until the end of the session.
There are no qualifying groups and thus no row-by-row lane designations, and there is no second round shootout for the pole position like we have seen in years past. Because Martinsville is a short track, each driver is allowed to run two qualifying laps rather than just one. The faster of the two laps is the one that counts toward determining the starting lineup.
Follow along with our qualifying updates.
NASCAR Cup Series playoff starting lineup at Martinsville
NOTE: This starting lineup is not official until all 37 drivers are included.
Tune in to NBC at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 26 for the live broadcast of the Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway. If you have yet to begin a free trial of FuboTV, do so now and don’t miss any of the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series playoff action!