A week after one of the best NASCAR Cup Series drivers of all time to not win a title clinched a spot in the 2025 Championship 4 race, Chase Briscoe earned a spot in his first title race.
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver earned his third win of the season and second of the playoffs with a race to victory in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Briscoe took the lead in the final lap of overtime and held off two non-playoff drivers, Todd Gilliland and Ty Gibbs, to get his second playoff in win in eight races.
This means two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers will be in the hunt for the title in Phoenix in the season finale, Briscoe and Denny Hamlin.
“I don’t know what’s more unbelievable – the fact that we’re going to the Championship 4 or that I won a superspeedway race,” Briscoe said. “What an amazing day.”
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
Aug. 23: Ryan Blaney celebrates winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
Aug. 23: Ryan Blaney celebrates winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
Aug. 16: Austin Dillon celebrates after winning the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
Aug 10: Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates after winning the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
Aug. 3: William Byron (24) celebrates after winning the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
July 27: Bubba Wallace and his wife Amanda celebrate with the trophy on the yard of brick at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after winning the Brickyard 400.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
July 20: Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
July 13: Shane van Gisbergen celebrates after winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
July 6: Shane van Gisbergen celebrates after winning the Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Race.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
June 28: Chase Elliott celebrates in victory lane after winning the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
June 22: Chase Briscoe celebrates winning The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
June 15: Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates winning the Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
June 8: Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
June 1: Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
May 25: Ross Chastain celebrates after winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
May 11: Kyle Larson celebrates winning the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
May 4: Joey Logano celebrates after winning the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
April 27: Austin Cindric celebrates in victory lane after winning the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
April 13: Kyle Larson celebrates winning the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
April 6: Denny Hamlin celebrates with his Joe Gibbs Racing crew after winning the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
March 30: Denny Hamlin celebrates after his win at the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
March 23: Kyle Larson celebrates with his son after winning the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
March 16: Josh Berry celebrates after winning the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
March 9: Christopher Bell celebrates winning the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
Feb. 23: Christopher Bell celebrates winning the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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Every NASCAR Cup Series race winner of 2025 in photos
Feb. 16: William Byron, center, celebrates winning the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Two of four spots in the Championship 4 are now set. This week, NASCAR heads to one of the oldest tracks on the calendar – Martinsville Speedway – to potentially secure a third contender.
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It’s the penultimate round of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Here’s everything you need to know to get ready for the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, Oct. 26:
Which drivers made 2025 NASCAR playoffs? Points, standings, 10-race schedule
What time does the NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville?
The Xfinity 500 is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 26 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.
What TV channel is the NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville?
The Xfinity 500 will be broadcast on NBC, the channel for the final three races of the Cup Series playoffs. Pre-race coverage will start at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville?
Yes, the Xfinity 500 will be streamed on Peacock, HBO Max, Sling TV and Fubo, which is offering a free trial to new subscribers.
Stream the NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville on Fubo
How many laps is the NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville?
The Xfinity 500 is 500 laps around the 0.526-mile track for a total of 263 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 130 laps; Stage 2: 130 laps; Stage 3: 240 laps.
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NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings
Here’s how things look with one race left in the Round of 8. The bottom four drivers will be eliminated after Martinsville ahead of the finale in Phoenix. Drivers who have secured a spot in the Championship 4 are marked with an asterisk.
William Byron (24) and Joey Logano (22) lead the field on a restart out of Turn 1 during the 2025 Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
Who won the NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville last year?
Ryan Blaney controlled the final 14 laps at Martinsville Speedway to earn victory in the 2024 Xfinity 500. Blaney bounced back from a near-victory the week prior to ensure he could fight to defend his Cup Series title. He took victory ahead of Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric and Hamlin.
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The race wasn’t without controversy, though, as Christopher Bell’s late pass on Bubba Wallace was ruled illegal because of “wall-riding” and that kept Bell out of the Championship 4.
NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville starting lineup
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR race today: Martinsville start time, TV, live stream, lineup