Manufacturer and Team News for Martinsville

Chevy and Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson leads by 73 points with two races to go.

By Roy J. Akers www.skyviewsports.net

Teams/Manufacturers also contributed to this report.

PROUD TO HONOR Driver pairings for the inaugural Veterans Day Classic on Nov. 11 at Daytona International Speedway were announced this week as the 12-driver Ford field was divided into six groups of two representing all six branches of the military. The drivers will compete in Ford Mustang Dark Horse Rs on the Daytona road course. Tickets can be purchased online at fordveteransdayclassic.com. Veterans Day Classic Driver Lineup Army: Brad Keselowski and Joey Hand Navy: Ryan Preece and Logan SargeantAir Force: Austin Cindric and Frankie MunizMarines: Ryan Blaney and Ben HobsonCoast Guard: Joey Logano and Ty MajeskiSpace Force: Noah Gragson and Layne Riggs FORD DRIVERS IN THE CHASE 5th – Joey Logano (-100 behind Kyle Larson)6th – Ryan Blaney (-107)8th – Austin Cindric (-183)15th – Ryan Preece (-249)16th – Chris Buescher (-255 ) BLANEY LOOKING TO STAY ALIVERyan Blaney has won two of the last three Martinsville playoff races and likely needs another in order to stay in championship contention. The 2023 series champion is 107 points behind leader Kyle Larson, but no track has been better to Blaney than this half-mile short track. Sunday will mark his 22nd career start at Martinsville and his 8.0 career average finish is the best of any track currently on the circuit (at least five starts). Further proof of his track consistency can be found in the fact he has finished 11th or better in 15 straight events, including the spring event earlier this season when he was sixth. LOGANO LIKES MARTINSVILLE Ford’s other playoff contender, Joey Logano is 100 points out of the lead and is also in a likely must-win scenario, but just like Blaney, he’s had a great deal of success at Martinsville Speedway. Logano’s average starting position of 8.3 ranks second among current tracks where he has made at least five starts with World Wide Technology Raceway being the only one that is better (7.8). And just like Blaney, he comes into Sunday’s race on a streak that has seen him post 14 consecutive top-10 finishes at the half-mile paperclip, including a third place effort in the spring.BUESCHER TO MAKE 400THCAREER CUP STARTChris Buescher will be making his 400th career NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, a place where he has a pair of top 10 finishes in 22 starts. Buescher made his debut in 2015 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA, with Front Row Motorsports and finished 20th. Since then, he’s posted six victories, including a career-best three in 2023 when he won at Richmond, Michigan and Daytona. Buescher becomes the fourth active Ford driver to make that many starts, joining Joey Logano (649), Brad Keselowski (627) and Ryan Blaney (412).

NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS/NCTS

Camry XSE drivers look to close points gap … With just two races remaining in the season, Denny Hamlin leads Team Toyota in the standings in second place, with a logjam of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota Camry XSE’s following closely behind heading into this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin sits 73 points behind the leader, with teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe third and fourth in the standings, respectively. Bell sits just one point behind Hamlin and 74 out of the lead, while Briscoe is only six points behind Hamlin and 79 markers behind the leader.

Hamlin looks to recapture Martinsville magic … With Hamlin looking to gain ground in the standings, there’s no better place to head than back to his home state, where he’s found plenty of success over the course of his 21-year career in NASCAR’s top series. Hamlin will make his 42nd career Cup Series start at ‘The Paperclip’ on Sunday, where he has six wins, 22 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes during his impressive career. The Virginia native captured his most recent win there last spring and started this year’s spring race with a pole-winning effort. Hamlin knows a seventh career Martinsville win would go a long way to be a part of the championship fight next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Briscoe eager to continue Martinsville success … Chase Briscoe returns to Martinsville Speedway this weekend where he’s found solid success over the last several years. Entering this weekend, the JGR driver has earned six top-10 finishes in the last nine Martinsville races, dating back to the spring of 2022. His best career Cup Series finish at Martinsville was a fourth-place result in the fall of 2023

Thompson looking to extend late season surge … Dean Thompson left Talladega Superspeedway last weekend with his second consecutive top-10 finish – the first time in his career he has recorded back-to-back top-10 runs. Since Labor Day weekend, Thompson has finished every race inside the top-20, including three top-10 finishes. Even better news for the driver of the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra is the O’Reilly Series heads to Martinsville this weekend and a good shot to extend his top-10 streak. In fact, Thompson has finished inside the top-10 in all three career starts at the .526-mile short track, most recently bringing home a seventh-place finish there in the spring.

Honeycutt eyeing first Truck Series Championship…Toyota Development Driver Kaden Honeycutt heads to Martinsville looking to continue his solid run in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro extended his points lead last weekend to 43 points with a fifth-place finish at Talladega. With two races remaining in the season and the championship fight, Honeycutt looks to add another solid run during this year’s postseason. Honeycutt has been a model of consistency during the first five races of the Chase, as he has posted two wins, four top-five and five top-10 finishes. The Texas native brought home his best career finish at Martinsville of second last fall driving a Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Halmar-Friesen Racing, as a win would go a long way towards capturing the series title.

LARSON WITHIN REACH OF A THIRD TITLE Kyle Larson turned Talladega Superspeedway from a potential championship obstacle into a statement performance, rallying from 11th on the final lap to claim his first career superspeedway victory and lead a Chevrolet top-six sweep. His 71-point afternoon expanded a five-point championship lead to 73 points over Denny Hamlin, giving the reigning champion an opportunity to secure his third Cup Series title at Martinsville. The No. 5 Chevrolet team returns to a track where they’ve recorded eight consecutive top-10 finishes, including his spring 2023 victory and a ninth-place result earlier this season. With a 5.8 average finish in the Next Gen era at “The Paperclip”, the third-best in the field, Larson has a chance to turn his Martinsville consistency into the defining performance of his title defense.

ELLIOTT EYES A MARTINSVILLE SWEEP Chase Elliott returns to Martinsville Speedway looking to complete a season sweep after delivering Chevrolet’s breakthrough NASCAR Cup Series victory of 2026 at the track in March. The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team combined a well-timed short-pit strategy with Elliott’s execution in traffic to take control of the spring race. The Georgia native went on to lead the final 69 laps en route to claiming his second coveted grandfather clock. While Elliott is no longer mathematically eligible for this season’s championship, another grandfather clock would give the team a strong closing statement and extend Chevrolet’s winning legacy at its most successful Cup Series venue.