Xfinity 500
Two races are left in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season and the final race of the Round of 8 will determine the four drivers that are eligible to win the Cup Championship at Phoenix next weekend. Before we get there, we have the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, VA, so it will be a long ride for the haulers to finish out the season.
Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe already have wins in this round, so those two have punched their tickets. Two more berths remain and that means we are likely to see some very aggressive racing from the six drivers still in the mix, making for a fun run around the .526-mile short track.
How to Watch The Xfinity 500
When: Sunday, October 26, 2025
Where: Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, VA
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
2025 NASCAR Cup Series Standings
The race winners so far are William Byron (2), Kyle Larson (3), Christopher Bell (4), Denny Hamlin (6), Shane van Gisbergen (5), Ryan Blaney (3), Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe (3), Chase Elliott (2), Bubba Wallace, and Austin Dillon. Briscoe’s win last week at Talladega was his first since he won the opening playoff race at Darlington. Hamlin’s sixth win came two weeks ago at Las Vegas.
All remaining playoff drivers had their point totals set to 4000 and then bonus points accumulated during the season were then added. The bottom four in points of the playoff drivers will be cut from contention after each round of three races.
After last week’s YellaWood 500, here are the playoff standings.
- Chase Briscoe 4116
- Christopher Bell 4107
- Kyle Larson 4106
- Denny Hamlin 4103
- William Byron 4070
- Joey Logano 4068
- Ryan Blaney 4059
- Chase Elliott 4044
With Hamlin and Briscoe already in, the pressure is on for the other drivers. Talladega did Talladega things last week, as Briscoe won, Bell was eighth, and nobody else finished in the top 15. There will only be one wild card based on points and with the big gap between Bell, Larson, and the other eligibles, it looks like Byron, Logano, Blaney, and Elliott need to go all-out for the win.
2025 NASCAR Cup Championship Playoffs Schedule
Round of 16
Cook Out Southern 500 (Darlington) – August 31, 6 p.m. ETEnjoy Illinois 300 (World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison) – September 7, 3 p.m. ETBass Pro Shops Night Race (Bristol) – September 13, 7:30 p.m. ET
Round of 12
Mobil 1 301 (New Hampshire) – September 21, 2 p.m. ETHollywood Casino 400 (Kansas) – September 28, 3 p.m. ETBank of America Roval 400 (Charlotte) – October 5, 3 p.m. ET
Round of 8
South Point 400 (Las Vegas) – October 12, 5:30 p.m. ETYellaWood 500 (Talladega) – October 19, 2 p.m. ET- Xfinity 500 (Martinsville) – October 26, 2 p.m. ET
Championship Race
- NASCAR Cup Championship Race (Phoenix) – November 2, 3 p.m. ET
Xfinity 500 Winners
Through all of the changes to the NASCAR schedule, including new tracks, Martinsville remains a constant. The Cup Series has had two races scheduled here every year since 1950. That means we have a big supply of data to use for handicapping this race. This is the track that Byron would hope to see with his playoff life on the line, as he won the spring race in 2022 and 2024. Hamlin won it earlier this year.
Similarly, this is the track that Blaney wants to see, as he’s the reigning two-time winner of this race. Bell and Elliott also have recent wins in this event. Over the last 10 races at Martinsville, the highest average finish goes to Blaney at 5.6, with Logano at 5.8, Larson at 6.3, Elliott at 7.5, Hamlin at 9.5, Byron at 11.7, and the first non-eligible driver in Chastain seventh at 12.0. In other words, this race should play a huge role in who moves on.
Steve Makinen’s Xfinity 500 Predictions
For the latest odds and VSiN’s NASCAR Best Bets, head to our NASCAR Hub to see Steve Makinen’s final simulation results and more stats on the drivers.
This past Sunday’s race at Talladega was wild as usual, and the track did its best to earn its handicap-ability grade of D-. That said, Chase Briscoe, our projected runner-up won the race so for this season we had a projected winner and projected runner-up take the checkered flags at Talladega, so perhaps the grade will change when I review it prior to next season.
This week’s race at Martinsville should be a dogfight, as six drivers vie for the final two spots in the championship four next week at Phoenix, joining Briscoe and Denny Hamlin. Christopher Bell (projected 7th) and Kyle Larson (projected 5th) are in the best shape to do so on points, and both are likely to get in should the winner this week not be William Byron (4th), Joey Logano (9th), Ryan Blaney (8th) or Chase Elliott (1st). Yes, Elliott is last in the playoff point standings but would qualify for the championship four by winning at a track where he has been very successful.
Bubba Wallace is the only non-playoff driver projected in the top 9 at Martinsville, he slides in at #2. The only other underdogs I would consider at this point would be those that qualify up towards the front on Saturday, otherwise it could be a playoff driver blockade at a track where it is tough to pass.
