NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville

Ryan Blaney didn’t need to win Sunday at Martinsville to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series championship race, but he didn’t want to leave any doubt.

Blaney was dominant throughout the Xfinity 500, leading 145 laps, finishing second in the first stage and winning the second stage and the race to qualify for the title fight in Phoenix. William Byron secured last place in points, finishing 14th at Martinsville.

Blaney and Byron join Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell as the drivers who will fight for the trophy next weekend in Phoenix.

Xfinity 500 results

1. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

2. Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

3. Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4. Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

5. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

6. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

7. Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

9. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

10. Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford

11. Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota

12. Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

13. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

14. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

15. Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford

16. Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

17. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

18. Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

20. Ryan Preece (41), Stewart Haas Racing Ford

21. Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

22. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

23. Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

24. Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

25. Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford

26. Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota

27. Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

28. AJ Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

29. Ryan Newman (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford

30. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

31. Carson Hocevar (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

32. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

33. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

34. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

35. JJ Yeley (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford

36. BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford

Blaney wins stage 2

Ryan Blaney won the second stage of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday and looks to be the car to beat. Blaney started the race in eleventh place but fought his way up to second place behind Denny Hamlin at the end of the opening stage.

After a brief battle after a restart following a spin by Ryan Newman, Blaney finally passed Hamlin with 30 laps to go.

Hamlin takes over Level 1

Denny Hamlin won the first stage of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, edging out fellow playoff contenders Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr.

Hamlin, who started third, and Truex Jr., who started second, both caught young pole-sitter Ty Gibbs at the end of the second lap. On the 48th lap, Hamlin passed Truex Jr. in lap traffic and kept him off the stage until the end. Blaney put in a strong performance in the first stage, starting 11th after narrowly missing out on Saturday’s final qualifying round.

The only caution on the stage came on lap 105 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Harrison Burton tangled with Hamlin right behind and tried to lap them.

The NASCAR Cup Series is moving to the close confines of Martinsville to shrink the playoff field from eight to four on Sunday.

Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell already know they’ll be racing for the championship in Phoenix on November 5, but six others need to win or get a good result to join them. On the positive side of the cut line are William Byron (+30) and Ryan Blaney (+10), while Tyler Reddick (-10), Denny Hamlin (-17), Martin Truex Jr. (-17) and Chris Buescher ( -43) are from the outside and look inwards.

Last year’s penultimate race was the scene of one of the wildest scenes in NASCAR playoff history, as Ross Chastain drove over the wall at full throttle to overtake Hamlin and qualify for the finale on points.

We won’t see a similar move this year, however, as NASCAR responded by banning the maneuver in the offseason.

Here’s what you should know before driving the Xfinity 500:

Xfinity 500 TV/Streaming Schedule

Always east

Saturday
12:30-1:20 p.m.: Training (USA, NBC Sports App)
1:20 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports App)

Sunday
1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Pre-Race Show (NBC, NBC Sports App)
2-5:30 p.m.: Xfinity 500 (NBC, NBC Sports App)

Xfinity 500 details

Rail: Martinsville Raceway, 0.526 mile paperclip oval in Ridgeway, Virginia
Race length: 500 laps for 263 miles
Banking: 12 degrees in the corners, none on the straights
Stage lengths: Stage 1 and 2 – 130 laps | Stage 3 – 240 laps
Last year’s winner: Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Xfinity 500 qualifying results

1. Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2. Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3. Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

4. Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

5. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

6. Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota

7. Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8. Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

9. Ryan Preece (41), Stewart Haas Racing Ford

10. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

11. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

12. Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

13. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

14. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

15. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

16. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

17. Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford

18. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

19. Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

21. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

22. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

23. Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford

24. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

25. AJ Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

26. Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

27. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

28. Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford

29. Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

30. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

31. Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

32. Carson Hocevar (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

33. Ryan Newman (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford

34. Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

35. JJ Yeley (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford

36. BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford

Top drivers and best bets for the Xfinity 500

Denny Hamlin needs to win or finish close to the top to advance to the Championship 4 and he is heading to a track where he has won five times in his career. Understandably, he is the favorite according to BetMGM. The Hendrick Motorsports duo Kyle Larson and William Byron are second and third in the points standings and have the second-best odds at +725 each. Martin Truex Jr., who along with Hamlin is 17 points below the average, is the only other driver entering the race better than 10 to 1.

Best chances of winning
• Denny Hamlin +325
• William Byron +725
• Kyle Larson +725
• Martin Truex Jr. +900

Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote about the betting market earlier this week and recommends backing Christopher Bell and Joey Logano +1700 in addition to the favorites. Bromberg is wary of Brad Keselowski at +700 and if you’re looking for a longshot, Ty Gibbs at +3000 is worth a look.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings

1. Christopher Bell* – 4,110 (-)
2. Kyle Larson* – 4084 (-)
3. William Byron – 4,126 (+30)
4. Ryan Blaney – 4,106 (+10)
_________________________________ cutting line
5. Tyler Reddick – 4,096 (-10)
6. Martin Truex Jr. – 4089 (-17)
7. Denny Hamlin – 4089 (-17)
8th. Chris Buescher – 4,063 (-43)
*-Secured entry into Championship 4

Xfinity 500 entry list

Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
JJ Yeley (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
AJ Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart Haas Racing Ford
Carson Hocevar (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ryan Newman (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet