Records and facts

Last year's Xfinity 500 saw Chase Elliott run down teammate Kyle Larson and take the lead with 24 laps to go. However, Ryan Blaney was strong late in the going and took the lead from Elliott on lap 486. From there, he drove away to take the win.

Blaney won by 2.593 seconds over Elliott. Larson was third, then Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin. Christopher Bell was in position to take the final spot in the Championship 4, but he was penalized for wall riding and docked back to 22nd. That gave William Byron the final spot in the Championship 4.

Among active drivers, Jimmie Johnson (not entered) has the most wins at Martinsville with nine. Hamlin has six triumphs, while William Byron, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski have two each.

All-time, Richard Petty is the leader with 15 career victories. Darrell Waltrip has 11 Martinsville victories, then Johnson and Jeff Gordon with nine. Rusty Wallace has seven wins, while three other drivers (Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt and Fred Lorenzen) have six wins each.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length:  0.526-mile oval, 500 laps (263 miles) 
Banking: 12 degrees
Straightaways: 800 ft., flat
Grandstand Seating: 55,000

Pit Road Speed: 30 mph
Pace Car Speed: 35 mph
Opened: 1947 (first Cup race in the inaugural season, 1949)

Website: http://www.martinsvillespeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinsvilleSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MartinsvilleSwy

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Saturday, Oct. 25, 4:30 - 5:25 p.m. ET on TruTV/HBO Max

Qualifying: Saturday, Oct. 25 at 5:40 p.m. ET on TruTV/HBO Max

Say What!

"Martinsville has been pretty good to me since driving for Trackhouse. Obviously, I've had one of the biggest moments of my career there but we've been consistently strong there over the last few years. Whatever Phil Surgen does to the car it really fits my driving style there. I can remember going to race at Martinsville just a few years with a car that had parts and pieces the other teams were throwing away, so I've definitely come a long way and it's so much fun to drive a fast car at Martinsville. I enjoy driving to the track instead of getting on a plane and flying. It's a great drive, especially in the fall with all of the leaves changing and then you arrive in Martinsville and the track sits down the hill, it's really cool." - Ross Chastain

"Martinsville is a racetrack that’s been challenging to us over the last couple years with this car. We’ve made some gains there, so I’m looking forward to getting on track to see if we’ve found more speed. I thought in the spring, we had some positive takeaways. We’re looking to build off what we learned in the spring and keep working hard to finish these last two races strong." - AJ Allmendinger

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.