NASCAR at Martinsville: Ross Chastain’s evolution, plus starting lineup, how to watch

At the NASCAR Cup Series playoff media day in early September, a few days before 16 drivers began their respective postseason runs in Darlington, a reporter relayed to Ross Chastain that at least one driver believed that Chastain could win the whole thing.

There was an unsaid but well-known caveat in there, though: if he can get there.

“I’ve taken this summer and not made it easier on myself,” Chastain said at the time. “But I don’t see a single race the rest of the year that TrackHouse can’t win.”

It’s no secret that the driver of the No. 1 car once drew the ire of a lot of heavyweights in the garage. Chastain’s aggressive driving style — borne from his slam-or-be-slammed upbringing on short tracks in Florida — led him to run-ins with everyone from Chase Elliott to Martin Truex Jr. to Denny Hamlin. Kyle Busch, after finishing ninth at Richmond on Aug. 14, told NBC postrace that he’d gotten “Chastained” — as if to say that Chastain’s rambunctiousness causing wrecks was his brand.

There was a prevailing thought that Chastain, because of all the enemies he’d made, wouldn’t make it far in the playoffs. Drivers who he’d done wrong would retaliate at the costliest of times — a death wish in a sport like racing, where gives-and-takes are part of the trade and required for sustenance.

A deep run felt improbable in September.

And yet, still, Chastain’s here — one good showing in Martinsville away from the Championship 4.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns at 2 p.m. Sunday to Martinsville Speedway for the final race of the Round of 8 playoffs. Fans can catch the action on the 0.526-mile track on NBC and on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Joey Logano’s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway punched his ticket to the championship race in Phoenix. That means three of the remaining seven drivers are fighting to clinch their spots in points or with a win at Martinsville.

And Chastain? He’s sitting second heading into Sunday, 14 points above the cutoff. He would clinch a spot in the Championship 4 with 36 points.

This good positioning heading into Martinsville has come thanks to a bit of an evolution: Chastain is still aggressive, but he’s learned how to be more selective with his decision-making on-track. That was on full display this past weekend at Homestead, when he conceded a spot to Kyle Larson in the closing laps, choosing to settle in for a commendable second-place finish instead of risking ending his day to keep up with the eventual winner.

It’s all been a learning experience, Chastain said.

“Early in the year, honestly, I was like, ‘We got out on the good end of this car, but they’re gonna catch up by the summer,’” Chastain told reporters earlier this week. “And so I was just trying to make everything I could happen when I should’ve just chilled out and let the races come to me. And I think we would’ve won more races this year. So having that confidence that different people separately keep coming up and grabbing me privately and telling me (that we’re going to be doing this for a long time), it makes it a lot easier to digest and to prepare. We can only go prepare the best we can.

“Not changing anything this week. Not changing anything next week, no matter what the circumstances are.”

The other playoff drivers in the mix are as follows: Chase Elliott is third in the points race and will start in second; William Byron is fourth and will start in P25. Hamlin (starting P11), Ryan Blaney (P4), Christopher Bell (P20) and Chase Briscoe (P3) have some work to do to still be competing for a championship by the end of Martinsville.

Kyle Larson will start on the pole. The driver of the No. 5 car is competing for an owner’s championship. He earned a spot in Phoenix after last weekend’s win at Homestead.

Hamlin leads all active Cup drivers in postseason wins at Martinsville with two (2009, 2010). Byron won the race in the spring.

What to know about the race at Martinsville

• Race: Xfinity 500
• Place: Martinsville Speedway
• Date: Sunday, October 30
• Time: 2 p.m. ET
• Purse: $8,132,735
• TV: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
• Distance: 263 miles (500 Laps)
• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 130), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 260), Third Stage (Ends on Lap 500)

Xfinity 500 starting lineup

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription