Martinsville live blog: All the updates from the Round of 8 elimination race

We‘re bringing you live updates covering Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 elimination race from Martinsville Speedway, the Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Bookmark this page and check back often as we chronicle the action from the Virginia short track.

Overview: 

• The 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway hosts the 500-lap Round of 8 playoff elimination race on Sunday afternoon. Leaving the weekend, we‘ll have our 2023 Championship 4.

• Kyle Larson (Las Vegas) and Christopher Bell (Homestead-Miami) have already clinched their spots in the championship race with Round of 8 victories, leaving two entries up for grabs among six remaining contenders.

• At least one driver will advance to the Championship 4 based on points. At 30 points above fifth place, William Byron‘s in the best position to advance without a win, but at Martinsville, that‘s far from a guarantee.

• Ryan Blaney enters the weekend as the fourth-ranked driver 10 points above Tyler Reddick in fifth. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin are 17 points below the elimination line after a pair of DNFs last week in Miami. Chris Buescher is 43 points shy of the current top four, a virtual must-win situation.

Links to keep handy:

• Martinsville playoff race 101, an overview of all things Martinsville from NASCAR.com‘s Cameron Richardson.

• At-track photos from folks talented with the camera.

• Keep up with the action on the go with NASCAR Mobile, watch live in-car cameras with NASCAR Drive and follow along with live leaderboards and scanner audio with Race Center.

• Live standings to answer the question of who‘s in and who‘s out all race long.

All times listed are Eastern.

Saturday, October 28

2:35 p.m.: That‘s it for the Cup Series today. The Xfinity Series crowns its Championship 4 today from Martinsville at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

2:33 p.m.: Playoff contenders‘ qualifying positions:

• Martin Truex Jr: first

• Denny Hamlin: fourth

• Kyle Larson: fifth

• Christopher Bell: seventh

• Ryan Blaney: 11th

• William Byron: 16th

• Chris Buescher: 18th

• Tyler Reddick: 19th

2:30 p.m.: Pole position! The final car on track, Martin Truex Jr., sends his No. 19 to the top of the charts on his first lap with a speedy 20.112-second heater. He‘ll need a great run tomorrow to make up 17 points to advance to the Championship 4. And what better place to make it happen than, well, Martin‘s Ville? OK, I promise that‘s the only time I say that this weekend. (Lineup)

2:18 p.m.: The final round of qualifying has begun. Three Stewart-Haas Racing Fords are among the drivers competing for the pole.

2:10 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece and Christopher Bell advance from Group B. Let‘s see who qualifies on pole.

1:45 p.m.: Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and Kevin Harvick set the five quickest laps in Group A. They‘ll advance to the final round of qualifying, joining the upcoming Group B‘s fast five.

1:42 p.m.: Tyler Reddick goes for a spin out of Turn 4 on his second qualifying lap, but the No. 45 car is safe and appears to be damage-free. But, he won‘t start in the top 10 tomorrow, meaning stage points won‘t come easy for a driver 10 points out of the championship picture.

1:18 p.m.: That‘s it for Group B practice. Martin Truex Jr. was quickest of the bunch with a 20.367-second lap, followed by fellow championship hopeful Ryan Blaney in second. Christopher Bell was seventh and Kyle Larson was eighth, but they‘ve got relatively easy weekends since they‘re already locked into Phoenix. Denny Hamlin‘s Group A time was the fastest overall. On to qualifying!

1:15 p.m.: You might notice the cars are outfitted with windshield wipers this weekend. That‘s due to a 2023 rule where a wet-weather package is in place on road courses and some short oval tracks, including Martinsville. No, there‘s no precipitation in the forecast — but, if it happens, these cars are good to go.

1:00 p.m.: Group B cars are on track, featuring championship contenders Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr.

12:56 p.m.: Group A practice is in the books. Denny Hamlin was quickest with a 20.160-second lap. Of the other championship contenders, William Byron was third, Tyler Reddick was eighth, and Chris Buescher was 13th out of 18.

12:50 p.m.: One surprise in Group A practice with five minutes remaining is second-quickest Corey LaJoie, who joins current leader Denny Hamlin as the only driver to turn a lap under the 20.2-second barrier.

12:35 p.m.: Group A cars are rolling off pit road for practice. That group includes championship contenders Chris Buescher, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick.

10:35 a.m.: By tomorrow night, we‘ll know this year‘s Championship 4. Exciting, right? Practice takes place today at 12:35 p.m. ET, aired on USA Network. Qualifying will follow at 1:20 p.m. ET.