Three big questions ahead of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville

The second-to-last race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season will be held at the shortest racetrack on the schedule.

Here are three questions ahead of the Xfinity 500 at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway on Nov. 1.

Can Kyle Larson clinch the championship?

After his win at Talladega, Larson is 73 points up on second-place Denny Hamlin in the standings. If he leaves Martinsville with a lead of 76 points or more, he'll clinch the championship before the Nov. 8 season finale at Homestead. 

Larson has been exceptional at Martinsville in the Next-Gen era, and while he only has one victory to his name at The Paperclip, he doesn't need to win to get to the 76-point lead threshold and claim his third Cup title.

Can Denny Hamlin keep his title hopes for lead?

The only unfortunate news of the week for Larson is that his main challenger for the championship in Hamlin is elite at Martinsville. He's won at his home track six times, most recently in March 2025. Hamlin doesn't necessarily need a win to keep his championship hopes alive going into Homestead, but a win, especially one on 70-plus point day, would go a long way towards giving him an opportunity to score his first title.

What Hamlin can't afford to do this weekend is make a mistake and either practice or qualifying that would force him to either go to a backup car or start at the rear of the field. Qualifying inside the top five or top 10 at the least seems like a priority for the No. 11 team going into the weekend.

Does anyone else make a last-ditch effort to save their season?

It's not just Hamlin who is still mathematically alive in the championship hunt. In fact, five other drivers still have a shot, albeit an outside one, to win the title with two races to go.

Christopher Bell (third, -74) won at Martinsville in the fall of 2022; Chase Briscoe (fourth, -79) has been in lockstep with Larson from a speed perspective for most of the Chase; Joey Logano (fifth, -100) can never be counted out, as history proves; Ryan Blaney (sixth, -109) is a two-time Martinsville fall race winner and Tyler Reddick (seventh, -126) has the most wins in the series this season (six), though Martinsville is far from his best track.

A win and a poor result from Larson could keep all of those drivers within mathematical striking distance of the points leader going into Homestead.