This Week in Motorsports: October 26 – November 1, 2020
· NCS/NXS/NGROTS: Martinsville Speedway – October 30 – November 1
PLANO, Texas (October 29, 2020) – NASCAR’s top three series set their Championship 4 drivers this weekend as they battle one of the smallest tracks on the schedule at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway.
NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NGROTS
Busch Claims Victory in Texas… Kyle Busch scored a victory in 2020 in Wednesday night’s rain-delayed NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch led a race-high 90 laps (of 334) to earn his first victory of the 2020 season and 57th of his career. With the win, Busch has scored at least one victory in all 16 of his full-time NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) seasons.
Hamlin Ready to Add to Martinsville Success … Denny Hamlin has quite the track record at Martinsville Speedway. The Virginia-native scored Toyota’s first victory at Martinsville Speedway in 2008 and has since added four additional wins, including a sweep of both races in 2010. Hamlin goes into Martinsville with a 27-point advantage over the Playoff cutline that will decide the final four drivers competing for the NCS championship in Phoenix.
Truex Looking for Three Straight… Martinsville has been good to Martin Truex Jr. recently. Last fall, Truex clinched his third straight Championship 4 appearance with a dominating performance as he led 464 laps (of 500) en route to the win. Truex scored a Playoff berth this season with his victory there in June. He bounced back from early damage to take the lead and led the final 131 laps to earn the win. Truex sits below the Championship 4 cutline and will need a victory on Sunday to secure his spot to run for the 2020 title.
Bell Earns Career-Best Result… Christopher Bell earned a career-best third-place finish in Wednesday’s NCS race at Texas Motor Speedway, giving Toyota its 11th NCS top-three sweep. Bell has two previous top-five finishes in his Truck Series starts at Martinsville Speedway.
Jones Plans to Clinch… After getting involved in a late-race accident at Texas, Brandon Jones finds himself just four points below the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Playoff cutoff line. Jones has five NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) starts at Martinsville Speedway, with a best finish of seventh in 2015. Jones will run the NGROTS race on Friday evening for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) to prepare for Saturday’s NXS battle.
Burton Impressive at Texas… Harrison Burton had an incredible effort late in the race at Texas Motor Speedway to score his third win of his NXS career. The 20-year-old made a pass on the last corner to earn the victory. Martinsville Speedway was the site of Burton’s NASCAR national series debut in 2016 at the age of 15. Burton has made seven NGROTS starts at Martinsville with his best finish of fourth in 2017.
Hill in Good Spot Heading into Martinsville… The NGROTS regular season champion Austin Hill has not clinched but is in a solid position in the point standings heading into Martinsville. Hill has earned top-three finishes in the first two races in the Round of 8 and holds a 27-point advantage on the Playoff cutline. Hill also made his NGROTS debut at Martinsville Speedway in 2014 and scored his first career top-10 finish at the track in 2016.
Kraus on a Top-10 Streak… Last season’s ARCA West champion Derek Kraus continues to impress in his rookie season in the NGROTS. The 19-year-old driver has earned top-10 finishes in his last three starts and has 12 top-10 finishes in 21 events this season. Kraus’ average finish of 12.6 ranks better than three Truck Series Playoff drivers.
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