NASCAR Cup Series

"Martinsville this weekend should be a lot of fun. We’ve got the Grey Ghost – I appreciate everybody voting for that paint scheme so I can run it. I didn’t get to drive that car last year and I love that car, so I may have swayed the vote because I went on social media and said, 'That’s the one I’d love to run.’ I’m excited to get the opportunity to drive that car this weekend. Martinsville is a great track for us. I love the short tracks and short-track racing.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing the Grey Ghost scheme at Martinsville

Sundays First Data 5oo at Martinsville Speedway will kick off the Round of 8 this weekend. Most of the eight drivers remaining in the Playoffs have had wins in the past or good finishes. Sunday's race will be crucial because if any of the eight Playoff drivers win the event, they will automatically punch a ticket to the championship-deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Bayne makes his seventh career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) start at Martinsville Speedway this weekend. In six previous starts at the famed Virginia short track, Bayne has recorded a best finish of 13th in the spring 2017 event.

Stenhouse has nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Martinsville with an average starting position of 24.0.

Richard Childress Racing's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history at Martinsville Speedway ... In 162 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has earned four pole awards and posted seven victories with drivers Dale Earnhardt (five times), Ricky Rudd (1983) and Kevin Harvick (2011). RCR Chevrolet teams have earned 30 top-five and 62 top-10 finishes at Martinsville dating back to the team's first start there on April 10, 1972. Richard Childress, a former driver in NASCAR's top division, contributed four of those top-10 finishes from 1976-1978.

Leavine Family Racing (LFR) has announced that Travis Mack will assume Crew Chief duties for the No. 95 with driver Kasey Kahne in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) season.

The Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begins this weekend at Martinsville Speedway with three Ford drivers still in contention for the championship. Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing), Brad Keselowski (Team Penske) and Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) all have a chance to become Ford’s first series champion since 2004. Here’s a look at how each driver will begin this next three-race round and how they have performed at Martinsville.

With Kyle Larson's 39th-place finish at Kansas Speedway as well as his subsequent elimination from the NASCAR Playoffs, the stage is starting to be set for a possible underdog situation when the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami comes around.

Imagine a race that featured the excitement of Daytona or Bristol. Imagine a race with a broadcast crew that featured the talent of a Chris Economaki, Vin Scully, Danny Gallivan, or a Keith Jackson. Imagine that Yoko Ono co-wrote that song with her husband. That should snap us all back to reality, though that last one is apparently true.

1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex started on the pole and won at Kansas, posting his series-best seventh victory of the season. "The phrase heard most often in NASCAR this year is 'Truex wins,'" Truex said. "I'm just hoping to add 'it all' to the end of it."