The first race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off Feb. 18. Here are the keys dates for the upcoming season.v
It’s time for the final race of the short track swing.
For the third time in the last four weeks, NASCAR is visiting a track that is less than a mile long. And for the second straight week, that track is located in Virginia.
This time it’s a trip to Martinsville Speedway – NASCAR’s oldest track, which has held a sanctioned race every year since 1949 (NASCAR’s first season).
The half-mile short track, known as “The Paperclip” due to its shape, presents a unique challenge for drivers with its long asphalt straightaways and flat, tight concrete turns.
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When is the race this weekend? And who are the drivers to keep an eye on? Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville:
NASCAR at Martinsville entry list
Thirty-seven drivers will race at Martinsville – the 34 full-timers, plus three others.
Kaz Grala will drive for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort this season. Elsewhere, Josh Williams (who competes full-time in the Xfinity Series) will make his second start of the season for Kaulig Racing and veteran David Starr will make his season debut for MBM Motorsports.
Here’s the full entry list for Martinsville:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Worldwide Express |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Menards |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mobil 1 |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | HendrickCars.com |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Body Guard |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Gainbridge |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Lucas Oil |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | UniFirst |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Overstock |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Sport Clips Haircuts |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Advance Auto Parts |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | HighPoint.com |
| 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing | N29 Capital Partners |
| 16 | Josh Williams | Kaulig Racing | Alloy Employer Services |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | BuildSubmarines.com |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Yahoo! |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Motorcraft |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Shell/Pennzoil |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | McDonald's |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Axalta |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Cirkul |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Long John Silver's |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Carson-Newman University |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Haas Tooling |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Skip Barber Racing School |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Family Dollar |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | MoneyLion |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | SunnyD |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally Financial |
| 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ohanafy |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Monster Energy |
| 66 | David Starr | MBM Motorsports | TBA |
| 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports | Focused Health |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Delaware Life |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Freeway Insurance |
When is the NASCAR race this weekend at Martinsville?
The Cook Out 400 at Martinsville is set for Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 37-car field will be split into two groups (found here), with each group practicing for 20 minutes on Saturday.
Qualifying will start immediately after practice. Each car from the two groups will make two laps in the first round, with the five fastest cars on single-lap speed in each group advancing to the final round. In the final round, the remaining drivers each get two laps to set the top 10 starting order, with positions 11 through 37 set based on first round times.
NASCAR TV schedule this weekend at Martinsville
Saturday, April 6 (FS2 and streaming online)
- Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET, FS2, FOXSports.com
- Qualifying: 5:20 p.m. ET, FS2, FOXSports.com
Sunday, April 7 (FS1 and streaming online)
- NASCAR RaceDay: 2 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
- Cook Out 400: 3 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
NASCAR Martinsville past winners, race history
There are 11 former Martinsville winners who will race on Sunday, including defending spring race winner Kyle Larson. Ryan Blaney is the most recent winner at Martinsville, taking home the checkered flag in the race last October.
While Larson and Blaney are the most recent winners, they don’t have the best historical stats. That title belongs to Denny Hamlin, who has five wins to lead all active drivers. Martin Truex Jr. (3), Brad Keselowski (2) and Kyle Busch (2) are the other multi-race winners.
Along with Larson and Blaney, Joey Logano (2018), Chase Elliott (2020), Alex Bowman (2021), William Byron (2022) and Christopher Bell (2022) have one career Martinsville victory.
NASCAR at Martinsville favorites, drivers to watch
Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have been the story of the season so far – and you shouldn’t expect that to change this weekend.
The two organizations have combined to win six of the seven races to start 2024, with three apiece. Looking at Martinsville, they’ve combined to win eight of the last nine races dating back to 2019, with four apiece. Hendrick leads all organizations with 28 Martinsville wins, including its first back in 1984 – which the team is celebrating the 40th anniversary of this weekend.
So, yeah, the eight drivers for those two teams will be worth watching.
Hamlin (JGR) has five wins, 25 top-10s, 2,382 laps led and a 10.1 average finish in 35 career Martinsville starts. Truex (JGR) and Elliott (HMS) have both totaled over 1,000 laps led in their careers at Martinsville.
Beyond Hendrick and Gibbs, keep an eye on Team Penske. The aforementioned Blaney is the most recent winner at Martinsville and leads all drivers with a 9.0 average finish in 16 starts. Logano, with 18 top-10s and five poles in 30 starts, holds the third-best average finish at 10.9.
Sunday’s race won’t be won in qualifying on Saturday, but it could certainly be lost that way. If a driver puts down a slow lap time and starts near the back, it will be a long day trying to regain track position. Take note of the starting lineup and adjust your expectations accordingly – no driver started outside the top-20 and won at Martinsville since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014.
