The Round of 8 has arrived for two of NASCAR’s top series, so here’s where and when to watch all the racing from Martinsville.
And then there were eight. For the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, only eight drivers are still alive for the 2017 championship. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has two fewer contenders, but both series will take their first steps toward the final cut this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
In the Cup Series, everyone is chasing Martin Truex Jr. A very unfortunate engine failure knocked out one of his chief rivals, Kyle Larson, but there are still plenty of talented and driven drivers trying to knock him off his perch. As an added wrinkle, qualifying will take place just hours before Sunday’s First Data 500 — though controversially, pit stalls were chosen based on last week’s qualifying sessions.
Truex’s counterpart in the Truck Series is Christopher Bell, who has as big a lead over Johnny Sauter as Sauter has over sixth-place Austin Cindric. Bell is headed for the XFINITY Series next season and just won a race at that level to prove he’ll be a handful, but he’s got unfinished business in a truck that starts at Martinsville.
Next: Bubba Wallace to drive the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports in 2018
As we always do, we’ll remind you that you’ll need two different networks to watch all of the action this weekend since the trucks remain on FS1 all the way to the end of the playoffs. Courtesy of NASCAR.com, here’s the full TV schedule for both series as they go short track racing with some high stakes.
Saturday, Oct. 28
- NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, 10:00 a.m., FS1
- NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas Roadhouse 200 presented by Alpha Energy Solutions, 1:00 p.m., FS1
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, 4:00 p.m., NBCSN
Sunday, Oct. 29
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, 12:05 p.m., NBCSN
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500, 3:00 p.m., NBCSN