2026 Xfinity 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 35 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | November 1, 2026 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.526 miles (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.5 km) | ||
| Average speed | 79.257 miles per hour (127.552 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 19.226 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 362 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Time | 19.817 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (Backstretch) | ||
The 2026 Xfinity 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on November 1, 2026, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the 0.526 mile (0.847 km) paperclip-shaped short track, it was the 35th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, the ninth race of the NASCAR Chase.
William Byron won the race. Chase Elliott finished 2nd, and Ty Gibbs finished 3rd. Josh Berry and Shane van Gisbergen rounded out the top five, and Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell rounded out the top ten.
Report
Background
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is currently the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track on the NASCAR circuit since its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
- (CC) denotes chase contender.
Practice
Ryan Preece was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 19.600 seconds and a speed of 96.612 mph (155.482 km/h).
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | Ryan Preece (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 19.600 | 96.612 |
| 2 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 19.679 | 96.224 |
| 3 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 19.740 | 95.927 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 19.226 and a speed of 98.492 mph (158.508 km/h).
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 130
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 60 | Ryan Preece (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Austin Cindric (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 130
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 240
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 24 | William Byron (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 76 |
| 2 | 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 45 |
| 3 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 500 | 51 |
| 4 | 10 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 500 | 43 |
| 5 | 29 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 32 |
| 6 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 500 | 31 |
| 7 | 20 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 30 |
| 8 | 15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 499 | 34 |
| 9 | 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 499 | 28 |
| 10 | 14 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 499 | 35 |
| 11 | 16 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 499 | 36 |
| 12 | 12 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 499 | 29 |
| 13 | 7 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 499 | 29 |
| 14 | 11 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 499 | 23 |
| 15 | 22 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 499 | 25 |
| 16 | 26 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 499 | 21 |
| 17 | 18 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 499 | 20 |
| 18 | 5 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 498 | 25 |
| 19 | 33 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 498 | 18 |
| 20 | 17 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 498 | 0 |
| 21 | 25 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 498 | 16 |
| 22 | 28 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 498 | 15 |
| 23 | 6 | 60 | Ryan Preece (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 498 | 22 |
| 24 | 18 | 17 | Chris Buescher (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 497 | 13 |
| 25 | 32 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 497 | 12 |
| 26 | 31 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 497 | 11 |
| 27 | 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 497 | 10 |
| 28 | 24 | 7 | Daniel Suárez (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 497 | 9 |
| 29 | 30 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 497 | 8 |
| 30 | 34 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 497 | 7 |
| 31 | 35 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 496 | 6 |
| 32 | 27 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 495 | 5 |
| 33 | 37 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 494 | 4 |
| 34 | 21 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 487 | 3 |
| 35 | 13 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 441 | 2 |
| 36 | 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 222 | 5 |
| 37 | 36 | 66 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Garage 66 | Ford | 105 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 11 among 6 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 47
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 6 seconds
- Average speed: 79.257 miles per hour (127.552 km/h)
Media
Television
NBC covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Marty Snider, and Trevor Bayne handled pit road for the television side.
| NBC | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Kim Coon Marty Snider Trevor Bayne |
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley and former championship winning crew chief Todd Gordon had the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covered the action for MRN when the field raced down the backstraightway into turn 3. MRN Lead Pit Reporter Steve Post, Wendy Venturini, and Chris Wilner covered the action for MRN from pit lane.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Todd Gordon | Backstretch: Dave Moody | Steve Post Wendy Venturini Chris Wilner |
Standings after the race
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References
- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Martinsville Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 26, 2026. Retrieved October 26, 2026.
- ↑ "Qualifying Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 31, 2026. Retrieved October 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Starting Lineup" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 31, 2026. Retrieved October 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 1, 2026. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 1, 2026. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
- ↑ Page, Scott (November 1, 2026). "William Byron wins Xfinity 500 Cup race at Martinsville". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (October 31, 2026). "NASCAR Cup Martinsville starting lineup: Denny Hamlin rockets to pole". Motorsport.com. Ridgeway, Virginia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved October 31, 2026.