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NASCAR's Final Leg of Round of 4 at Martinsville Sunday

Kyle Larson led 199 of 267 laps at Homestead-Miami and won for the third time this season but only one driver has punched his ticket to the Final Four race next Sunday at Phoenix as the NASCAR Cup Series wraps up its round of eight this Sunday at Martinsville.

 

Joey Logano remains the only driver to have clinched a spot in the four-driver championship finale, leaving seven others to battle for the final three spots on NASCAR’s oldest and shortest track. 

 

Among the remaining playoff contenders, Denny Hamlin has won five times on the 0.526-mile paper clip-shaped track, but not since March of 2015. Logano, Chase Elliott and William Byron have each won once, with Byron’s coming earlier this year. 

 

Logano leads Ross Chastain by five points, Elliott by 13 and Byron by 19. Eighth-place Chase Briscoe is 63 points off the lead. Ryan Blaney remains the only winless driver in contention for the championship.

 

Race time is 1 pm Sunday afternoon. 

 

Noah Gragson gave JR Motorsports two drivers in the Xfinity Series championship finale with his series-best eighth win of the season Saturday at Homestead-Miami as the XFinity Series finishes its last let of the playoffs before its final four race next Saturday at Phoenix. 

 

Gragson led 127 of the 200 laps, then held off Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger on a late restart for his 13th career victory. He joined fellow JRM driver Josh Berry, who won at Las Vegas, as drivers locked into the championship finale, with teammates Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer also still in contention. 

 

Gragson’s points lead climbed to 31 over Ty Gibbs and 56 over Allmendinger, the regular season champ. Brandon Jones is last among the eight drivers still vying for a title shot, 94 points off the lead.

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