Larson Can Clinch Third Cup Title at Martinsville as Entry List Is Revealed

Kyle Larson is one race away from a third NASCAR Cup Series championship. NASCAR published the entry list on Monday for Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the penultimate race of the season and the ninth of ten Chase contests, and the arithmetic is firmly in Larson's favour. The Hendrick Motorsports driver turned a five-point lead into a 73-point advantage with his dramatic Talladega victory, rallying from 11th to first on the final lap, and with a maximum of 76 points available in a single race, he can clinch the title at the short track known as 'The Paperclip'. Larson, the defending Cup Series champion, has strong form at Martinsville, including a race win in 2023, and arrives as the clear favourite to close the deal a week early. Thirty-seven cars are entered for Sunday's 2 p.m. ET race, while nine Chase drivers have already been eliminated from title contention ahead of Martinsville, among them Austin Cindric, Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher. Byron, the defending Martinsville fall winner, will still be one to watch even without a title on the line. The supporting O'Reilly Auto Parts Series also heads to Martinsville on Saturday, with Jesse Love holding a 19-point edge over Justin Allgaier in that championship. For Larson, though, the mission is simple: finish the job on Sunday and turn the season finale into a celebration.