NASCAR at Martinsville Today: Start Time, TV and Championship Stakes

Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on November 1, with U.S. television coverage on NBC and HBO Max carrying in-car camera feeds. MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio are the announced audio options for the nationally televised next-to-last 2026 Cup Series race of the season.

How to follow Sunday’s race

The Cup Series race is the final event of Martinsville’s three-series weekend. The Truck Series raced Friday, and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series occupied Saturday’s afternoon slot. Those earlier listings should not be confused with Sunday’s NBC broadcast when selecting a recording or opening a television provider’s schedule.

NASCAR’s official weekend hub provides separate links for the entry list, qualifying, pit stalls and race results. Its Cup section is the relevant destination for Sunday. The hub also lists the tire allocation: twelve sets in total, including nine new sets for the race, two for practice and one qualifying set that transfers to the race.

Why the championship matters here

Kyle Larson enters with a 73-point lead after his Talladega victory. Seven drivers remain mathematically eligible, according to NASCAR’s race-day preview. The number still in contention for next weekend’s Homestead-Miami finale depends on Sunday’s result; this season’s Chase does not use the previous bracket-style Championship 4 arrangement.

Denny Hamlin starts on pole beside Ty Gibbs. Larson lines up third, followed by Joey Logano and Austin Cindric. Martinsville’s 0.526-mile oval will host 500 laps, with stage endpoints at laps 130, 260 and 500. That makes the fall race 100 laps longer than the spring event.

All times here are Eastern Standard Time. The television and streaming listings describe the announced U.S. broadcast routes. Viewers elsewhere should check their local rights holder rather than assume NBC or HBO Max is available in their country. NASCAR’s official links above provide the event-specific schedule and results destinations as the afternoon progresses.