Penultimate Race of the Season Begins Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock; Pre-Race Coverage on NBC and Peacock Begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green
NBC Sports’ Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte to Call Race
Final Two Drivers to Earn Their Way to Join Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe in Championship 4
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 22, 2025 – Only one race left to determine the final two drivers in the Championship 4! The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue on NBC and Peacock with the final race of the Round of 8 – and penultimate race of the season – with the Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., this Sunday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Live pre-race coverage on NBC and Peacock begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green.
The final Round of 8 playoff race, this Sunday’s contest will see the final two drivers earn their way to the Championship 4 at the final race in Phoenix on Nov. 2 alongside Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe. Hamlin won the opening Round of 8 playoff race in Las Vegas earlier this month, while Briscoe won at Talladega last week to join him. This is the second of the three final races of the Cup Series Playoffs, all of which are on NBC and Peacock.
Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson make up the remaining two drivers above the cutoff line who have yet to punch their ticket to Phoenix. Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and 2023 champion Ryan Blaney still find themselves below the cutoff line with only one race left before the Championship. Blaney is the back-to-back defending champion of this race.
NBC Sports’ broadcast team of veteran motorsports play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey, 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, who won this race in 1997, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will call the action. Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns, and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters.
Marty Snider will host post-race coverage alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett, with Diffey, Burton, Letarte, Coon, Burns, and Kligerman joining for pre-race coverage.
NASCAR CUP SERIES ROUND OF 8 STANDINGS
| Pos. | Driver | Points |
| 1. | Denny Hamlin | * |
| 2. | Chase Briscoe | * |
| 3. | Christopher Bell | +37 |
| 4. | Kyle Larson | +36 |
| ON THE BUBBLE | ||
| 5. | William Byron | -36 |
| 6. | Joey Logano | -38 |
| 7. | Ryan Blaney | -47 |
| 8. | Chase Elliott | -62 |
*Clinched Championship 4 appearance
This week’s broadcast will shine a light on Hendrick Motorsports and co-owner Jeff Gordon. Gordon, a four-time Cup Series champion, famously won at Martinsville in 2015 to propel himself to the Championship 4 in what would be the final win of his NASCAR career.
The official home of the NASCAR Championship and Playoffs, NBC Sports will present the final 14 NASCAR Cup Series races in 2025 across NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, culminating with the Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2. Click here for more information on NBC Sports’ 2025 NASCAR coverage. Live coverage of qualifying will be presented on truTV this Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play-by-Play: Leigh Diffey
- Analysts: Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman
STUDIO TEAM
- Host: Marty Snider
- Studio Analysts: Dale Jarrett
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBC
- Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Platform | Time (ET) |
| Sat., Oct. 25 | Qualifying | truTV | 4:30 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 26 | Countdown to Green | NBC, Peacock | 1:30 p.m. |
| NASCAR Cup Series – Xfinity 500 | NBC, Peacock | 2 p.m. |
--NBC SPORTS--
