NASCAR playoffs at Martinsville: Start time, lineup, TV, streaming schedule for Sunday's race

For seven of the eight drivers who made it to the third round of the NASCAR playoffs, it comes down to this: one race and three Championship 4 berths up for grabs.

Kyle Larson is the only driver assured of racing for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series title after sweeping the first two races — two weeks ago at Texas and last week at Kansas.  But after two consecutive races on intermediate tracks, the drivers will have to confront the bump and grind of short-track racing, where patience can wear thin and tempers can flare.

Martinsville Speedway, site of Sunday's race, could also serve as a relief for drivers who struggled in the previous two races. Of the seven drivers, six — Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano — have at least one win on the Virginia short track, while Ryan Blaney has two runner-up finishes.

Elliott and Hamlin have built up a decent points cushion and may only need a solid finish to reach the final four. For everyone else, it's a race against each other and the rest of the field with championship dreams on the line.

Here is all the information you need to get ready for Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the ninth of 10 playoff races in the NASCAR Cup Series:

START TIME: 2 p.m. ET.

TV: NBC. Pre-race broadcast begins at 1:30 p.m. ET.

RADIO: Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

STREAMING: NBC Sports website (for those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider) and NBC Sports app.

RACE DISTANCE: 500 laps around the 0.526-mile track for a total of 263 miles.

STAGE LENGTHS (laps per stage): Stage 1: 130, Stage 2: 130, Stage 3: 240.

LAST TIME: Truex led the final 16 laps in April after passing Hamlin, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, on lap 484 before pulling away from Elliott to win by 1.972 seconds. And one year ago in the 2020 playoff race, Elliott dominated, leading 236 laps, including the final 44, before cruising to a 6.577-second win over Blaney.

PLAYOFFS: Three spots are up for grabs Sunday, with Larson the only driver locked in to race for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series title. Here are the standings through eight playoff races (x-clinched one of four berths in Championshp 4):

• 1. x-Kyle Larson, 4,181
• 2. Chase Elliott, 4,107
• 3. Denny Hamlin, 4,105
• 4. Kyle Busch, 4,074
• 5. Ryan Blaney, 4,073
• 6. Martin Truex Jr., 4,071
• 7. Brad Keselowski, 4068
• 8. Joey Logano, 4,048

LINEUP: The starting lineup was determined by using NASCAR’s competition-based formula. Larson will start on the pole alongside Elliott, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, as playoff drivers make up the first four rows. Here is the lineup for the Xfinity 500:

1. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet

2. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet

3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota

4. (19) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota

5. (22) Joey Logano, Ford

6. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford

7. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota

8. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford

9. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford

10. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet

11. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet

12. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota

13. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet

14. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet

15. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford

16. (42) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet

17. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota

18. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet

19. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford

20. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet

21. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford

22. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford

23. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford

24. (41) Cole Custer, Ford

25. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet

26. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet

27. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford

28. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet

29. (7) Corey Lajoie, Chevrolet

30. (78) BJ McLeod, Ford

31. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet

32. (38) Anthony Alfredo, Ford

33. (52) Josh Bilicki, Ford

34. (53) Joey Gase, Chevrolet

35. (77) Justin Haley, Chevrolet

36. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet

37. (15) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet

38 (66) Timmy Hill, Toyota