NASCAR elimination race at Martinsville could be ‘a test of morals’

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano of Team Penske clearly understands what it takes to advance to the NASCAR Championship Race on November 2 at Phoenix Raceway.

He needs to win the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

Logano enters the final elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs 38 points under the cutoff, so he knows his hopes of getting into the points are slim at best.

The best way to guarantee he gets the chance to race for a fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship is to win to compete.

That creates a moral dilemma.

“So many times we’ve seen desperate people do desperate things and what are you willing to do and can you justify it in any way,” Logano said Saturday afternoon in Martinsville. ‘It’s hard because it’s a real test of your morals, if I’m honest.

“There are times when you think, ‘Is this the right thing to do or not?’ And you actually have to think about that in advance.’

When desperation and morality intersect on the track

NASCAR racing at Martinsville Speedway features 500 laps of short track fender racing action. Drivers often use the technique known as the “Bump and Run” to get a car in front of them out of the way.

Other desperate drivers sometimes add a little too much to the bump, causing yet another car to crash into the wall.

Tempers flare during the race and often boil over afterwards.

“Every action has a reaction and depending on what you do to get in, you probably still have to race next week,” Logano continued. “I’ve said it before, you may be in Championship 4, but if you don’t win it doesn’t mean anything. It’s nice to say you’re there, but if you don’t win you don’t get the trophy, does that really matter?

“Not really.

“So you have to think about more than just the race in front of you. There’s a race next week. The same drivers will be there. The same cars. You have to think about all those things.”

How things are developing in Martinsville

Denny Hamlin won two weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Chase Briscoe won last week’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. They are both locked into the Nov. 2 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix International Raceway.

The final two positions of the “Championship 4” will be determined on Sunday evening in Martinsville, Virginia.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is third in points, 37 above the bump line and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is fourth, 36 points ahead of the bump line.

The four drivers under the cut entering Martinsville are Hendrick Motorporst’s William Byron, 36 points ahead, and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano of Team Penske, 38 points. The final two drivers are even further back, including seventh-place Ryan Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion with 47 points, and Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports, 62 points.

The drivers below the cutline must win to enter. But if one of those drivers wins the race, Bell and Larson will have to battle for the finishing position that will go to the highest-finishing driver not locked in for a win.

If Hamlin, Briscoe or another driver not in the Round of 8 wins, the last two positions will be based on points.

“What makes this one so unique is that four have to win,” Hamlin said late Saturday night. “There are actually six drivers in that position.

“Hopefully everyone does a really good job telling that story.”

‘Win to get in’

The only sure path for these drivers is to “win to get in,” whatever it takes.

“It’s still a tough place to be,” Logano lamented. “It’s a very challenging place to put us and I’m not saying I’ve done the right thing every time, but I can’t really think of things in my head that I’ll look back at and say, ‘Gosh, that was the wrong play.’

“I haven’t done anything that I can say I personally feel like doing, and probably others will disagree, but for me, a bump and a run into Turn 3 to make the Championship 4 is fine. Completely wipe him out and dump him and push him into the fence?

“Probably too far. That’s my opinion. Everyone will have a different one.”

As one of the drivers who doesn’t have the pressure to step in, Briscoe completely understands what Logano is saying. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver wants to use Martinsville as a tune-up for the Championship Race next week.

“Other than Christopher Bell and Kyle Bell, everyone has to be racing for the win, but when one of those bottom guys is in the lead, it puts those two in a big dilemma about what one spot is worth and what you’re willing to do,” Briscoe explained. “It depends on who is leading the race.

“Joey is quite straight forward. He’s not going to move someone for seventh place because it doesn’t gain him anything, but certainly for victory that’s a completely different story.

“There will be a lot of storylines and a lot of drama in this race.”

A test of morality

That allows Logano to evaluate his moral dilemma. He wants to win, but knows it won’t be easy.

“We’re not where we want to be yet, but there’s still an opportunity,” Logano said. “We haven’t figured it out yet. It’s not the best position to be in, but it’s pretty simple what we have to do unless something crazy happens to the other guys in the first 50 laps, which I wouldn’t expect. It’s pretty clear what we have to do.”

“We have to go out there and win and do what we have to do to achieve that.”

For all the drivers who need to win to get in, the conclusion of Sunday night’s Martinsville Speedway elimination race could turn into a morality play.