Truck Series Preview Friday, October 30, 2026

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Martinsville

Martinsville Speedway

Laps 200 Distance 105 mi Type short Coverage FS1 · 6:00 PM ET

0.526

asphalt

Surface

Race Date

Friday, October 30, 2026

6:00 PM ET

Pre-Race Race Day Post-Race

Band A · The Hook

Your watchlist, historical context, and race-week curiosities.

Your Drivers' Outlook

Historical Context

Denny Hamlin has 47 starts at Martinsville Speedway with 8 wins and a 9.2 average finish.
Ryan Blaney has 30 starts at Martinsville Speedway with 2 wins and a 11.7 average finish.
Chase Elliott has 26 starts at Martinsville Speedway with 3 wins and a 10.2 average finish.

Based on Truck Series results at Martinsville Speedway from 1995-2026.

DID YOU KNOW?

Denny Hamlin has won 8 times at Martinsville Speedway with a 9.2 average finish.

See Denny Hamlin's full stats

LAST TIME HERE

Chase Elliott won the 2026 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.

See Chase Elliott's results

Band B · The Story

The narrative arc, drivers to watch, and race-weekend color.

Band C · The Data

Schedule, predictions, entry list, track history, fantasy, and betting angles.

TV & Start Time

What channel is the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Martinsville on?

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Martinsville airs on FS1 on Friday, October 30, 2026 at 6:00 PM ET, broadcast from Martinsville Speedway. Every 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race airs on FS1, available through cable, satellite, and live-TV streaming services like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and fuboTV.

What time does the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race start today?

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Martinsville green flag is set for 6:00 PM ET on Friday, October 30, 2026, airing on FS1. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

#	Driver	Badge	Elo Rating	Starts	Wins	Last Finish
1	Kyle Larson	Prev Winner	1656	21	1	P9(2026)
2	Ryan Blaney	Prev Winner	1648	25	2	P6(2026)
3	Denny Hamlin	Prev Winner	1623	26	2	P2(2026)
4	Christopher Bell	Prev Winner	1594	12	1	P7(2026)
5	Joey Logano	Prev Winner	1577	30	1	P3(2026)
6	Chase Elliott	Prev Winner	1575	22	2	P1(2026)
7	William Byron	Prev Winner	1550	15	3	P5(2026)
8	Ty Gibbs		1544	7	0	P4(2026)
9	Ross Chastain		1539	12	0	P16(2026)
10	Brad Keselowski	Prev Winner	1536	28	2	P13(2026)

NR-Rating: Elo-based rating from the NR-Rating prediction model. Higher = stronger at this track type. = Previous winner at this track

NR-Rating Predictions

Last updated: Wed, May 13, 2026, 07:50 AM ET

#	Driver	Tier	Exp. Finish	Win %	Top 5 %	Top 10 %
1	Denny Hamlin Best in Field	Favorite	6.8	18.6%	57.4%	75.8%
2	Ryan Blaney	Favorite	6.8	17.5%	56.5%	74.9%
3	Chase Elliott	Favorite	8.3	16.2%	54.5%	73.7%
4	Kyle Larson	Favorite	8.6	13.2%	49.6%	69.7%
5	Christopher Bell	Favorite	8.6	13.2%	49.6%	69.7%
6	Tyler Reddick	Favorite	9.9	11.5%	46.2%	67.5%
7	Chris Buescher	Contender	10.3	9.5%	42.9%	65.3%
8	William Byron	Contender	10.3	8.2%	38.9%	62.3%
9	Ryan Preece	Contender	10.8	7.0%	36.4%	60.8%
10	Brad Keselowski	Contender	12.0	5.5%	33.9%	58.6%
11	Joey Logano	Contender	12.1	4.9%	31.2%	56.4%
12	Ty Gibbs	Contender	12.6	4.3%	29.9%	54.7%
13	Chase Briscoe	Contender	12.6	3.5%	26.2%	51.2%
14	Ross Chastain	Contender	13.8	3.4%	24.9%	50.2%
15	Bubba Wallace	Mid-Pack	14.0	2.7%	20.6%	45.7%
16	Alex Bowman	Mid-Pack	14.0	2.7%	20.6%	45.7%
17	Carson Hocevar	Mid-Pack	14.7	2.4%	17.8%	42.8%
18	Michael McDowell	Mid-Pack	15.0	2.1%	16.7%	41.1%
19	Daniel Suarez	Mid-Pack	15.6	1.7%	15.2%	38.3%
20	Kyle Busch	Mid-Pack	15.6	1.3%	13.3%	35.5%
21	Austin Dillon	Mid-Pack	17.0	0.8%	10.2%	30.9%
22	Austin Cindric	Mid-Pack	17.0	0.8%	10.8%	32.6%
23	Todd Gilliland	Mid-Pack	17.1	0.7%	9.1%	28.8%
24	Casey Mears	Mid-Pack	18.0	0.6%	7.3%	23.8%
25	Erik Jones	Mid-Pack	17.7	0.5%	8.1%	25.8%
26	Shane van Gisbergen	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.4%	6.4%	21.9%
27	Josh Berry	Dark Horse	19.0	0.4%	5.0%	20.3%
28	John Hunter Nemechek	Dark Horse	20.1	0.3%	4.2%	18.6%
29	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Dark Horse	20.1	0.3%	4.2%	18.6%
30	A.J. Allmendinger	Dark Horse	18.3	0.3%	5.7%	21.0%
31	Katherine Legge	Dark Horse	20.3	0.2%	2.8%	14.8%
32	Connor Zilisch	Dark Horse	21.2	0.2%	2.4%	11.9%
33	Zane Smith	Dark Horse	20.2	0.2%	3.3%	16.3%
34	Noah Gragson	Dark Horse	23.0	0.1%	1.5%	8.1%
35	Riley Herbst	Dark Horse	22.1	0.1%	1.9%	8.6%
36	Cole Custer	Dark Horse	23.0	0.1%	1.6%	8.4%
37	Ty Dillon	Dark Horse	24.3	0.1%	0.8%	6.0%
38	B.J. McLeod	Dark Horse	25.6	0.0%	0.6%	4.3%
39	Cody Ware	Dark Horse	29.8	0.0%	0.1%	1.0%

Win probabilities reflect full-field Monte Carlo simulations. A 10% pWin means roughly 1-in-10 chance of winning — higher than most bettors realize for a 36-car field where the average driver has ~2.8% odds. Top 5 and Top 10 percentages similarly reflect simulated outcomes, not historical averages. Learn how the model works.

Predictions powered by NR-Rating model (MAE: 8.5 positions)

Prediction Scorecard

Go Bowling at The Glen: Model picked Chase Elliott at P1 → Actual P24

(1/5 top-5 hits)

38% top-5 hit rate across 11 races

History at Martinsville Speedway

Truck Series data from 1995-2026 (24 races)

Recent Results

Year	Race	Winner	Margin	Laps Led
2025	NASCAR Truck Series at Martinsville	Corey Heim	—	77
2025	NASCAR Truck Series at Martinsville	Daniel Hemric	—	4
2024	NASCAR Truck Series at Martinsville	Christian Eckes	—	187
2024	NASCAR Truck Series at Martinsville	Christian Eckes	—	133
2023	NASCAR Truck Series at Martinsville	Corey Heim	—	82

Laps Led Leaders

Driver	Total Laps Led
Johnny Sauter	462
Matt Crafton	379
Kyle Busch	335
Christian Eckes	322
Corey Heim	308

Track Type Tendencies

short

Martinsville Speedway is a short track where driver skill and aggression take center stage. Passing requires contact, tempers run hot, and strategy around restarts and pit timing can make or break a race.

Short tracks historically produce the most lead changes and the closest finishes.

Fantasy

Dominator Plays

Johnny Sauter 462 laps led

Matt Crafton 379 laps led

Kyle Busch 335 laps led

High laps-led totals at this track

Consistency Plays

Kyle Busch 1.75 avg

Chandler Smith 5.00 avg

William Byron 6.50 avg

50%+ top-5 rate at this track

Value Picks

Chandler Smith 5.00 avg, 0 wins

Nick Sanchez 6.67 avg, 0 wins

Ty Majeski 8.00 avg, 0 wins

Strong avg finish but no wins — lower ownership

Explore More

Track History