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The action-packed 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoff added a new chapter on Sunday, October 26. This year’s Cup Series playoff grid has gone from eight to the final four drivers with the end of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.In a do-or-die race, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron locked his ticket to the Championship 4 race with a win in the Round of 8 Martinsville elimination race. He has reached the finale race for the first time in his career. He took the lead for the final time after a restart with 11 laps to go and took the checkered flag with a margin of 0.717 seconds at the 0.526-mile Martinsville track.The third round of the 2025 playoff was dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. In the first two playoff races of the Round of 8, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, respectively. This win earned JGR drivers a Championship 4 berth.Four drivers saw their NASCAR title hunt end after the 500-lap race at Martinsville, leaving four drivers to fight for the championship.Both Team Penske drivers, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, failed to make the final 4. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell were the other two drivers who also fell out.Kyle Larson, who finished fifth, secured the fourth championship 4 spot over Bell and Blaney.On losing a final 4 spot against Larson, here’s what Bell said (via NASCAR.com):“It feels a lot better than last year, for sure. I genuinely feel like the four going there are very deserving, and it is what it is. We knew coming in here we were gonna have to outrun the 5, and we didn’t.”NASCAR Cup Series updated playoff grid: Four drivers who qualified for the title-deciding raceWith four drivers now left to fight for the 2025 championship, Chase Briscoe has grabbed the top spot to begin the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.Take a look at the eight remaining drivers battling for the 2025 Cup Series championship:Car No. – Driver – Points#19 – Chase Briscoe - 5000#11 - Denny Hamlin – 5000#24 - William Byron - 5000#5 - Kyle Larson - 5000The NASCAR Cup Series returns next weekend at Phoenix Raceway for the first showdownof the 2025 season. The action will go live at 4 pm ET on Sunday, November 2.
