Good news and bad news for NASCAR drivers heading into 2025 Martinsville Cup race

Martinsville Speedway will host the seventh race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. For the Cup stars who will take the green flag on Sunday, it's a mix of good and bad news situations.

Ryan Blaney is in desperate need of a solid run after finishing no better than 19th in his last four races. The good news for the 2023 Cup Series champion is that he's a two-time race winner at Martinsville. The bad news is that the #12 Team Penske Ford driver has never won the Martinsville spring race, claiming victory in the fall edition twice.

William Byron aims to maintain his strong start to the 2025 season this weekend. The good news for the driver of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is that he's the defending winner of the Martinsville spring race. The bad news is that according to the trends, a driver has only won back-to-back Martinsville spring races once in the last 28 years when Martin Truex Jr. did it in 2020-2021.

After going on a three-race winning streak, Christopher Bell has finished outside the top 10 in the last two races and will aim to get back on track at Martinsville. The good news for the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver is that he won at Martinsville in the fall of 2022 and can bank on his previous experience. The bad news for the Oklahoma native is that he's only secured one top-10 finish in the last four Martinsville races.

Kyle Busch is another driver who hopes to turn the page after two finishes outside the top 20 in the last two races. For the driver of the #8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, the good news is that he's a two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Martinsville. The bad news is in all four of his Martinsville races with RCR, Busch has failed to finish inside the top 15.

Alex Bowman will seek his fifth straight top 10 of the 2025 season this Sunday at Martinsville. The good news for the driver of the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is that he won at the 0.5-mile track back in October 2021. The bad news, however, is that Bowman has finished top 10 only once in his last five Martinsville races.

When does the NASCAR Martinsville Cup race start on Sunday?

Kyle Larson will have his task cut out in Martinsville as he aims for a second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series win this season - Source: Imagn

After being on the West Coast in recent weeks, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the East Coast for the running of the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. The action unfolds from the Virginia short track at 3 p.m. EST and can be watched on FS1 or listened to on the Motor Racing Network.

Kyle Larson will aim for two straight wins this Sunday at Martinsville after his triumph at Homestead. Meanwhile, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano is still searching for his first top-10 finish of the season.

The race is scheduled for 400 laps and 210.4 miles. Stage one will be 80 laps, followed by a 100-lap second stage, and a 220-lap final stage.