MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell both know what’s on the line in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Each driver is looking to outscore the other to assure a Championship 4 berth for next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Bell has a slim, one-point buffer over Larson entering the Round of 8 elimination race. In all likelihood, if there isn’t a new winner from below the cutline, the Nos. 5 and 20 teams will advance to Phoenix. However, the bottom half of the playoff grid is stacked with former Martinsville winners, including Ryan Blaney who has won the famed grandfather clock trophy in the last two fall visits to southern Virginia. Meanwhile, Joey Logano has 12 consecutive top-10 efforts at Martinsville; William Byron has won twice at Martinsville in the Next Gen era; and Chase Elliott has led a career-high 1,275 laps at the “Paperclip.”
If victory is in sight for either Larson or Bell, they are going to swing big. But the bottom line is they have to outpoint the other to solidify a spot.
“You’re always going to go for a win if it’s in front of you,” Larson said on Saturday at Martinsville. “I don’t think that changes. I think keeping an eye on what’s going on with Bell and I throughout the night is equally as important because if I can score more points than him, we don’t have to rely on a win.”
Bell has a similar stance. Earlier in the week, No. 20 crew chief Adam Stevens stated he felt his group needed to enter the weekend in must-win mode. But this weekend is a rare instance where Bell can pinpoint which of the competition he’s after.
“I think it makes the 20 car’s job easier because we don’t have to focus on very many other competitors aside from Kyle and what he’s doing and how many points he’s got,” Bell stated. “This race is very unique because it’s under very rare circumstances that you single out a couple of people.
“This week it’s very clear that myself or Kyle are going to move on no matter what so we’re racing each other no matter what.”
Larson stated in a perfect world, the No. 5 team would outperform Bell and either Elliott or Byron win the race to put two Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets through to the Championship 4. But the priority for the Cliff Daniels-led team is simple.
“Our main objective is to outscore Christopher in points, and if I have to try to get a win, get a win,” Larson added. “We are not in a must win. We’re not even in a must-score-more points than him, but I would like to pad ourselves.”
Sitting 37 points above the bubble is irrelevant in Bell’s mind. He’s in full belief that a driver below the bubble could likely win.
“We’re plus-one right now. That’s how Larson feels, that’s how I feel,” Bell added. “That’s how my team feels, that’s how his team feels. It’s going to be a battle and we know whoever scores more points than each other is going to make it.”
The two dirt-racing experts find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Larson and Bell have contested each other for victories in years prior and both qualified for the Championship 4 in 2023. Neither could recall a specific points battle where the two drivers are chasing each other for a singular race.
The pairing have raced each other clean for the duration of the careers, aside from a run-in at Watkins Glen International in 2022 when Bell got spun off the front bumper of the No. 5 Chevrolet entering Turn 1. Bell believes the duo have become bigger fans of each other.
“I feel like we have a really good mutual respect for each other,” Bell said. “It feels like we cheer more for each other than what we did in dirt racing. We have that bond of, he’s one of my guys and I’m one of his guys. Certainly, it feels like we are more on the same team and less against each other now.”
The advantage goes to Larson, as the No. 5 team has finished sixth or better in six straight Martinsville starts. Bell has a pair of top-five results to his resume at the 0.526-mile short track. Larson has scored more points than Bell in 21 of 34 races in 2025, including the sprint event at Martinsville.