With the Bristol Dirt Race in the rear view mirror, NASCAR will get back to the pavement next weekend at one of the most beloved tracks on the schedule. The series returns to Virginia for the second time in three weeks, for a third consecutive short track race. This time it is the "paperclip" at Martinsville Speedway, which is the shortest circuit on the calendar.

Christopher Bell heads into this event as the favorite, for a variety of reasons. Bell is the defending race winner, scoring an incredible victory last Fall in a "win or go home" scenario. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver answered the call, winning the race and earning his spot in the Championship 4. Bell is also coming off his first win of the season, where he led the most laps in the race on his way to victory at Bristol.

While Bell will certainly be one to watch next Sunday, his teammates have shown some brilliance at Martinsville as well. Denny Hamlin leads all drivers with five wins at the track, and has qualified on pole four times. You can't spell Martin Truex Jr without Martin and the driver of the No. 19 Toyota definitely knows his way around the place. Truex won three of four races at the track from 2019-2021.

The only other active drivers with multiple wins at Martinsville are Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch, who each have two victories. The action begins with practice and qualifying on Saturday, with FS1 race day coverage beginning at 3:00 ET on Sunday.

Race weekend schedule (Eastern Standard Time)

Saturday April 15

4:35 pm - Practice and Qualifying

Sunday April 16

3:00 pm - Race

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