The Round of 8 cutoff race has historically been the wildest in all of the playoffs -- even more so than the title-decider. Drivers are willing to do just about anything to advance and we've seen it all over the past decade. Some prevailed, others did not, but each solidified their place in playoff history with their daring attempts to bend the odds to their will.
For this piece, we're focusing on the current host track of Martinsville Speedway, which has served as the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series seasons since 2020.
NASCAR Cup 2020 - A brutal ending for the title favorite
There was no driver at the level of Kevin Harvick in 2020. He and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team were simply at another level and yet, he's name didn't end up on the trophy. In fact, he wasn't even part of the conversation at the finale after being eliminated the week prior.
Without a Round of 8 win and trying to point his way in, Harvick needed a single spot on the final lap of the race. The unfortunate driver in front of him was Kyle Busch, who had done nothing to anger Harvick. Even still, while exiting Turn 4, Harvick moved abruptly to the right in an attempt to hook his fellow Cup champion.
Busch spun, but so did Harvick. And while Busch did a perfect 360-degree spin and carried on without losing a single position, Harvick slammed into the inside wall. Defeated, embarrassed and with a destroyed car, the most successful driver of the 2020 season stopped just short of the finish line as the entire field passed him by.
NASCAR Trucks 2021 - Wrecking at the white
Stewart Friesen was just a couple of points out as the Truck Series field raced to the white flag. The flat, half-mile short track isn't known for three-wide racing, but that's exactly what the leaders were attempting to do in the final moments of the race. Friesen on the far outside was looking to win his way into the final four while Zane Smith on the inside was attempting to do the same. Todd Gilliland in the middle just wanted to win the race. Smith bumped Gilliland, Gilliland bumped Friesen, and Friesen tagged the wall.
Moments later as Friesen pulled his truck off the wall, he spun Gilliland out and continued down the track, nailing Smith as well. Smith escaped while Friesen spun and several trucks plowed into the madness. The caution was out and the race was over. As the smoke cleared, Friesen was eliminated from the playoffs and Smith was moving on to Phoenix as a title contender.
NASCAR Cup 2021 - Crashing the party
In this situation, Denny Hamlin was looking fine in his goal to make the final four on points. However, he's still a racer and still wanted to win his way in. While battling hard to maintain the advantage, Alex Bowman -- who was no longer part of the playoffs -- got into the side of Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver spun out, but still managed to advance by eight points.
But the fireworks really began after the checkered flag. While Bowman was celebrating at the start/finish line, an irate Hamlin arrived. The drivers went nose-to-nose and Hamlin started doing burnouts while the crowd went wild. It didn't bother Bowman, who Hamlin later called him a 'hack' in his post-race comments.
NASCAR Xfinity 2022 - Becoming the villain
Joe Gibbs Racing was hoping to get two drivers into the Championship 4, but there was a small problem with that and his name was Gibbs. Ty Gibbs -- grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs -- was battling his JGR teammates for the race win. Gibbs was already going to advance while his teammate Brandon Jones was trying to win his win in.
Teamwork was not at the top of his mind when he sent Jones spinning from the lead on the final lap to win the race. The Championship 4, which was going to to feature two JR Motorsports and two JGR drivers, was now three for JRM and only Gibbs himself representing his family's team.
He was greeted by a shower of boos on the frontstretch, and he didn't seem to mind one bit.
NASCAR Cup 2022 - Wall-riding to racing immortality
Ross Chastain was facing certain elimination from the NASCAR Cup playoffs. He and season-long rival Denny Hamlin had rubbed fenders and slammed doors while battling for the chance to advance into the Championship 4. The day belonged Hamlin, who had a two-point advantage over Chastain on the final lap. There was no way he could possibly gain more positions on his own. It was over.
But the eighth-generation watermelon farmer simply refused to accept defeat. What followed was one of, if not the most unbelievable pass in the history of NASCAR. As the pack slammed on the brakes, downshifting as they filed into the tight Turns 3 and 4 of the half-mile short track, Chastain upshifted instead. He kept the pedal to the floor, planting the No. 1 Chevrolet against the outside wall.
The car ripped along the outermost bounds of the track, grinding against the wall and blistering around astonished competitors. He lost hold of the wheel as he flew past five cars in total -- including Hamlin. There was a stunned silence, and then there were only cheers. The move went viral — so iconic that the team retired the race car and the track cut out a section of the wall in honor of it.
NASCAR honored it in their own way: banning the daring maneuver so that no one could ever attempt it again.
NASCAR Xfinity 2023 - Teammate battle royale
The Xfinity Series showed us teammates not playing nice in 2022, but it was taken to another level the following year with Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed. Creed, who was leaving the team at season's end, had to win the race. Hill was in a very heated points battle and was thinking a win was necessary as well. Justin Allgaier in third also had to win the race. It was a recipe for fireworks, but no one could have predicted that final lap.
Creed moved Hill and as the 'red mist' took hold, Hill turned down on teammate and they slammed doors on entry to Turn 3. Creed slid up the track and Hill -- now behind him -- hit him again. This opened the door for Allgaier to get underneath Creed as Hill (and several others) crashed into the wall. The field piled together as Allgaier and Creed slammed into one another at the line. By just 0.032s, Allgaier was the victory and on his way to the final four.
But wait, there's more! Hill still had a chance to make it on points and the driver he was chasing -- Cole Custer -- was caught up in the last-lap pileup. Custer was fully aware of this, reversing his destroyed car across the line while flames erupted from beneath the hood. He was the final driver to advance while both RCR drivers were out. There were some extremely tense moments post-race, including a wild moment where then-Childress executive Andy Petree confronted Creed on pit road.
Will we see another wild and brazen move to make the Championship 4 this weekend?
Here's a look at the drivers in the elimination zone across the top three divisions entering Martinsville, including three Cup champions...
CUP: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott
XFINITY: Chandler Smith, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith
TRUCK: Rajah Caruth, Taylor Gray, Tyler Ankrum, Nick Sanchez
