NASCAR playoff picture: Cup Series points standings after Martinsville, who’s in Championship 4

Ryan Blaney earned his way into the Championship 4 with a win in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, while controversy surrounded the final spot.

Blaney passed Chase Elliott with less than 15 laps to go for the lead and pulled away for the win. Elliott, who needed a win also to make the final four, finished second. Blaney will race for a back-to-back Cup Series championship next Sunday in Phoenix.

Christopher Bell passed Bubba Wallace for 18th place in the final corner before riding the wall through turns 3 and 4 to finish the final lap. Wall-riding is illegal per the NASCAR rule book, after Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon move in 2022. And after several minutes of deliberation, NASCAR ruled that Bell’s move was a safety violation, pushing Bell back to 22nd in the final order which gave Byron the points edge in the standings.

Denny Hamlin started at the back after a practice crash but never truly factored into the race despite a top-10 finish. Kyle Larson led for a large chunk of the final stage but slipped back in the final 50 laps behind Blaney and Elliott.

Blaney, Byron, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano move on to Phoenix for next week’s Cup Series Championship race.

Here’s the full playoff picture after Sunday’s race at Martinsville:

RACE RECAP: NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville: Live updates, leaderboard, running order for Xfinity 500

NASCAR Cup playoff picture: Who is in Championship 4 heading into to Phoenix championship race

Advanced to Championship 4

1. Joey Logano — Locked into Championship 4 via win at Las Vegas

2. Tyler Reddick — Locked into Championship 4 via win at Homestead

3. Ryan Blaney — Locked into Championship 4 via win at Homestead

3. William Byron — +4

Eliminated after Martinsville

• Christopher Bell

• Kyle Larson

• Denny Hamlin

• Chase Elliott

NASCAR Cup Series playoffs schedule

• Sept. 8: Quaker State 400, Atlanta Motor Speedway (Winner: Joey Logano)

• Sept. 15: Go Bowling at The Glen, Watkins Glen International (Winner: Chris Buescher)

• Sept. 21: Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway (Winner: Kyle Larson)

• Sept. 29: Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway (Winner: Ross Chastain)

• Oct. 6: YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway (Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.)

• Oct. 13: Bank of America Roval 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (Winner: Kyle Larson)

• Oct. 20: South Point 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Winner: Joey Logano)

• Oct. 27: Straight Talk Wireless 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway (Winner: Tyler Reddick)

• Nov. 3: Xfinity 500, Martinsville Speedway (Winner: Ryan Blaney)

• Nov. 10: NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, Phoenix Raceway (2 p.m., NBC)

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR playoff picture: Cup points standings after Martinsville race