Drivers to watch for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville

Martinsville Speedway marks the shortest track on the points-paying Cup schedule at just 0.526 miles around.

The paperclip-shaped track hosts the first scheduled night race of the season on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1) as the second straight short track for the Next Gen car.

The winning streak for drivers under 30 years old came to an end last week when 41-year-old Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag at Richmond Raceway. Will the older drivers get back to their winning ways at Martinsville? Let’s look at who might be up front:

Martin Truex Jr.

Truex has been the driver to beat lately at Martinsville. The 2017 champion has won there in each of the last three seasons including the track’s last two spring events.

The No. 19 Toyota returned to form last weekend at Richmond Raceway, leading 80 laps before finishing fourth. He and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates seemed to show they and Toyota are back.

Martinsville lends itself to heavier braking with its tighter corners, but Truex has shown no reason to doubt he’ll run up front Saturday.

Chase Elliott

Elliott lone win at Martinsville came in November 2020, a victory that propelled him into the Championship 4 and toward his first Cup title. He and crew chief Alan Gustafson struck on consistency at the half-mile track with six top-10 finishes in their last eight Martinsville starts.

Last week at Richmond, Elliott wasn’t much of a factor en route to a 14th-place finish while each of his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates finished inside the top eight.

But Elliott was runner-up in the spring Martinsville race one year ago and has led six of the last 10 races there. Elliott will likely be at the front of the field again Saturday.

Ryan Blaney

Blaney has seemingly done everything