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Over 75 years of NASCAR racing, stock cars and the drivers who race them have changed to the point where there's little that ties Red Byron's '49 Oldsmobile to William Byron's Chevy Camaro. Little, of course, except for Martinsville Speedway.

A mere drive up the road from many of NASCAR's teams, just across the North Carolina-Virginia border in a small country town, Martinsville is the only track that has held a race every single year of the sport's 75-year history. And that timeless tradition will be renewed this weekend as the Cup Series returns for the NOCO 400, the third race of NASCAR's springtime short track swing.

This weekend marks NASCAR's first trip back to Martinsville since last fall's enormously consequential Championship 4 cutoff race, an instant classic that was claimed by Christopher Bell. Now, a new year sees Bell return to Martinsville coming off of a win at Bristol Dirt that has affirmed his status as one of the top drivers in Cup through the first eight races.

How to watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville

Date: Sun., April 16
Location: Martinsville Speedway -- Ridgeway, Va.
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Stream: fuboTV (try for free)

What to Watch

  • When the green flag flies this weekend, it'll be the first laps taken at Martinsville since the Hail Melon -- Ross Chastain's physics-defying wall ride that successfully earned him a spot in the Championship 4 -- on the final lap of last year's fall race. That highlight will likely be replayed all weekend, and for good reason: It's earned a permanent place as one of the greatest moments in NASCAR's history. It was also a once-in-a-lifetime moment, as it'll never be allowed to happen again.

    NASCAR outlawed wall riding this offseason in reaction to the Hail Melon, citing safety concerns while also closing Pandora's Box -- The fact that the move worked, after all, created a situation where going full throttle right up against the wall would have been in everyone's playbook on the final lap.

    With what happened on lap 500 of last fall's race notwithstanding, the 499 that preceded it -- plus the 403 from last spring's race -- suggest that Chastain will remain a factor this weekend. Chastain finished in the top five in both Martinsville races last year.
  • The installation of a permanent lighting system at Martinsville several years ago was NASCAR's equivalent of when Wrigley Field was finally lit up for night games in 1988. That occasion opened the door for Martinsville to begin hosting night races -- but it seemed like it just wasn't meant to be.

    The spring race at Martinsville returns to being a Sunday afternoon race this year after its move to a Saturday night race was seemingly cursed from the start. The first night race in 2020 was scrubbed from its original date due to the COVID pandemic, instead taking place on a Wednesday night in June with no fans in attendance. Then, bad weather plagued the race for the next two years. A rainout forced the 2021 race to be run on Sunday afternoon, and the 2022 race was afflicted by unseasonably cold weather that contributed to little rubber buildup, little passing, and a poor race that exposed the warts in the Next Gen car's ability to race on short tracks.

    A different tire compound by Goodyear for the fall race helped make Martinsville race more like itself, and that tire compound will be used again this weekend, along with the addition of NASCAR's new aero package for short tracks. Last year's fall race featured eight lead changes and six cautions, an uptick from the spring race where no green flag passes for the lead occurred and aerodynamic effects prevented standard short track bumping and grinding from taking place.
  • After six races away due to a fractured tibia suffered in a snowboarding accident, Chase Elliott announced this week that he will return to the driver's seat of the No. 9 Chevrolet starting at Martinsville. The return of the Most Popular Driver in NASCAR and one of the Cup Series' perennial title contenders will be a welcome one, as it will fill a void that has been felt over the past several weeks without Elliott in the field.

    Making his return at Martinsville, a track that requires a lot from the lower body due to constant heavy braking, may not be ideal for Elliott as he works his way back into racing shape, but this track is a good one for Elliott, as was seen in both Martinsville races last year. Elliott led the opening 185 laps of the spring race, led 54 laps in the fall race, and finished 10th in both events. Elliott's best Martinsville finish is a second on two different occasions.

    Should any post-injury discomfort prove to be too much for him, Elliott told reporters on Thursday that Josh Berry -- his sub in five of the last six races -- will be on standby if needed as a relief driver.

Pick to win

(Odds via Caesars Sportsbook)

William Byron (+650): The only driver with more than one win so far this season, William Byron has been a threat to win each week, especially when it comes to tracks a mile or less in length. After winning at Phoenix, Byron led 117 laps at Richmond before a late-race caution ruined his chances at picking up his third win of the year.

Byron is the defending winner of the spring race at Martinsvlle, he gets regular crew chief Rudy Fugle back from suspension this weekend, and let's not forget that he's driving for Hendrick Motorsports, an organization that has practically owned Martinsville from the time Geoff Bodine scored the company's first-ever win in 1984 onwards. Hendrick Motorsports has 27 Martinsville wins in total, and the likelihood is very good that Byron will make that number 28.