Sunday marks the 153rd running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, longest such streak at a track in NASCAR history

Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: William Byron won last year's Cook Out 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, leading Hendrick Motorsports to a 1-2-3 finish and marking the team's 29th win at the track as they celebrated their 40th anniversary. Byron held off teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott in an overtime finish on Sunday, April 7, 2024. LEFT: Qualifying is 3:10 p.m. Saturday for Sunday's 2025 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville. 

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headlne Surfer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- This Sunday marks the 153rd running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Va.

.Martinsville is the only track that has hosted a NASCAR-sanctioned race every season since 1949, according to NASCAR officials based in Daytona Beach, home of the annual Daytona 500 that kicks off the Cup Racing season every February.

Martinsville is the first of six short-track races in 2025.

Martinsville has held a Playoff race every year of the postseason (2004-2025), and this is the sixth straight year Martinsville held the race before the Championship (2020-2025).

This bodes well for Hendrick Motorsports drivers, who have won five of the last nine Martinsville races. All four active drivers have won at least once. William Byron is the repeat winner with two.

TAnd get this: The last five Martinsville races were won from starting positions outside the top 10, tied for the longest streak ever at Martinsville.

Hendrick Motorsports finished 1-2-3 at Martinsville in April, the first 1-2-3 finish by a team ever at the track.

Here's some more trivia: The last seven races at Martinsville were won by drivers 30 years old or younger, the longest streak ever. All but three of the last 76 races at Martinsville, dating to 1987, were won by a driver with at least 100 career Cup Series starts

A total of 59 different drivers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway. This weekend, 10 of the 59 different NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway winners will be active.

• Christopher Bell’s win at Martinsville in October 2022 to advance to the Championship 4 Round is his only top-five finish at the track in nine starts.

• Alex Bowman’s October 2021 Martinsville win is his only top-five finish at the track in 17 starts.

• Chase Briscoe’s five top-10 finishes at Martinsville are his most at a track, all five came in the last six races.

• Joey Logano’s 11 straight top 10s at Martinsville is the longest active top-10 streak at Martinsville and his longest streak at any track.

• Ryan Blaney’s 10 top-five finishes at Martinsville are his most at a track; he finished top-seven in the last six races there, including winning the Martinsville Playoff race the last two years, sending him to the Championship 4 Round both times.

Three organizations won the last 13 Martinsville races: Hendrick Motorsports (five), Joe Gibbs Racing (four), and Team Penske (four).