Ahead of Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) -- the first race in the Round of 8 -- we take a look back at the previous four fall Martinsville races in the elimination-style playoffs format. All produced incredible wins and epic celebrations, with long-lingering impacts. We expect the same on Sunday.
Today, we look back at Kyle Busch's 2017 win, which would be the final of his career.
Previous: Dale Jr. in 2014 | Jeff Gordon in 2015 | Jimmie Johnson in 2016
The scene
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series entered Martinsville Speedway for the first race in the Playoffs Round of 8 with Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. each eliminated in the Round of 12. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. were the eight title-eligible drivers seeking to advance out of the three-race semifinal bracket and qualify for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Similar to how they had dominated the regular season, Busch and Truex convincingly established themselves as the co-championship favorites once the postseason began by combining to win all but one of the first six playoff races. The only exception was Keselowski winning the crash-filled event at Talladega Superspeedway.
Both Busch and Truex figured to be in the mix at Martinsville, though the half-mile short track also opened the door for those who maybe didn’t have the speed to win on an aerodynamic-dependent oval. The drama was intensified with several challengers identifying this race as their best opportunity to beat Busch and Truex and claim a berth in the Championship 4.
The action
Keselowski quickly established that he had every intention of beating Busch and Truex, with the Team Penske driver taking the lead for the first time on Lap 49 and leading a total of 108 laps on the afternoon. But Busch also had a fast car, taking control during the middle portions and leading a race-high 184 laps overall.
Eventually, Keselowski would recapture the top position when he passed Elliott with 29 laps remaining in regulation then proceeded to build up a comfortable advantage over second place. It seemed Keselowski was poised to take the victory only for Logano to spinout with a flat tire to bring out the caution, erasing his teammate’s lead with seven laps left in regulation.
On the ensuing restart is when things got topsy-turvy. Elliott was second to Keselowski on the restart and as they fought for the lead Elliott nudged Keselowski up the track. This allowed Hamlin to close on Elliott’s bumper with Hamlin positioning himself to execute a classic short-track bump-and-run. Instead of merely moving Elliott out of the groove, however, Hamlin slammed into Elliott as they entered Turn 3, causing Elliott to spin into the outside wall.
WATCH: Hamlin takes a bumper to Elliott
Hamlin now had the lead, though he still had to make it through an overtime restart he created by controversially crashing into Elliott. And on the decisive restart Hamlin lost that lead to Busch, who pushed aside his teammate to take the spot on the final lap. Busch then held off a off a charging Truex with the two championship favorites nearly side-by-side coming to the checkered flag as a massive pileup occurred behind them on the frontstretch, ensnaring a multitude of cars and clouding the track in smoke.
More fireworks were to come.
Angered by what he deemed Hamlin’s over-overaggressiveness, the normally mild-mannered Elliott climbed out of his wrecked car to confront Hamlin face-to-face. The now rivals exchanged heated words and Hamlin found himself greeted with a loud chorus of boos as he walked down pit road afterward.
MORE: Chase Elliott holds no grudge against Hamlin
The winner
Lost amid the craziness of the final laps and the theatrics of Elliott vehemently expressing his displeasure with Hamlin, Busch celebrated a win that meant for the third consecutive season he would be competing for the series title at Miami. And by finishing second, Truex virtually assured himself a spot in the Championship 4.
Although Elliott’s title hopes took a big hit he would get some modicum of revenge on Hamlin two weeks later during the Round of 8 elimination race at ISM Raceway. As he and Hamlin raced side-by-side for position Elliott subtly forced Hamlin up the track and into the frontstretch wall. The incident caused damage to Hamlin’s car, eventually cutting a tire and sending Hamlin crashing. Before the incident Hamlin was well positioned to avoid being eliminated from the postseason. Instead, he finished 35th and was eliminated.
WATCH: Elliott, Hamlin make contact at Phoenix
Harvick, Keselowski and Truex joined Busch in advancing to the Championship 4. Truex would outduel Busch over the closing laps to win his first-ever Cup title.