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Who is hot and cold entering the First Data 500 at Martinsville

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The NASCAR America crew discusses why this weekend's race at Martinsville could be the wildest and most unpredictable of any playoff race thus far.

The third round of the Cup playoffs begin this weekend on the oldest and shortest track on the circuit - Martinsville Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday on NBCSN).

The next three races will determine the four drivers who will compete for the championship at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Here is who is hot and cold entering the final short track race of the season.

Who is Hot

Chase Elliott

Round of 12 – Red Hot
• Won at Kansas (10th in Stage 1, 4th in Stage 2, 44 laps led)
• Finished 31st at Talladega; pit from 7th after Stage 1 ended but before pit road was open after running out of fuel; involved in multi-car accident on final lap
• Won at Dover
2018 Season – Red Hot
• Advanced to Round of 8 for 2nd straight season
• Won 2 of last 3 races and 3 of last 11 (98 starts before 1st career win)
• Finished top 10 in 4 of last 5 races and 9th or better in 10 of last 13
Martinsville - Good
• Finished top 10 in 2 of last 3 Martinsville races (9th in March)
• Six career Martinsville starts: 2 top 10s and 4 finishes of 12th or worse
• Started 3rd, 6th in Stage 1, 5th in Stage 2, 123 laps led, finished 27th in this race one year ago; spun by Denny Hamlin in Turn 3 on Lap 498 while leading

Aric Almirola

Round of 12 – Very Good
• Finished 10th at Kansas (6th in Stage 1, 16th in Stage 2); penalized for uncontrolled tire on Lap 120
• Won at Talladega (4th in Stage 1, 4th in Stage 2, 1 lap led); passed Kurt Busch in Turn 4 on final lap
• Finished 13th at Dover; contact with Brad Keselowski on Lap 397 while battling for 4th, collected Martin Truex Jr. and Alex Bowman
2018 Season - Good
• Advanced to Round of 8 for first time in career
• Finished in Top 10 in 4 of last 6 races
Martinsville - Bad
• Finished 12th or worse in 8 straight Martinsville races
• Three top 10s in 19 Martinsville starts
• Started 10th, 19th in Stage 1, 20th in Stage 2, finished 18th in this race one year ago

Joey Logano

Round of 12 – Very Good
• Finished 8th at Kansas (1st in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage 2, 100 laps)
• Finished 5th at Talladega
• Finished 3rd at Dover; hit axle from Ross Chastain on Lap 339 while running 8th
2018 Season – Very Good
• Advanced to Round of 8 for 4th time in career (1st since 2016)
• Finished in top 10 in 4 straight races and 8 of last 10
• Finished in top 5 in 5 of last 9 races
Martinsville – Very Good
• Finished top 10 in 3 of last 4 Martinsville races and 6 of last 9 (6th in March)
• Scored stage points in every stage in the last two Martinsville races
• Started 1st, 3rd in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage 2, 59 laps led, finished 24th in this race one year ago; contact with frontstretch wall on Lap 259 while running 3rd after contact with Austin Dillon; big tire rub on Lap 487 after contact
with Kyle Busch while battling for 3rd; spun from 6th on Lap 492 after tire went flat

Erik Jones

• Finished 4th at Kansas (8th in Stage 1, 7th in Stage 2)
2018 Season – Very Good
• Finished top 10 in 3 straight races and 6 of last 9
Martinsville – Not Good
• Never finished better than 12th in 3 career Martinsville starts (17th in March)
• Started 8th, 18th in Stage 1, 16th in Stage 2, finished 26th in this race one year ago; spun from 27th on Lap 316

Who is Cold

Martin Truex Jr.

Round of 12 – Not Good
• Finished 5th at Kansas (12th in Stage 1, 10th in Stage 2)
• Finished 23rd at Talladega; reported rear end issue on Lap 100 while running 23rd; involved in multi-car accident on last lap
• Finished 15th at Dover; collected in multi-car accident on Lap 397 after Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski made contact battling for 4th
2018 Season – Slumping
• Advanced to Round of 8 for 2nd straight season (3rd time in career)
• Kansas ended a streak of 3 straight finishes of 14th or worse
• Finished outside the top 10 in 7 of last 10 races
Martinsville - Good
• Finished top 5 in the last two Martinsville races and top 10 in 5 of last 7 (4th in March)
• Started 2nd, 5th in Stage 1, 4th in Stage 2, finished 2nd in this race one year ago

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

• Finished 20th at Kansas (21st in Stage 1, 22nd in Stage 2); penalized for speeding in pits on Lap 120
2018 Season – Bad
• Kansas ended a streak of back-to-back finishes of 9th or better
• Finished 14th or worse in 24 of 32 races in 2018
Martinsville - Streaking
• Finished 10th in 2 of last 3 Martinsville races (37th in March)
• Finished 15th or worse in 9 of 11 career Martinsville starts
• Started 22nd, 27th in Stage 1, 19th in Stage 2, finished 10th in this race one year ago; spun on Lap 36 while running 27th after being clipped by Michael McDowell.

Kyle Larson

Round of 12 - Ok
• Finished 3rd at Kansas (11th in Stage 1, 6th in Stage 2); started in rear after going to back-up car
• Finished 11th at Talladega; started in the rear due to unapproved adjustments; spun from 11th on backstretch on Lap 104 with flat tire
• Finished 12th at Dover; penalized for speeding in pits on Lap 244 while running 15th
2018 Season – Hot and Cold
• Eliminated in Round of 12 for 2nd straight season
• Kansas ended a streak of 3 straight finishes outside the top 10
• Last 10 races: 5 top 10s and 5 finishes of 11th or worse
Martinsville - Terrible
• Finished 14th or worse in 4 straight Martinsville races (16th in March)
• Finished 14th or worse in 8 of 9 career Martinsville starts
• Started 9th, 16th in Stage 1, 22nd in Stage 2, finished 37th in this race one year ago; DNF – spun from 23rd on Lap 303 and hit inside backstretch wall

Alex Bowman

Round of 12 – Too Little, Too Late
• Finished 9th at Kansas (14th in Stage 1, 9th in Stage 2); made contact with Daniel Suarez on Lap 3 after Suarez hit wall; scraped wall in Turn 1 on Lap 25
• Finished 33rd at Talladega; got loose on Lap 186 and hit wall while running 10th, then got hit by J.J. Yeley
• Finished 28th at Dover; DNF – collected in multi-car accident on Lap 397 after Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski made contact battling for 4th
2018 Season - Bad
• Kansas ended a streak of 2 finishes of 28th or worse
• Finished 12th or worse in 6 of last 8 races
Martinsville - Bad
• One finish better than 22nd in 5 career Martinsville starts (7th in March)