Since the inception of the Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2004, Martinsville Speedway has been a staple of playoff racing in NASCAR. As the NASCAR Cup Series prepares to set its Championship Four lineup at the conclusion of Sunday’s competition at Martinsville, here are the most memorable playoff races in the track’s illustrious history.

2021: Denny Hamlin against “a trick”

Instead of a championship contender, it was an eliminated driver, Alex Bowman, who won the 2021 Xfinity 500 in controversial fashion. With chaos at the cutline around him, namely a battle between Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, Bowman was battling for the win with Denny Hamlin. With seven laps remaining, Bowman spun Hamlin into turn four, sending the Martinsville crowd into a frenzy. Bowman won the race, but an enraged Hamlin visited Bowman as he was doing his burnout on the frontstretch. Once outside his car, Hamlin called Bowman a “trick,” an insult to which Bowman responded by making T-shirts with the word printed on them, with the proceeds going to charity.