NASCAR heads to Martinsville for the NOCO 400 on Sunday, April 16. The race will be live streamed on fuboTV (free trial).

Chase Elliott makes his return to racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway with one thing on his mind: Winning.

And that approach won’t change the rest of the season.

Elliott has missed the last six Cup Series races after breaking his leg during a freak snowboarding accident in Colorado, leaving him so far behind in the points race that his only realistic shot of making the NASCAR playoffs is winning a race.

He didn’t help himself much on Saturday, as he will start 24th and running the 10th fastest practice lap. But he said after qualifying, “I feel fine in the car.”

Elliott has been granted a waiver allowing him to compete for the Cup championship even though his injury did not occur on the track.

Elliott said while the setup of his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro and how he drives won’t change, the overall strategy of how his team approaches Sunday’s 400-lap race will be different.

When is the NOCO 400?

The NOCO 400 at Martinsville is set for 2 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) on Sunday, April 16.

Streaming options

FuboTV

The game will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic of plans is the “fubo pro” package, which comprises 146-plus channels for $74.99 per month. Like all cord-cutting alternatives, there are plenty of options, especially for sports. It comes with more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.

There is also the “fubo elite” package, which comprises 205-plus channels for $84.99 per month. It comes with fuboExtra (48 more channels) and News Plus (11 more channels). Plus, more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.

The “fubo premiere” package is “fubo elite” with the addition of Showtime for $94.99 per month.

What TV channel is game on?

The NOCO 400 at Martinsville will be broadcast on FS1.

Preview

HAIL MELON: The last time NASCAR made a pit stop at Martinsville in October, Ross Chastain pulled off an impressive video game move when he intentionally rode the outside wall in turns three and four on the final lap slingshotting his No. 1 Chevrolet past Denny Hamlin at the finish line to secure a spot in NASCAR’s “final four.”

It was a bold move that quickly became known as “Hail Melon,” garnering more than 225 million views and 1.2 billion impressions.

While NASCAR has since banned the wall-racing move, the eighth-generation watermelon farmer was invited to return to the track to help remove the “Martinsv” section of the wall that will be preserved as part of history.

“That was a life-changing moment for myself and my team,” Chastain said Saturday. “We will continue to feel the benefits of that for years to come.”

BYRON’S MEMORY LANE: William Byron returns to the paper-clip-shaped 0.526-mile oval track where he watched his first NASCAR race as a youngster and fell in love with the sport.

It’s also the same racetrack where he won last spring, dedicating the victory to his mother, who had endured stroke-like symptoms during the 2021 race at Martinsville and had to be transported back to Charlotte, North Carolina.

She was treated for a brain tumor and remains in remission.

“It’s coming up on two years now. It’s pretty amazing that she’s doing well and all that stuff is kind of in the past,” said Byron, the only Cup driver with multiple wins this season. “It’s good to hopefully have her there this weekend and think about the positive memory that we made last year.”

BRISCOE’S SURGERY: This will be the final race for Chase Briscoe before undergoing surgery to repair his broken left middle finger.

Briscoe will wear a split this week at Martinsville but indicated on social media he’ll need surgery to have pins and rods inserted. He doesn’t expect to miss any races, although it’s unclear how the injury will impact his driving.

“Still broken and hurting,” Briscoe tweeted.

He also posted an X-ray of his finger, which clearly showed a fracture.

RING THAT BELL: Cup series points leader Christopher Bell is coming off a huge win last week at Bristol, his fifth career victory in 116 career starts. That makes him the second fastest to reach five wins among active drivers behind only Brad Keselowski, who had eight wins in his first 116 races.

“It’s shocking to me,” said Bell, who won the fall race last year at Martinsville. “I obviously idolized a lot of the greats in the sport and to see my name up there with them is really special. . … But you’re only as good as your last race, so we can’t go to Martinsville and drop the ball.”

WARE REPLACEMENT: Zane Smith will drive the No. 51 Ford this weekend for Rick Ware Racing after Cody Ware was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Monday after being charged with assault on a female and assault by strangulation inflicting serious injury.

This will be Smith’s fifth career Cup start. He has nine career wins, including two this season, in the Truck Series. It’s unclear if he will continue to drive the No. 51 beyond this week.

Last week, Matt Crafton filled in for Ware at Bristol.

ODDS AND ENDS: Byron is the odds-on favorite to repeat at Martinsville in the spring race at 6-1, followed by Kyle Larson (11-2) and Bell (7-1), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.