Brandon Jones, facing a must-win situation to make the Xfinity Series championship race, won the pole for Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway.
“Man, this is big,” Jones told NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch. “We showed up here to do one thing ... it’s just to win the race.
Jones won at Martinsville in April.
Jones claimed the pole with a lap of 95.482 mph. Sheldon Creed (95.333 mph) will start alongside Jones on the front row. Sammy Smith (95.314) qualified third, Ty Gibbs (95.165) fourth and Noah Gragson (95.079) completed the top five.
MORE: Martinsville Xfinity starting lineup
Josh Berry and Gragson have each secured spots in the Nov. 5 championship race at Phoenix. Gibbs is 30 points above the cutline. AJ Allmendinger is five points above the cutline.
Drivers below the cutline are Justin Allgaier (-5 points), Austin Hill (-7), Sam Mayer (-28) and Jones (-38).
Allgaier qualified sixth, Allmendinger ninth, Mayer 22nd and Hill will start 36th in the 38-car field. He did not make a qualifying attempt because of a mechanical issue after practice.
Saturday’s race airs at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.