Martin Truex Jr. will start from the pole position in what likely will be his last start at Martinsville Speedway.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star, who will be ending his full-time career after the 2024 season, turned a 19.686-second lap around the 0.526-mile oval to top Chase Elliott (19.758).
It was the first pole for Truex since he qualified first at Martinsville 35 starts ago in October 2023,
Elliott qualified second as the best of the playoff drivers. William Byron (third) and Kyle Larson (ninth) were the other playoff drivers who made the final round in qualifying.
Starting spots for other playoff drivers: Joey Logano (12th), Ryan Blaney (14th), Christopher Bell (16th) and Tyler Reddick (31st).
Denny Hamlin will start at the rear of the field after crashing in practice.
RESULTS: Click here for qualifying speeds at Martinsville Speedway
STARTING LINEUP: By row l By car number
With victories in the Round of 8’s first two races, Logano (Las Vegas Motor Speedway winner) and Reddick (Homestead-Miami Speedway) have claimed half the berths in the Championship 4.
The remaining two spots in the Nov. 10 season finale at Phoenix Raceway will be determined over 500 laps today at Martinsville.
Among the six playoff drivers vying for the final two spots, Christopher Bell (plus-29 points) and William Byron (plus-7) are above the cutline. Kyle Larson (minus-7), Denny Hamlin (minus-18), Ryan Blaney (minus-38) and Chase Elliott (minus-43) are below the cutline.
Here’s the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for Sunday at Martinsville Speedway:
ROW 1
1. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Toyota
2. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
ROW 2
3. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
4. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Ford
ROW 3
5. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
6. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Ford
ROW 4
7. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
8. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Ford
ROW 5
9. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
10. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
ROW 6
11. Josh Berry, No. 4 Ford
12. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
ROW 7
13. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Ford
14. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
ROW 8
15. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Chevrolet
16. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
ROW 9
17. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Ford
18. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
ROW 10
19. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
20. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
ROW 11
21. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
22. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
ROW 12
23. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
24. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
ROW 13
25. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Ford
26. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
ROW 14
27. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
ROW 15
29. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 16 Chevrolet
30. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
ROW 16
31. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
32. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
ROW 17
33. Kaz Grala, No. 15 Ford
34. Corey LaJoie, No. 51 Ford
ROW 18
35. Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Ford
36. Zane Smith, No. 71 Chevrolet
ROW 19
37. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
