NCS: Martin Truex Jr., facing elimination, earns Pole at Martinsville

Martin Truex will lead the field to green on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

Truex clinched the pole with a top speed of 94.153 mph around the paperclip.

Rounding out the top five were Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs in second with a lap of 94.115 mph, Chase Briscoe will start third with a lap of 94.106 mph, Denny Hamlin will start fourth with a lap of 94.055 mph and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five with a lap of 93.854 mph.

Rounding out the top ten were Bubba Wallace in sixth with a lap of 93.784 mph, Christopher Bell in seventh with a lap of 93.705 mph, Kevin Harvick in eighth with a lap of 93.548 mph, Ryan Preece in ninth with a lap of 93.548 mph and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top ten with a lap of 93.423 mph.

Playoff drivers who didn’t make the top ten in qualifying included Ryan Blaney (11th), William Byron (16th), Chris Buescher (18th) and Tyler Reddick (19th).

Tyler Reddick, who will start 19th on Sunday spun out during his second lap of qualifying ultimately hurting his lap time. Reddick was able to avoid hitting the wall but will have to start from mid pack on Sunday needing a good run to make the Championship 4 next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Martinsville Speedway is scheduled to begin at 2:07 p.m. Eastern with coverage on NBC and MRN Radio.

Matthew Jackson
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