What a start to the NASCAR weekend at Martinsville. Known for producing some of the most intense races in history, the short track has yet again delivered with thrilling Truck and Xfinity races this year. Now, with both events seeing the checkered flag, the attention pans towards Christopher Bell as he chases his third victory of the season at the Cook Out 400.
Starting Lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville
Since his standout performances at Circuit of The Americas and Phoenix, Bell has struggled to maintain that form with relatively average finishes at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami, adding up to a meager 34 points. However, his brief phase of struggles may have finally come to an end, thanks to his incredible qualifying run at Martinsville on Saturday afternoon.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver pulled off a near-perfect lap around the 1.5-mile track to out-qualify Chase Elliott by just 0.017s. Behind Bell and Briscoe, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson held on to the second row, followed by Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron rounding off the top 10.
Until Bell’s storming lap, it was indeed Ty Gibbs who had the provisional pole position. However, the JGR driver tumbled down the order with time and eventually wound up in a reasonable 13th position.
Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, too, enjoyed a fair share of time in the top three but was eventually pushed down to 12th. Nevertheless, a strong starting position for the 39-year-old, who has been searching for this first Cup race victory since the 2023 Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.
Here’s how the 38 drivers will line up for the upcoming race at Martinsville.
- Christopher Bell
- Chase Elliott
- Alex Bowman
- Kyle Larson
- Denny Hamlin
- Chris Buescher
- Joey Logano
- Bubba Wallace
- Tyler Reddick
- William Byron
- Chase Briscoe
- Kyle Busch
- Ty Gibbs
- Josh Berry
- Michael McDowell
- John H. Nemechek
- Ross Chastain
- Austin Dillon
- Zane Smith
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Preece
- Cole Custer
- AJ Allmendinger
- Noah Gragson
- Todd Gilliland
- Daniel Suárez
- Brad Keselowski
- Ty Dillon
- Carson Hocevar
- Justin Haley
- Erik Jones
- Ryan Blaney
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Riley Herbst
- Cody Ware
- Casey Mears
- Burt Myers
Overall, after witnessing the chaos that unfolded in the Xfinity race on Saturday evening, one can only imagine the wreck fest that awaits the NASCAR fans on Sunday, especially with rain looking to add to the chaos.
Therefore, are we in for what could be the most entertaining Cup Series race of the year yet?