MARTINSVILLE, Va. — In a crucial moment for William Byron, he will start from the pole position in Sunday’s Cup race at Martinsville Speedway, with a pressing need to win in order to secure a spot in the Championship 4.
Byron expressed his enthusiasm about his position but remained grounded, stating, “It’s nice but it doesn’t count for anything yet. We’ve prepared well for coming here. Feel good about my race car. … Going good so far.” He solidified his pole position with an impressive lap speed of 98.185 mph, marking his third pole of the season and the 16th of his NASCAR Cup career.
Ty Gibbs will share the front row, starting second after recording a lap of 98.175 mph. Other playoff contenders also performed well in qualifying, with Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin starting in the third, fourth, and fifth positions respectively, clocking speeds of 98.038 mph, 98.002 mph, and 97.876 mph.
Among the remaining playoff drivers, Chase Elliott secured eighth place, Chase Briscoe qualified ninth, Christopher Bell will start from 12th, while Ryan Blaney finds himself in a challenging 31st position, despite having previously qualified 32nd at Martinsville earlier this season. With Byron, Logano, Blaney, and Elliott all in must-win scenarios, the stakes are particularly high.
Logano acknowledged the need for improvement, noting, “Our long run speed was less than great, so we’ve got some work to do there.”
Fans can catch the excitement of Sunday’s race, with NBC and Peacock providing coverage. The Countdown to Green will kick off at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by race coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET.