Chase Elliott Snags Martinsville NASCAR Cup Series Pole

Chase Elliott gives a thumbs up to fans prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway on March 13, 2022. Photo: Logan Riely/Getty Images

Chase Elliott was the only NASCAR Cup Series driver to break 17.7 seconds in Friday’s knockout qualifying session, earning the pole position for Saturday night’s race at Martinsville Speedway.

Driving the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Elliott toured the .526-mile short track in 17.694 seconds (96.151 mph) in the second round of time trials to edge Aric Almirola for the top starting spot in the eighth event of the 2022 season. Almirola covered the distance in 17.799 seconds (95.641 mph).

“It honestly surprised me that it was that fast,” said Elliott, who won the 10th pole of his career, his first at Martinsville and his first since the fourth race of 2020 at Phoenix. “I didn’t expect it to be in the 60s. I thought I had a good lap but not a great lap… Nice to grab a pole — it’s been a while.

“It’s always good to have a good starting spot. Obviously, lap 400 (on Saturday) is what pays. The bigger thing, I think, than the starting spot itself is the pit selection. Having that first pit stall is a really big deal and can lend you a lot of opportunity to gain spots on pit road. Hopefully, we can get this thing dialed in to be driving like we want the second half of the race and be around and have a shot at it.”

Almirola’s teammate, Cole Custer, qualified third, followed by Chris Buescher and William Byron. Kevin Harvick was sixth fastest, giving Stewart Haas Racing three of the top six positions on the grid.

Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski and Todd Gilliland will start seventh through 10th, respectively. Larson was the only driver to run one lap versus two in the first round, a strategy that had worked for pole winner Ryan Blaney last weekend at Richmond.

But Larson locked up his tires in turn 3 to ruin his money lap and had to settle for eighth fastest.

Kyle Busch was second fastest in practice but missed the top 10 by .001 seconds and will start 11th on Saturday in the first night race at Martinsville. Denny Hamlin, a five-time winner at the track, will start 25th after a disappointing run in the first round.

NASCAR Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA
Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 – April 8, 2022

Friday’s Qualifying Results

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 9 Chase Elliott LLumar Chevrolet 19.694 96.151
2. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Spirals Ford 19.799 95.641
3. 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 19.808 95.598
4. 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 19.850 95.395
5. 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 19.893 95.189
6. 4 Kevin Harvick Subway Ford 19.941 94.960
7. 20 Christopher Bell Yahoo! Toyota 19.965 94.846
8. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 20.003 94.666
9. 6 Brad Keselowski Fastenal Ford 20.015 94.609
10. 38 Todd Gilliland # Cross Country Adjusting Ford 20.062 94.387
11. 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crunchy Cookie Toyota 19.775 95.757
12. 12 Ryan Blaney Advance Auto Parts Ford 19.789 95.690
13. 2 Austin Cindric # Menards/Moen Ford 19.790 95.685
14. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 19.792 95.675
15. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 19.863 95.333
16. 34 Michael McDowell Navage Nasal Care Ford 19.863 95.333
17. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 19.867 95.314
18. 45 Kurt Busch McDonald’s/Money Lion Toyota 19.901 95.151
19. 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 19.904 95.137
20. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 19.937 94.979
21. 23 Bubba Wallace DoorDash Toyota 19.965 94.846
22. 8 Tyler Reddick 3CHI Chevrolet 19.982 94.765
23. 3 Austin Dillon Get Bioethanol Chevrolet 19.986 94.746
24. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 19.996 94.699
25. 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 20.083 94.289
26. 7 Corey LaJoie Built.com Chevrolet 20.095 94.232
27. 1 Ross Chastain GoPro Chevrolet 20.100 94.209
28. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet 20.113 94.148
29. 21 Harrison Burton # Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 20.134 94.050
30. 99 Daniel Suarez GoPro Chevrolet 20.145 93.999
31. 77 Josh Bilicki(i) Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 20.269 93.423
32. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) Ford 20.494 92.398
33. 78 B.J. McLeod Epilepsy Foundation Ford 20.545 92.168
34. 42 Ty Dillon Chevyliners.com Chevrolet 20.591 91.963
35. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 21.021 90.081
36. 16 A.J. Allmendinger(i) Action Industries Chevrolet 0.000 0.000