MARTINSVILLE, Va.–Talk about perfect timing.
William Byron, one of four drivers truly needing a win at Martinsville Speedway to qualify for the Championship 4 race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, picked the perfect time to earn his first pole position at the historic short track.
Covering the 0.526-mile distance in 19.286 seconds (98.185 mph) on Saturday, Byron edged out non-playoff driver Ty Gibbs (98.175 mph) by 0.002 seconds for the top starting spot in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The Busch Light Pole Award was Byron’s third of the year and 16th of his career, but his first since the eighth race of the 2025 season at Darlington Raceway.
Even though he started in the lead, Byron was wary of emphasizing his pole position too much.
“It’s good, but it doesn’t count for anything right now,” said the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who enters Sunday’s race fifth in the playoff standings and 36 points below the cut line for the Nov. 2 championship race at Phoenix Raceway. “Yeah, it’s good. We prepared well when we got here, and I feel pretty good in my race car…
“You always want track position, and being on pole is nice. It gives us a good pit stall – that’s probably the biggest key – and it gives us a chance to control the race a little bit.”
Byron’s teammate Kyle Larson, fourth in the standings and 36 points above the elimination line, will start third after a lap at 98.038 mph. Playoff drivers Joey Logano (98.002 mph) and Denny Hamlin (97.876 mph) secured starting positions four and five for the final round of 16 race.
Logano is 38 points below the cut line in a virtual must-win situation. Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe have already reached Championship 4 with a Round of 16 victory.
Cole Custer qualified sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Briscoe and Austin Cindric. Along with Byron and Logano, Elliott and Ryan Blaney, who qualified in 31st place, almost certainly have to win the race to advance.
Blaney won the final two races of the fall playoffs at Martinsville. His victory in 2023 earned him a series championship.
–Reid Spencer, special to Field Level Media
