MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Hoping to reverse the outcome of this year’s spring race at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Busch took the first step Saturday, winning the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Busch navigated the .526-mile short track in 19.673 seconds (96.254 mph) in the final round of knockout qualifying to edge fellow title contender Clint Bowyer (96.122 mph) for the top starting position by .027 seconds. RELATED: See every in the field | Qualifying results The series leader entering the penultimate round of the playoffs, Busch earned his fourth Busch Pole Award of the season — which became official after inspection Sunday morning finalized the starting order — his third at Martinsville and the 31st of his career. But it was only a first step. Now comes the business of trying to beat Bowyer, who nipped Busch by 1.146 seconds in the sixth race of the regular season. After taking the top spot from Busch on Lap 387, Bowyer led the final 114 laps to seal the victory. To start the process of swapping finishing positions with Bowyer, Busch claimed the No. 1 pit stall, the closest to the exit from pit road. “Obviously, track position is important, but what’s more important is the opportunity to have that pit box,” Busch said. “That No. 1 pit box will hopefully do us good, we can have a great day, run up front much of the day and finish there, more importantly. “Earlier this year, with Clint here, we were role-reversed, and hopefully we can keep it the way it is right now, this time 24 hours from now.” With an average starting position of 14.0 this season, Bowyer was elated to put forth a strong effort in time trials. “Good God, after the way I have been qualifying lately, it feels like I’m sitting on four poles,” said Bowyer, who enters the race tied for fifth in the series standings, facing a cut to the top-four drivers in two weeks at ISM Raceway. “We’re on the front row, man. “When you won here in the spring, you know you have a shot. It is cool weather, kind of the same conditions. Obviously, it wasn’t the pole and Kyle was faster. Kyle is really good at laying laps down. I like the Sunday afternoon drives.” Bowyer barely made it to the front row, edging Denny Hamlin (96.112 mph) for the second spot on the grid by .002 seconds. Ryan Blaney, who ran the fastest lap of time trials in the first round, qualified fourth, followed by playoff driver Aric Almirola. With just under nine minutes left in the opening round, Bubba Wallace wheel-hopped the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet into Turn 3, spun into the outside wall and damaged the car beyond repair. Wallace will start from the rear of the field in a backup car.<doc-sep>Martinsville Speedway qualifying results from October 27, 2018 for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday UPDATE: Several cars sent to the rear of the field following pre-race inspection (Starting lineup updated below) NASCAR qualifying from Martinsville Speedway is up next. The skies are dark as the green flag is set to drop on the session at the ).526-mile oval. The Ridgeway, Virginia track hosts the opening race in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs View the full 2018 Martinsville starting lineup below. Martinsville Menu: MENCS TV | Prac 1 | Prac 2 | Qual | Race Round 1 Martinsville Qualifying Duration: 15 minutes (Top 24 advance) The track has changed drastically since the last MENCS practice. The truck race has just concluded. That rubber will be pulled from the track early. Many cars pull to the end of pit lane and park. Kyle Busch ran a very slow full lap to scuff his tires. Aric Almirola has run a half a lap with the same strategy. 10 minutes remain, 20 cars have turned a time. 9 minutes remain, Bubba Wallace is hard in the wall! The red flag is out. He stepped on the brakes and the rear end jumped around. He backed it into the fence hard. He’ll go to a backup car. Jimmie Johnson and AJ Allmendinger had laps interrupted by that red flag. 3 minutes remain, Ryan Blaney sits at the top of the board. As of now, all Round of 8 playoff drivers are above the cut line. Chase Elliott is 22nd. 1 minute remains, Johnson moves to 23rd on the board. That puts Chase Elliott on the bubble! Elliott returns to the track for a second run in round one. Elliott does not improve his time. But, it doesn’t matter, nobody has bumped in. Elliott is the last car to advance into round two. Ryan Blaney wins round one of Martinsville qualifying! Round 1 – Martinsville Qualifying: 1. Ryan Blaney (19.660); 2. Clint Bowyer (19.694); 3. Aric Almirola (19.717); 4. Kurt Busch (19.719); 5. Joey Logano (19.730); 6. Denny Hamlin (19.738); 7. Jamie McMurray (19.740); 8. AJ Allmendinger (19.756); 9. Kyle Larson (19.763); 10. Ryan Newman (19.763); 11. Daniel Suarez (19.792); 12. Kyle Busch (19.795 Round 2 Martinsville Qualifying Duration: 10 minutes (Top 12 advance) 6 minutes remain in round two of Martinsville qualifying. Denny Hamlin sits at the top of the board as 8 cars have turned a lap. 4 minutes remain, Joey Logano is 15th on the board. Harvick is on the bubble. 20 seconds remain, Joey Logano runs 12th. That bumps Harvick out of the final round! Harvick and Elliott are two Round of 8 drivers in the NASCAR Playoffs that will not advance. Kurt Busch was quickest in round two of Martinsville Speedway qualifying! Round 2 – Martinsville Qualifying: 1. Kurt Busch (19.692); 2. Kyle Busch (19.711); 3. Denny Hamlin (19.715); 4. Clint Bowyer (19.716); 5. Aric Almirola (19.722); 6. Daniel Suarez (19.731); 7. Kyle Larson (19.741); 8. Martin Truex Jr (19.751); 9. Ryan Blaney; 10. William Byron; 11. Brad Keselowski; 12. Joey Logano; Round 3 Martinsville Qualifying Duration: 5 minutes (Run for the pole at Martinsville Speedway) The skies are far darker than they were at the start of the session. Rain is in the area. Denny Hamlin is on the track early in the final round of NASCAR qualifying. Six cars are on the track as soon as the session began. Hamlin is quickest of those cars. It takes a few laps to get heat in the tires. The fastest lap in lap two or three in your run. Hamlin, Truex and Almrola trade space at the top of the board. Almirola runs faster, Hamlin takes it right back. Two minutes remain, the second wave of cars are on the track. Bowyer to the top. Busch to the top. Kyle Busch will start from the pole position in Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway! View the full NASCAR starting lineup for Martinsville Speedway below. Martinsville Starting Lineup NASCAR Cup Series October 28, 2018 Note: The lineup below has been updated to support the new lineup following pre-race inspection failures Pos | Driver | Time 1. Kyle Busch 19.673 2. Clint Bowyer 19.700 3. Denny Hamlin 19.702 4. Ryan Blaney 19.706 5. Aric Almirola 19.713 6. Kurt Busch 19.749 7. Brad Keselowski 19.770 8. Daniel Suarez 19.786 9. Kyle Larson 19.806 10. Joey Logano 19.825 11. William Byron 19.877 12. Kevin Harvick 19.822 13. Chris Buescher 19.840 14. Alex Bowman 19.842 15. AJ Allmendinger 19.859 16. Ryan Newman 19.865 17. Jamie McMurray 19.889 18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 19.894 19. Chase Elliott 19.902 20. Michael McDowell 19.915 21. Erik Jones 19.927 22. Ross Chastain 19.898 23. Ty Dillon 19.905 24. Matt Kenseth 19.913 25. Austin Dillon 19.916 26. Matt DiBenedetto 19.918 27. Regan Smith 19.941 28. Cole Whitt 20.057 29. CD Kennington 20.162 30. Joey Gase 20.342 31. Hermie Sadler III 20.472 32. Landon Cassill — Cars to the rear: 33. Martin Truex Jr 19.739 (Inspection Failure) 34. Jimmie Johnson 19.916 (Inspection Failure) 35. Paul Menard 21.040 (Engine Change) 36. David Ragan 19.834 (Inspection Failure x2) 37. Bubba Wallace 20.062 (Backup Car) 38. JJ Yeley 20.205 (Inspection Failure) 39. Jeb Burton 20.388 (Inspection Failure) 40. Timmy Hill 20.432 (Inspection Failure x2) All teams will start the race. 40 teams and 40 starters, nobody will head home after qualifying. Update Several cars have been sent to the rear of the field following pre-race inspection on Sunday morning. Those drivers are listed below. Martin Truex Jr, Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan, Timmy Hill, JJ Yeley and Jeb Burton were the list of cars sent to the rear following the first pass through the inspection tent. Additionally, Bubba Wallace will go to a backup car and Paul Menard’s team elected to change engines following qualifying. Related: Multiple cars to start at the rear following inspection at Martinsville Speedway More Martinsville Speedway: TV Schedule Martinsville Race Results: October 29, 2017 (NASCAR Cup Series) Chase Elliott vs Denny Hamlin at Martinsville Speedway (Video) Matt Kenseth vs Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway (Video) Links Martinsville Speedway | NASCAR<doc-sep>
Colin E. Braley/Associated Press Kyle Busch captured the pole Saturday for the NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Busch narrowly beat fellow playoff driver Clint Bowyer to earn the right to start on the inside of Row 1 on Sunday. Here are the full qualifying results, courtesy of NASCAR.com: 1. Kyle Busch: 96.254 mph 2. Clint Bowyer: 96.254 mph 3. Denny Hamlin: 96.112 mph 4. Ryan Blaney: 96.093 mph 5. Aric Almirola: 96.058 mph 6. Martin Truex Jr.: 95.932 mph 7. Kurt Busch: 95.883 mph 8. Brad Keselowski: 95.781 mph 9. Daniel Suarez: 95.704 mph 10. Kyle Larson: 95.607 mph 11. Joey Logano: 95.516 mph 12. William Byron: 95.266 mph 13. Kevin Harvick: 95.530 mph 14. David Ragan: 95.472 mph 15. Chris Buescher: 95.444 mph Video Play Button Videos you might like 16. Alex Bowman: 95.434 mph 17. AJ Allmendinger: 95.352 mph 18. Ryan Newman: 95.323 mph 19. Jamie McMurray: 95.208 mph 20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 95.184 mph 21. Chase Elliott: 95.146 mph 22. Michael McDowell: 95.084 mph 23. Jimmie Johnson: 95.079 mph 24. Erik Jones: 95.027 mph 25. Ross Chastain: 95.165 mph 26. Ty Dillon: 95.132 mph 27. Matt Kenseth: 95.094 mph 28. Austin Dillon: 95.079 mph 29. Matt DiBenedetto: 95.070 mph 30. Regan Smith: 94.960 mph 31. Cole Whitt: 94.411 mph 32. Bubba Wallace: 94.387 mph 33. D.J. Kennington: 93.919 mph 34. JJ Yeley: 93.719 mph 35. Joey Gase: 93.088 mph 36. Jeb Burton: 92.878 mph 37. Timmy Hill: 92.678 mph 38. Hermie Sadler: 92.497 mph 39. Paul Menard: 90.000 mph 40. Landon Cassill: 0.000 mph Busch now has six poles on the season to go with his seven race wins. Sunday's race will mark the Round of 8 event in this season's NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Of those still in championship contention, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Joey Logano were among the 12 drivers to take part in the final stage of qualifying. Kevin Harvick narrowly missed out and had to settle for the No. 13 position after Logano edged him: Chase Elliott was the worst qualifying performer among the playoff cars, as he will start from the 21st spot Sunday. Ryan Blaney, who has already been eliminated from the playoffs, was the fastest driver in the first round of qualifying. While qualifying largely went down without incident, rookie Bubba Wallace had a spin in the opening round and will start 32nd: After the field was cut down to 24, Kurt Busch led the way in the second stage. Kyle Busch is first in the standings entering Sunday's race with a one-point lead over Harvick and a 17-point advantage over Truex in third. The 33-year-old has reached the final playoff round in each of the past three seasons, including 2015 when he won his first points title. With two career wins at Martinsville and an average finish of 11.3 at the track, Busch is in solid position to score a victory Sunday and clinch a spot in the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.