MARTINSVILLE, Va.–Talk about perfect timing.
William Byron, one of four drivers realistically needing a victory at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4 race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, picked the ideal moment to win 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 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.
Though he’s starting up front, Byron was wary of placing too much emphasis on his pole-winning run.
“It’s nice, but it doesn’t count for anything yet,” said the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who starts 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’ve prepared well coming here, and I feel pretty good about my race car…
“You always want track position, and being on the pole is nice. It gives us a good pit stall–that’s probably the biggest key out of it–and it gives us a chance to control the race for 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 race in the Round of 8.
Logano is 38 points below the cut line in a virtual must-win situation. Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe already have made the Championship 4 with a victories in the Round of 8.
Cole Custer qualified sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Briscoe and Austin Cindric. Along with Byron and Logano, Elliott and 31st-place qualifier Ryan Blaney almost certainly must win the race to advance.
Blaney has won the last two fall Playoff races at Martinsville. His victory in 2023 led to a series championship.
–Reid Spencer, special to Field Level Media
