Larson, the last of 10 cars in the final round of Saturday’s qualifying, just nipped Bubba Wallace on his second lap to grab the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race.
It was 40 years ago at the spring Martinsville race that Geoffrey Bodine won the first Cup race for team owner Rick Hendrick, which kept his fledgling organization in business and evoled into one of NASCAR’s most successful teams.
Larson, who drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for HMS, had an average lap speed of 96.034 mph, just edging Wallace (96.029 mph) – a difference of one thousandth of a second.
The pole is the second for Larson this season, 18th of his career and second at Martinsville.
“That was a bit unexpected,” Larson said. “I knew we would be good but wasn’t sure we’d be that good. It’s really cool to his (car) on the pole for Hendrick’s 40th anniversary.
“It looks like all four Hendrick cars are good, too. It’s a great day for the organization. We just got to execute in the race.”
Larson’s Hendrick teammate, Chase Elliott, will line up third, Martin Truex Jr. fourth and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top five.
Completing the top-10 starting lineup are Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and HMS driver Alex Bowman.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 2 |
19.718 |
96.034 | ||
| 2 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.001 19.719 |
0.001 | 96.029 | |
| 3 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.034 19.752 |
0.033 | 95.869 | |
| 4 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.035 19.753 |
0.001 | 95.864 | |
| 5 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 2 |
+0.042 19.760 |
0.007 | 95.830 | |
| 6 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 2 |
+0.046 19.764 |
0.004 | 95.811 | |
| 7 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 2 |
+0.047 19.765 |
0.001 | 95.806 | |
| 8 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.061 19.779 |
0.014 | 95.738 | |
| 9 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 2 |
+0.098 19.816 |
0.037 | 95.559 | |
| 10 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.113 19.831 |
0.015 | 95.487 |
Round 1 / Group B
Larson, the last car to go out in Group B, shot to the top of the speed chart with an average lap speed of 96.293 mph.
Elliott ended up second fastest (96.293 mph) while Hamlin was third (96.249 mph).
Also advancing to the final round of qualifying from Group B were Berry and Logano.
Among those who failed to move on were Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs and Daniel Suarez.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 2 |
19.641 |
96.411 | ||
| 2 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.024 19.665 |
0.024 | 96.293 | |
| 3 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.033 19.674 |
0.009 | 96.249 | |
| 4 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 2 |
+0.059 19.700 |
0.026 | 96.122 | |
| 5 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 2 |
+0.088 19.729 |
0.029 | 95.981 | |
| 6 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.132 19.773 |
0.044 | 95.767 | |
| 7 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 2 |
+0.184 19.825 |
0.052 | 95.516 | |
| 8 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.193 19.834 |
0.009 | 95.472 | |
| 9 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.202 19.843 |
0.009 | 95.429 | |
| 10 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.216 19.857 |
0.014 | 95.362 | |
| 11 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.245 19.886 |
0.029 | 95.223 | |
| 12 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.285 19.926 |
0.040 | 95.032 | |
| 13 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.305 19.946 |
0.020 | 94.936 | |
| 14 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 2 |
+0.327 19.968 |
0.022 | 94.832 | |
| 15 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.404 20.045 |
0.077 | 94.467 | |
| 16 | K. GralaRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 2 |
+0.532 20.173 |
0.128 | 93.868 | |
| 17 | J. WilliamsKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.541 20.182 |
0.009 | 93.826 | |
| 18 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 2 |
+0.567 20.208 |
0.026 | 93.705 | |
| 19 | D. StarrPOWER SOURCE | 66 | Ford | 2 |
+1.468 21.109 |
0.901 | 89.706 |
Round 1 / Group A
Wallace was one of the few drivers to pick up significantly on their second lap and led the way in the first group with an average lap speed of 95.646 mph.
Briscoe was second fastest (95.646 mph) while Bowman ended up third (95.228 mph).
Also advancing to the final round of qualifying from Group A were Truex and Blaney.
Among those who failed to move on were Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain and William Byron.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 2 |
19.798 |
95.646 | ||
| 2 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 2 |
+0.072 19.870 |
0.072 | 95.299 | |
| 3 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.087 19.885 |
0.015 | 95.228 | |
| 4 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.090 19.888 |
0.003 | 95.213 | |
| 5 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 2 |
+0.115 19.913 |
0.025 | 95.094 | |
| 6 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 2 |
+0.120 19.918 |
0.005 | 95.070 | |
| 7 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.120 19.918 |
0.000 | 95.070 | |
| 8 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 2 |
+0.123 19.921 |
0.003 | 95.055 | |
| 9 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.146 19.944 |
0.023 | 94.946 | |
| 10 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.152 19.950 |
0.006 | 94.917 | |
| 11 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 2 |
+0.165 19.963 |
0.013 | 94.855 | |
| 12 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.190 19.988 |
0.025 | 94.737 | |
| 13 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 2 |
+0.214 20.012 |
0.024 | 94.623 | |
| 14 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.218 20.016 |
0.004 | 94.604 | |
| 15 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 2 |
+0.225 20.023 |
0.007 | 94.571 | |
| 16 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.300 20.098 |
0.075 | 94.218 | |
| 17 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 2 |
+0.317 20.115 |
0.017 | 94.139 | |
| 18 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.360 20.158 |
0.043 | 93.938 |
