MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Kyle Busch took his Joe Gibbs Racing Camry t the top of the starting grid for Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway with a lap time of19.673 seconds (98.254 MPH). Spring winner Clint Bowyer was second. Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola rounded out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and William Byron completed the top 12.
Six of the remaining eight playoff drivers will start in the first six rows Sunday.
Blaney led the way with a lap time of 19.660 seconds (96.317 MPH) in a first session where the biggest surprise was active Martinsville win leader Jimmie Johnson struggling to make the top 24. Johnson was 30th before making a second attempt, and it took him multiple laps to take a 23rd-place time, which he couldn’t improve on in the next round. Johnson has nine career Martinsville wins and is a perennial favorite at the track.
The second round was Kurt Busch‘s turn to take over the top of the board, which he did with a time of 19.692 (96.161 MPH). Playoff drivers took five of the top 10 spots in the round as Busch topped brother Kyle, Hamlin, Bowyer and Almirola for the top five spots. Kevin Harvick (13th) and Chase Elliott (21st) were the only two playoff drivers not advancing to the pole round.
Sunday’s race is an impound race, so all cars will be held by NASCAR and inspected Sunday prior to the race. Teams cannot do any work on them prior to inspection and should any car not pass on the first try, the qualifying time will be thrown out and that car will start at the back of the field.
WDUN will have live MRN Radio coverage of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway beginning at 1:30 on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, Va.
70th Annual First Data 500 - October 27, 2018
Saturday's Qualifying Results
1. (18) Kyle Busch (P) @, Toyota, 96.254 mph.
2. (14) Clint Bowyer (P) @, Ford, 96.122 mph.
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 96.112 mph.
4. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 96.093 mph.
5. (10) Aric Almirola (P) @, Ford, 96.058 mph.
6. (78) Martin Truex Jr. (P) @, Toyota, 95.932 mph.
7. (41) Kurt Busch (P) @, Ford, 95.883 mph.
8. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 95.781 mph.
9. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 95.704 mph.
10. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 95.607 mph.
11. (22) Joey Logano (P) @, Ford, 95.516 mph.
12. (24) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 95.266 mph.
13. (4) Kevin Harvick (P) @, Ford, 95.530 mph.
14. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 95.472 mph.
15. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 95.444 mph.
16. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 95.434 mph.
17. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 95.352 mph.
18. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 95.323 mph.
19. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 95.208 mph.
20. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 95.184 mph.
21. (9) Chase Elliott (P) @, Chevrolet, 95.146 mph.
22. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 95.084 mph.
23. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 95.079 mph.
24. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 95.027 mph.
25. (15) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 95.165 mph.
26. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 95.132 mph.
27. (6) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 95.094 mph.
28. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 95.079 mph.
29. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 95.070 mph.
30. (95) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 94.960 mph.
31. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 94.411 mph.
32. (43) Bubba Wallace #, Chevrolet, 94.387 mph.
33. (96) DJ Kennington(i), Toyota, 93.919 mph.
34. (23) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 93.719 mph.
35. (00) Joey Gase(i), Chevrolet, 93.088 mph.
36. (51) Jeb Burton(i), Chevrolet, 92.878 mph.
37. (66) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 92.678 mph.
38. (7) Hermie Sadler III, Chevrolet, 92.497 mph.
39. (21) Paul Menard, Ford, 90.000 mph.
40. (99) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
