Kyle Larson edges nemesis Bubba Wallace for Martinsville pole
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace renewed their rivalry on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway—without contact between their cars.
Six days after Wallace turned Larson with fewer than two laps left to cause the final caution at Richmond and take a likely win from Martin Truex Jr., Larson edged Wallace for the pole position for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
With Hendrick Motorsports celebrating its 40th anniversary this weekend with special paint schemes, Larson—the last driver to make a qualifying run in the final round—scorched the 0.526-mile short track with a lap at 96.034 mph (19.718 seconds) to edge Wallace (96.029 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.001 seconds.
“Of all people, it would be Larson—by a thousandth,” Wallace said after Larson’s lap flashed onto the scoreboard.
Though Larson was part and parcel of the final caution at Richmond, he rallied to finish third in overtime, while a slow final pit stop relegated Wallace to 13th.
“Last week was pretty sweet revenge, us finishing third and him having a rough pit stop,” Larson said with a smile.
The pole on Saturday, however, was a something of a surprise.
“Honestly, a bit unexpected,” said Larson, who earned his second straight Busch Light Pole Award this season, his second at Martinsville and the 18th of his career. “I knew we’d be good, but that second lap (in the final round) didn’t feel that good. It was just enough, though. Really cool to get this 40th anniversary Hendrick Camaro on the pole.
“It seems like all four Hendrick cars are really good, too, so hopefully it’s a good day for the organization.”
Larson’s teammate, Chase Elliott, qualified third at 95.869 mph, with Alex Bowman taking the 10th starting spot. William Byron failed to make the final round and will take the green flag in 18th.
Truex (95.864 mph) claimed the fourth spot on the grid, followed by Ford drivers Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano and Josh Berry. Last week’s Richmond winner, Denny Hamlin, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney and Bowman will start eighth through 10th, respectively.
Note: Team owner Rick Hendrick had planned to drive the pace car on Sunday as part of the 40th anniversary celebration, but knee replacement surgery intervened, preventing Hendrick from attending the race.
Starting Line Up by Row
Martinsville Speedway
Cook Out 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 4/6/2024 @ 06:32 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon 09/22/96 3:11:54 82.223
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Ruby Chevrolet 19.718 96.034
2 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 19.719 96.029
Row 2: 3 9 Chase Elliott UniFirst Ruby Chevrolet 19.752 95.869
4 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 19.753 95.864
Row 3: 5 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 19.760 95.830
6 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 19.764 95.811
Row 4: 7 4 Josh Berry # Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Ford 19.765 95.806
8 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 19.779 95.738
Row 5: 9 12 Ryan Blaney Advance Auto Parts Ford 19.816 95.559
10 48 Alex Bowman Ally Ruby Chevrolet 19.831 95.487
Row 6: 11 8 Kyle Busch Lucas Oil Chevrolet 19.773 95.767
12 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express Chevrolet 19.918 95.070
Row 7: 13 6 Brad Keselowski Body Guard Ford 19.825 95.516
14 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Libman Ford 19.918 95.070
Row 8: 15 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 19.834 95.472
16 38 Todd Gilliland Carson-Newman University Ford 19.921 95.055
Row 9: 17 43 Erik Jones Family Dollar Toyota 19.843 95.429
18 24 William Byron Axalta Ruby Chevrolet 19.944 94.946
Row 10: 19 45 Tyler Reddick MoneyLion Toyota 19.857 95.362
20 20 Christopher Bell Yahoo! Toyota 19.950 94.917
Row 11: 21 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 19.886 95.223
22 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 19.963 94.855
Row 12: 23 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SUNNYD Chevrolet 19.926 95.032
24 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 19.988 94.737
Row 13: 25 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life Chevrolet 19.946 94.936
26 10 Noah Gragson Overstock.com Ford 20.012 94.623
Row 14: 27 51 Justin Haley Ohanafy Ford 19.968 94.832
28 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 20.016 94.604
Row 15: 29 42 John Hunter Nemechek Skip Barber Racing School Toyota 20.045 94.467
30 17 Chris Buescher BuildSubmarines.com Ford 20.023 94.571
Row 16: 31 15 Kaz Grala # N29 Capital Partners Ford 20.173 93.868
32 7 Corey LaJoie Gainbridge Chevrolet 20.098 94.218
Row 17: 33 16 Josh Williams(i) Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet 20.182 93.826
34 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 20.115 94.139
Row 18: 35 34 Michael McDowell Long John Silver's Ford 20.208 93.705
36 31 Daniel Hemric Cirkul Chevrolet 20.158 93.938
Row 19: 37 66 David Starr(i) Amptricity Ford 21.109 89.706
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Ford 15 0 Chevrolet 14 0
Toyota 8 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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