NASCAR Cup Qualifying: Kyle Larson Holds Off Bubba Wallace to Take the Pole for Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson has won the pole position for the Cook Out 400 race at Martinsville Speedway. The driver clocked the fastest lap time of 19:718 out of the 10 entries that made it into the final round. This was Larson’s 18th career pole and his second of the season, after Richmond. Joining him in the front row will be Bubba Wallace, who barely missed starting his first race on the pole.

In the first qualifying round of Group A, Bubba Wallace’s #23 Toyota car was the fastest of the bunch. SHR’s Chase Briscoe also showed some real speed but proved to be just second-best to Wallace. Group B cars were quicker across the board and clocked better lap times. Hendrick Motorsports duo Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott gave some impressive laps and led the charge going into the final round.

Mere milliseconds decided the polesitter for the Cook Out 400 race

As soon as Kyle Larson finished his first lap in the final round of qualifying, it felt like Bubba Wallace had secured himself the pole position for tomorrow’s race. However, by turning the notch and throttle up inside the #5 HMS car, Larson sneaked past Wallace in his second attempt to secure his second pole win.

19:179 was the lap clocked by the #23 Toyota car, but with 19:178, a millisecond, the HMS driver snubbed his rival for controlling the start for tomorrow’s race. It was sort of a payback by Larson to Wallace in terms of beating him with raw performance after being spun out by the 23X1 star driver last week at Richmond Raceway.

Reacting to his pole win, Larson said, “Really cool to get this 40th year anniversary Hendrick Camaro on the pole, and it seems all Hendrick cars are pretty good, so hopefully it’s a good day for the organization, and we can celebrate it for Rick and Linda and everybody who’s been a part of this organization for 40 years.”

With the field set for tomorrow’s epic showdown at Martinsville, here’s a look at where the rest of the big-name drivers start.

Here are the drivers starting inside the top 10

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Martinsville Speedway is one of the most challenging racetracks for drivers to deal with. The 0.526-mile course has tight turns and long straightaways, making the passes ever so hard to make. Therefore, the starting positions and pole really matter when racing at the historic venue.

The front row is locked by Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace in the first and second spots. Moving onto the second row, we have yet another HMS driver, Chase Elliott, starting in P3, joined by Martin Truex Jr in fourth. Gaining confidence and speed, SHR driver Chase Briscoe finds himself starting fifth in the third row alongside Joey Logano. Meanwhile, the likes of Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman round off the top 10 starting positions.

Given how quick and impressive the JGR Toyota drivers have been on the short tracks so far, it will be interesting to see if HMS drivers are able to pipe them to the win tomorrow at Martinsville.

Read More: Rick Hendricks’ Medical Requirement Will See Him Miss HMS’ 40-Year Celebration at Martinsville