NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville: Hamlin on pole
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin begins his defense of last year’s Cook Out 400, Martinsville win from the best possible position on pole.
This is his fifth career pole at the paperclip and his 49th overall, good for tenth on the all-time poles list.
The other Martinsville winner from last season, William Byron starts alongside him in second.
Josh Berry will start a season high third. He narrowly missed out on his first Cup Series pole and providing the Wood Brothers their first pole at the track since David Pearson in 1973.
Ty Gibbs joins him in the second row. He looks to continue his career best top-five streak with the second fastest car on the 20-lap average from practice.
Shane van Gisbergen starts a career-best fifth on an oval alongside Austin Cindric who looks to build on his recent top-ten at Darlington.
The back half of the top ten includes, Carson Hocevar in seventh, Tyler Reddick in eighth, Joey Logano in ninth, and Chase Elliott in tenth.
37 entrants for 37 starting spots as the only open car competing this weekend is Austin Hill. Nobody will go home as he qualified last in 37th.
Below is the full starting lineup for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
Starting Lineup
- Denny Hamlin: 19.275
- William Byron: 19.331
- Josh Berry: 19.334
- Ty Gibbs: 19.338
- Shane van Gisbergen: 19.339
- Austin Cindric: 19.351
- Carson Hocevar: 19.363
- Tyler Reddick: 19.376
- Joey Logano: 19.389
- Chase Elliott: 19.392
- Christopher Bell: 19.398
- Ryan Blaney: 19.429
- Kyle Larson: 19.432
- Zane Smith: 19.444
- Bubba Wallace: 19.445
- Chris Buescher: 19.446
- Ryan Preece: 19.453
- Ross Chastain: 19.457
- Erik Jones: 19.486
- Michael McDowell: 19.495
- Justin Allgaier(i): 19.503
- Daniel Suarez: 19.508
- Brad Keselowski: 19.518
- Cole Custer: 19.530
- Connor Zilisch: 19.536
- Riley Herbst: 19.561
- Chase Briscoe: 19.562
- AJ Allmendinger: 19.578
- Todd Gilliland: 19.588
- Austin Dillon: 19.625
- Noah Gragson: 19.650
- John Hunter Nemechek: 19.664
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr: 19.676
- Kyle Busch: 19.705
- Cody Ware: 19.719
- Ty Dillon: 19.760
- Austin Hill(i): 19.921
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Ryan Kemna View All
Ryan Kemna is a photojournalist for The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2025.
Currently residing in the Minneapolis, MN, area, Kemna brings his passion for motorsports, photography, and a good story to readers.