Ryan Blaney, seeking his first career Cup win at Martinsville, will start on the pole for Wednesday’s race there (7 p.m. ET onFS1).
Blaney got the pole in a random draw. He will be joined on the front row by Aric Almirola.
Joey Logano starts third and is joined by Clint Bowyer on the second row.
The third row has Martin Truex Jr., who won last fall’s playoff race at Martinsville, and Brad Keselowski, who won last year’s spring race at the paperclip track.
Click here for starting lineup
Here is how the lineup was set by random draw:
- Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points
The final laps of Sunday’s Cup race at Atlanta made a significant difference in starting positions for Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson, who has nine career Martinsville wins.
Bowyer gained five points on Johnson in the final 11 laps at Atlanta, allowing Bowyer to finish three points ahead of Johnson for 12th in the team owner points. That meant that Bowyer was eligible for the random draw for positions 1-12 and Johnson was eligible for the random draw for positions 13-24.
Bowyer will start fourth. Johnson will start 21st. Of Johnson’s nine wins at Martinsville, he has never started worse than 20th in those races.
NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville
Race Time: 7:23 p.m. ET Wednesday
Track: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia (0.526-mile speedway)
Length: 500 laps, 263 miles
Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 130. Stage 2 ends on Lap 260.
TV coverage: FS1
Radio: Motor Racing Network (also SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Streaming: Fox Sports app (subscription required); goprn.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required)
Next Xfinity race: June 13 at Miami (167 laps, 250.5 miles), 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox
Next Truck Series race: June 13 at Miami (134 laps, 201 miles), 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1