NASCAR Cup Series: STP 500 at Martinsville starting grid set
By Asher Fair
The starting grid for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville, the STP 500, has been set by points after qualifying for the race was canceled due to rain.
Rain prevented qualifying for the 2018 STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia from taking place on Saturday evening, so the starting grid for tomorrow’s race was determined by entrant points.
As a result, championship standings leader Martin Truex Jr. is set to roll off from the pole position in the sixth race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season tomorrow in his #78 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing. The race is set to last for 500 laps around the four-turn, paper-clip-like 0.526-mile oval.
Truex Jr., the defending Cup Series champion, took the lead in the standings after winning his first race of the season last Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. He is set to start the race alongside Kyle Busch in his #18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
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Team Penske’s three drivers will start in 3rd, 4th and 5th place in the race, with Joey Logano in his #22 Ford, Brad Keselowski in his #2 Ford and Ryan Blaney in his #12 Ford taking those three positions, respectively.
Kevin Harvick, the driver of the #4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing who had won three of the 2018 season’s four races heading into the race at Fontana, crashed early in the race and fell from 1st all the way down to 8th place in the standings. He will start in 8th in tomorrow’s race as a result of this.
Here is the starting grid for the 2018 STP 500 at Martinsville.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 3 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 7 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 8 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 9 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 11 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 12 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 13 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 14 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 15 | Paul Menard | #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford |
| 16 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 18 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 19 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 20 | William Byron | #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 21 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 22 | Chris Buescher | #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 23 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 24 | Michael McDowell | #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 25 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 26 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 27 | Trevor Bayne | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 28 | David Ragan | #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 29 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 30 | Harrison Rhodes | #51, Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet |
| 31 | Matt DiBenedetto | #32, Go FAS Racing, Ford |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet |
| 33 | Ross Chastain | #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 34 | Gray Gaulding | #23, BK Racing, Toyota |
| 35 | Cole Whitt | #72, TriStar Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 36 | Landon Cassill | #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 37 | D.J. Kennington | #96, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Chevrolet |
| 38 | J.J. Yeley | #55, Premium Motorsports, Toyota |
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Be sure to tune in to the 2018 STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia on Fox Sports 1 at 2:00 pm ET tomorrow for the 500-lap race around the 0.526-mile oval.