Kyle Busch took the pole position for the opening race of the round of 8 of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the First Data 500, at Martinsville Speedway.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch opened up the third round of the four-round, 10-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the round of 8, by taking the pole position for the seventh race of the playoffs and the 33rd race of the 36-race season, the First Data 500, at Martinsville Speedway.
Busch took the pole position for the 500-lap race around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia by recording a top lap time of 19.673 seconds (96.254 miles per hour) in the third and final qualifying session for the race.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer is the highest qualifying Ford driver for the race. He qualified in second place in his #14 Ford. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is the highest qualifying non-round of 8 driver. He qualified in third in his #11 Toyota.
More from NASCAR Cup Series
- NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
- NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
- NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
- NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
- NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who is not a round of 8 driver, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola, who is, rounded out the top five by qualifying in fourth and fifth place in their #12 Ford and #10 Ford, respectively.
Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch, who are both round of 8 drivers, and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who are not, rounded out the top nine by qualifying in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth in their #78 Toyota, #41 Ford, #2 Ford and #19 Toyota, respectively.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson, who is not a round of 8 driver, is the highest qualifying Chevrolet driver of the race. He qualified in 10th place in his #42 Chevrolet.
Three of the eight round of 8 drivers failed to qualify in the top 10. Those three drivers, who are Team Penske’s Joey Logano, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the lone round of 8 Chevrolet driver, qualified in 11th, 13th and 21st place in their #22 Ford, #4 Ford and #9 Chevrolet, respectively.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2018 First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Qualifying Results
1st – Kyle Busch
2nd – Clint Bowyer
3rd – Denny Hamlin
4th – Ryan Blaney
5th – Aric Almirola
6th – Martin Truex Jr.
7th – Kurt Busch
8th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Daniel Suarez
10th – Kyle Larson
11th – Joey Logano
12th – William Byron
13th – Kevin Harvick
14th – David Ragan
15th – Chris Buescher
16th – Alex Bowman
17th – A.J. Allmendinger
18th – Ryan Newman
19th – Jamie McMurray
20th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21st – Chase Elliott
22nd – Michael McDowell
23rd – Jimmie Johnson
24th – Erik Jones
25th – Ross Chastain
26th – Ty Dillon
27th – Matt Kenseth
28th – Austin Dillon
29th – Matt DiBenedetto
30th – Regan Smith
31st – Cole Whitt
32nd – Darrell Wallace Jr.
33rd – D.J. Kennington
34th – J.J. Yeley
35th – Joey Gase
36th – Jeb Burton
37th – Timmy Hill
38th – Hermie Sadler III
39th – Paul Menard
40th – Landon Cassill
Be sure to tune in to NBC Sports Network tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the First Data 500 from Martinsville Speedway. After this race, just three races will remain on the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule.