NASCAR Martinsville Starting Lineup: Denny Hamlin Wins Pole for Xfinity 500

Denny Hamlin couldn’t have asked for a much better start to one of the most important weekends of his NASCAR Cup Series season.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won the pole for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, turning a lap of 19.226 seconds in Saturday’s qualifying session. He’ll lead the field to the green flag at a track where he’s already won six times.

Advertisement

And with just two races remaining in the championship battle, Hamlin has plenty riding on what happens Sunday.

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs qualified second with a lap of 19.275 seconds, giving Toyota a sweep of the front row. Championship leader Kyle Larson will start third after posting a 19.300-second lap.

The front of Sunday’s starting lineup offers an interesting preview of the championship fight.

Larson arrives at Martinsville with a 73-point advantage over Hamlin following his dramatic victory at Talladega. Christopher Bell sits another point behind Hamlin, while Chase Briscoe remains in contention.

Advertisement

But Hamlin has history on his side at Martinsville. His six Cup Series victories at the half-mile track include a win in March 2025, and he finished second earlier this season after leading 292 of the 400 laps.

Now, he’ll have the advantage of starting ahead of Larson as he tries to cut into that substantial points deficit.

Austin Cindric qualified fourth, followed by Joey Logano in fifth. Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Josh Berry completed the top 10.

Other notable qualifiers included Briscoe in 11th, Ryan Blaney in 13th and Bell in 14th.

Here are the complete qualifying results for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, including each driver’s lap time.

Advertisement

1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota — 19.226 seconds

2. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota — 19.275

3. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet — 19.300

4. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford — 19.325

5. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford — 19.330

6. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford — 19.343

7. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet — 19.354

8. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet — 19.368

9. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet — 19.379

10. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford — 19.380

11. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota — 19.382

12. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota — 19.394

13. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford — 19.414

14. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota — 19.416

15. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota — 19.433

16. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet — 19.443

17. Austin Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet — 19.449

18. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford — 19.457

19. Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Chevrolet — 19.490

20. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet — 19.495

21. Cole Custer, No. 41 Chevrolet — 19.506

22. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford — 19.508

23. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford — 19.523

24. Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Chevrolet — 19.537

25. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet — 19.540

26. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet — 19.552

27. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota — 19.555

28. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet — 19.559

29. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Chevrolet — 19.584

30. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota — 19.588

31. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford — 19.620

32. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet — 19.624

33. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford — 19.643

34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet — 19.703

35. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota — 19.726

36. Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Ford — 20.004

37. Cody Ware, No. 51 Chevrolet — No qualifying time after practice damage

The Xfinity 500 is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 1, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.

The 500-lap race is the penultimate event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, with the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway still to come.

Larson has an opportunity to secure the title before the finale, but Hamlin’s pole-winning run gives his closest challenger an encouraging start to a pivotal weekend.