Denny Hamlin Ties Joey Logano’s Mark With Pole at Martinsville

What’s Happening?

Denny Hamlin won his 5th NASCAR Cup Series pole at Martinsville Speedway, tying Joey Logano for the most poles at the track amongst active drivers.

He's ready to chase is seventh grandfather clock tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/zcMXQBLtmQ

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 28, 2026

Practice Results

• Fastest Lap: Bubba Wallace [19.685s]
• Best Overall Average: Kyle Busch [20.189s]
• Best 5-Lap Average: Bubba Wallace [19.799s]
• Best 10-Lap Average: Chase Elliott [19.851s]
• Best 15-Lap Average: Bubba Wallace [19.894s]
• Best 20-Lap Average: Ryan Blaney [19.935s]
• Best 25-Lap Average: Kyle Larson [19.971s]
• Best 30-Lap Average: Kyle Larson [20.003s]

Starting Lineup

Ones to Watch

• Denny Hamlin: Hamlin is the winningest active NASCAR Cup Series driver at Martinsville, with 6 wins, and with his 5th pole, he ties for the most among active drivers. Hamlin has nearly twice as many laps led as anyone else on the grid at the track, as well as the best average finish. Besides all that, he is the defending race winner and starts on pole. He is the clear favorite for this Sunday’s race.
• Ryan Blaney: Blaney tends to be a beast on the long runs, and that is usually a deciding factor at Martinsville. He’s dominated here, winning multiple times, including twice in the last 5 races. Though he “prefers” the postseason race, with finishes of 1st, 1st, and 2nd in the last 3 trips there, and has an overall average finish of 4.3 in the next-gen era. It’s impossible to count him and Team Penske out on a short flat track, especially when he won the most recent one, at Phoenix. He starts 12th.
• Joey Logano: Logano is on a 13-race top 10 streak at Martinsville, and though he hasn’t won on a short track since the fall Martinsville race in 2018, he tends to contend on these types of tracks. Despite going out early in qualifying, he starts 9th.
• Chase Elliott: Martinsville is one of Elliott’s best tracks. With 557 laps led at the track since the introduction of the Next Gen car and four consecutive top 4 finishes, he is always running up front. He knows how to win here, with a win in his championship season in 2020. He starts 10th
• William Byron: Byron is the only driver to have won 3 times at Martinsville in the Next Gen era, and that includes the most recent one. He’s been top tier at Martinsville in this car, and he aims to be in contention once again from his 2nd-place starting spot.

Honorable Mentions:

• Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry, Christopher Bell

Pit Stall Selections

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