For the second consecutive week, Truex beat all his competitors and received the pole for a playoff race and can lead an all-Joe Gibbs Racing entrance row Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Truex, the final to make a qualifying try within the closing spherical of Saturday’s session, posted a mean lap pace of 94.153 mph, simply edging teammate Ty Gibbs (94.115 mph).
The pole – his third of the season and twenty third of his profession – couldn’t have come at a greater time.
He enters the ultimate race of the semifinal spherical of the playoffs, 17 factors behind the cutoff line which might permit him to advance to the Championship 4. A win would mechanically put him in subsequent week’s title race at Phoenix.
“I imply, it’s positively an enormous deal, clearly,” Truex mentioned. “The primary pit stall right here is big. We’ve a pair new guys on our pit crew for tomorrow and searching ahead to seeing what they will do and I’m certain they’re excited to have that No. 1 stall.
“All in all, day. This automotive is feeling fairly good. It’s quick. We simply bought to get it higher on the long term for tomorrow.”
Chase Briscoe will begin third (94.106 mph), JGR driver Denny Hamlin fourth and playoff driver Kyle Larson fifth.
Finishing the top-10 beginning lineup are Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski.
Spherical 1 / Group A
Gibbs edged his JGR Hamlin to guide Group A with a mean lap pace of 94.581 mph.
Hamlin was second quickest at 94.425 mph whereas Keselowski was third (93.673 mph).
Additionally advancing to the ultimate spherical of qualifying from Group A have been Wallace and Harvick.
Amongst those that didn’t advance have been three playoff drivers – William Byron, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick.
Reddick was eighth quickest when he accomplished the primary of his two laps however spun out off Flip 4 on his second lap. Fortuitously, he didn’t make any contact together with his No. 45 Toyota.
“We have been actually unfastened in follow to begin,” Reddick mentioned. “I feel we simply over-adjusted.”
Spherical 1 / Group B
Truex led the way in which in Group B with a mean lap pace of 94.595 mph.
Larson, who’s already locked within the Championship 4, ended up second quickest (94.519 mph) whereas Briscoe was third (94.303 mph).
Additionally advancing to the ultimate spherical from Group B have been Custer and Bell.
Amongst those that didn’t advance have been Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, playoff driver Ryan Blaney and A.J. Allmendinger, who briefly hit the wall throughout his qualifying try.
