NASCAR lineup at Martinsville: Starting order, pole for Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 after qualifying

Edward Sutelan

NASCAR lineup at Martinsville: Starting order, pole for Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 after qualifying image

The field is set for the latest short-track NASCAR Cup Series race following a pair of single-lap qualifying runs Friday at Martinsville Speedway.

This race will be a little different for drivers than it has been in the past: It will be 400 laps in 2022 instead of the 500 that the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief has traditionally been.

And unlike the previous seven races this season, this one will be held Saturday night as opposed to Sunday afternoon.

Who will be leading the drivers under the green flag to start the race? Here's a look at the pole winner and starting lineup for the eighth race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

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Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Martinsville?

Chase Elliott secured the pole position for Saturday's race after he posted a time of 19.694 seconds and a speed of 96.151 mph. Next to Elliott on the front row will be Aric Almirola, who posted a 19.799 time and a speed of 95.641 mph.

"It honestly surprised me that it was that fast," Elliott told NASCAR.com. "I didn't expect it to be in the 60s (tenths of a second). I thought I had a good lap, but not a great lap. Nice to grab a pole — it's been a while."

The last time Elliott posted the top qualifying time was in March 2020, when he landed the pole in the 2020 FanShield 500 at Phoenix. He led 94 laps in that race but Joey Logano wound up winning.

Starting lineup for Martinsville race

None of the drivers in the top three positions at Martinsville have won a race this season. Cole Custer qualified third behind Elliott and Almirola.

The only drivers in the top 10 who have won a race this season are William Byron (fifth) and Kyle Larson (eighth). Martin Truex Jr., who has won the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 the past two years, will start in the 20th position.

Here's the full lineup for the race.

Starting pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
2 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
3 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
4 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
5 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
6 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
7 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Brad Keselowski 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
10 Todd Gilliland 38 Front Row Motorsports
11 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
12 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
13 Austin Cindric 2 Team Penske
14 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
15 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
16 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
17 Justin Haley 31 Kaulig Racing
18 Kurt Busch 45 23XI Racing
19 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
20 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
21 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
22 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
23 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
24 Erik Jones 43 Petty GMS Motorsports
25 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
26 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
27 Ross Chastain 1 TrackHouse Racing
28 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
29 Harrison Burton 21 Wood Brothers Racing
30 Daniel Suarez 99 TrackHouse Racing
31 Josh Bilicki 77 Spire Motorsports
32 JJ Yeley 15 Rick Ware Racing
33 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
34 Ty Dillon 42 Petty GMS Motorsports
35 Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware Racing
36 AJ Allmendinger 16 Kaulig Racing

Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.