Saturday Martinsville Speedway Notebook

03/29/2025 05:22 PM

Christopher Bell secures pole position for Cook Out 400 at Martinsville

Christopher Bell put forth an early challenge at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday with a lap that stood up against all comers in qualifying for Sunday‘s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 17th driver to make a run during time trials, Bell navigated the venerable 0.526-mile track in 19.718 seconds (96.034 mph) and waited as the 21 drivers who followed took their respective shots at the standard he set.

No one was up to the task, and Bell had his first Busch Light pole award of the season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, his first at Martinsville and the 14th of his career.

Chase Elliott came closest to matching Bell‘s lap. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet covered the distance in 19.735 seconds (95.951 mph), just 0.003 seconds faster than teammate and third-place qualifier Alex Bowman (95.937 mph).

Despite turning the second fastest lap in Saturday afternoon‘s practice, Bell wasn‘t optimistic about his chances for the pole.

"I was kind of down in the dumps after practice (because of the position in the qualifying order)," Bell said. "But that was definitely the best qualifying session I‘ve ever felt out of my car at Martinsville. It was just easy…

"I went out there and the car just had so much grip. I‘m really proud of this 20 team. They‘ve been working hard on this Martinsville package. We‘ll see what happens [Sunday], but obviously, starting up front will be a big help."

Kyle Larson, last Sunday‘s winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway, qualified fourth at 95.854 mph. Bell‘s teammate, five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin, was fifth at 95.840 mph.

Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and defending race winner William Byron filled out the rest of the top 10 on the grid.

Casey Mears, whose No. 66 Ford failed inspection twice before qualifying, will start 37th in his first Cup Series race since 2019.

Ryan Blaney has maintained excellence at Martinsville through car change

For a number of NASCAR Cup Series drivers, the introduction of the Gen 7 car in 2022 changed their fortunes at Martinsville Speedway.

Brad Keselowski, a consistent contender and two-time winner in the Gen 6 car at Martinsville, has posted an average finish of 23.83 in the six races since the car change.

Martin Truex Jr. who won three of four races at the 0.526-mile short track from the fall of 2019 through the spring of 2021 never got a handle on Martinsville in the new car. Even with a third-place run in 2023, his average result in the Gen 7 era was 16.5.

Kyle Larson, on the other hand, found magic in the new car. From an average finish of 20.57 in the Gen 6 era, Larson has improved to an average of 2.8 in his last five Martinsville races, with a victory, two runner-up results, a third and a sixth.

Ryan Blaney is the exception that proves the rule. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford has been strong at the vaunted short track throughout his career, despite adjustments he had to make with the change to the Gen 7 car.

"I think everyone had to change their style up a little bit," Blaney said. "I don‘t know which one I prefer here. I feel like this place has gotten better with this (Gen 7) car with the soft tire. You‘re able to move around more.

"I didn‘t think with the old car the second lane was there as much as it is with this car. I think that‘s more on Goodyear getting softer and softer and laying rubber down where you can move around, but I also think the other car was better in dirty air, where you didn‘t have to have that second lane. So it‘s trade-offs.

"I know you‘re shifting a lot—you shift four times a lap here, so that‘s changed the way you got into the corner and approached the center speed of it. So, yeah, I definitely had to change up, but I just got fortunate that what I came here with my mind-set worked with this car with how I changed up from the Gen 6 car."

Is there a difference between spring and fall races at Martinsville?

William Byron has won two of the last three spring races at Martinsville Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson accounted for the spring race victory in 2023, between Byron‘s two triumphs.

Ryan Blaney has won the last two fall Playoff events at the 0.526-mile short track. Christopher Bell went to Victory Lane in the fall of 2022.

So, is there a difference between the two races? Is there a reason why Hendrick Motorsports seems so strong in the spring and less so in the fall?

"Yeah, I think typically there’s been a new tire going into the fall, so I don’t feel like we’ve had a repeat tire here at Martinsville in the Next Gen era (since 2022)," Byron said. "That’s really allowed us to hone in on our setup. So, yeah, that’s been, I feel like, part of the equation.

"And then, honestly, just the speed equation. I feel like we’ve been a step off in the fall. It seems like in the spring, everyone’s fairly even in the top five. The Gibbs cars can be pretty strong, and Penske is kind of not as strong in the spring, it seems like. And then they obviously get a lot better in the fall.

"So I don’t know. Based on how things are going lately, I feel like Penske’s going to be really good this weekend, and it’ll probably be a battle between all the top organizations. No tire change, so I think you’ll probably see the normal players that you saw in the fall."

There‘s another difference between the races. In 2022, the spring event was shortened to 400 laps, and the fall race remained at 500 laps.

To Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, that won‘t make a difference.

"I don‘t think it changes too much," said Berry, who claimed the first of his five NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at the track. "Honestly, 400 or 500 laps is still a lot of laps here. Definitely, the fall race is a little bit more of a grind…

"But I think it‘s a good balance, and I love running laps around this place, so however many they have, I‘ll hope to be out there."

Jesse Love is excited and grateful for first NASCAR Cup Series opportunity

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love is getting the opportunity he has longed for since childhood.

Richard Childress Racing announced on Friday that Love, currently third in the Xfinity standings, will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut on April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Love will drive the No, 33 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet in the Food City 500.

"Obviously, it‘s really special," said Love. "I‘ve known for a couple of weeks now—maybe a couple of months. Overall, I feel really excited and blessed and humbled by the opportunity to compete at the level that I‘ve wanted to since I was a kid. It does not feel real yet, right? I can tell that kind of by my emotions.

"But at the same time, I‘m trying not to fall into the trap of, when you do get your Cup start, of taking a deep breath and (saying), 'Ah, I‘ve made it,‘ and maybe getting a little bit content. I don‘t want to fall into that trap. I want to stay with the same mind-set that I‘ve had my whole life to get me to this point. But I am really grateful."

— NASCAR News Wire —

See the complete qualifying results and the Cook Out 400 Starting Lineup.

See the Martinsville race page for comprehensive race details.