Kyle Larson earned his second-straight NASCAR Cup Series pole in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon, posting a lap of 19.718 at the very end of qualifying to win the pole for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. A mere .001 seconds separated Larson from outside polesitter Bubba Wallace, who will roll off second on Sunday after holding the fastest speed all the way until Larson took the checkered flag on his final lap.
Larson's pole puts him up front on a special weekend as Hendrick Motorsports is commemorating both the 40th anniversary of the company and the team's first win. Geoff Bodine earned that victory in the spring of 1984 at Martinsville, driving the same No. 5 Chevrolet that Larson will pilot on Sunday.
"Really cool to get this 40th anniversary Hendrick Camaro on the pole," Larson told Fox Sports. "It seems all four Hendrick cars are really good too. Hopefully it's a good day for the organization and we can celebrate for Rick and Linda [Hendrick] and everybody who's been a part of this organization for the 40 years."
SO CLOSE. Kyle Larson: 19.718 vs. Bubba Wallace: 19.719.
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2024
Repost to congratulate Kyle Larson on his NASCAR Cup Series POLE at Martinsville! pic.twitter.com/qoaGxZLkwq
Adding subtext to Sunday's front row is that Larson beat Wallace for the pole only one week after the two came together in Richmond, with Larson getting spun by Wallace while racing for fourth with two laps to go. Larson would end up finishing third while Wallace fell to 13th after a poor final pit stop as Wallace took responsibility and apologized for the contact in post-race.
"Of all people it'd be Larson," Wallace laughed to Fox Sports. "By a thousandth."
Three of the top 10 qualifiers were Hendrick Chevrolets, with Chase Elliott qualifying third and Alex Bowman, who spoke with CBS Sports this week, taking 10th starting spot. Daytona 500 champion William Byron starts deepest in the field of all the Hendrick drivers in 18th.
Cook Out 400 starting lineup
- #5 - Kyle Larson
- #23 - Bubba Wallace
- #9 - Chase Elliott
- #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
- #14 - Chase Briscoe
- #22 - Joey Logano
- #4 - Josh Berry (R)
- #11 - Denny Hamlin
- #12 - Ryan Blaney
- #48 - Alex Bowman
- #8 - Kyle Busch
- #1 - Ross Chastain
- #6 - Brad Keselowski
- #2 - Austin Cindric
- #54 - Ty Gibbs
- #38 - Todd Gilliland
- #43 - Erik Jones
- #24 - William Byron
- #45 - Tyler Reddick
- #20 - Christopher Bell
- #99 - Daniel Suarez
- #41 - Ryan Preece
- #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- #71 - Zane Smith (R)
- #77 - Carson Hocevar (R)
- #10 - Noah Gragson
- #51 - Justin Haley
- #3 - Austin Dillon
- #42 - John Hunter Nemechek
- #17 - Chris Buescher
- #15 - Kaz Grala (R)
- #7 - Corey LaJoie
- #16 - Josh Williams
- #21 - Harrison Burton
- #34 - Michael McDowell
- #31 - Daniel Hemric
- #66 - David Starr
(R) rookie