NASCAR News: Byron wins pole for Martinsville Playoff race

In the pressure-cooker cauldron of Martinsville Speedway, where the half-mile paperclip track chews up tires and tempers alike, William Byron (pictured) stared down elimination with the steely resolve of a champion on the brink.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

It was Saturday, October 25, 2025—the eve of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 finale—and with his back firmly against the wall in a must-win scenario, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver didn’t just show up. He put his Chevy on the pole.

Byron’s quest for survival kicked off on the right foot, as he edged out Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs by a razor-thin margin of one-hundredth of a second to claim the pole for Sunday’s do-or-die elimination race.

Clocking a blistering lap at 98.185 mph, Byron’s effort marked his third pole of the season and the 16th of his young career—a testament to his evolution from promising talent to playoff predator. Gibbs, no slouch himself, posted 98.175 mph in a valiant bid, but it wasn’t enough to deny Byron the prime real estate on the front row.

The half-mile bullring, bathed in the crisp autumn light of southern Virginia, amplified every nuance of the qualifying drama. Fellow playoff contenders littered the top five, turning the grid into a gladiatorial lineup primed for chaos. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson lurked in third at 98.008 mph, his teammate’s shadow a constant reminder of internal rivalries.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano, the defending series champ with a knack for late-season magic, slotted fourth with 98.002 mph. And Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Martinsville’s modern maestro with a record 10 wins here, rounded out the top five at 97.876 mph—his home-track pedigree a looming threat.

The top 10 read like a who’s who of contenders and spoilers: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer in sixth, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch seventh, Hendrick’s Chase Elliott eighth, Stewart-Haas’ Chase Briscoe ninth, and Penske’s Austin Cindric tenth. It was a murderers’ row, where every push to pass could rewrite the championship script.

But not all playoff warriors started with silver spoons. Christopher Bell, the No. 20 Toyota driver nursing a points deficit, scraped into 12th—a middling start that demanded flawless execution come race day. And then there was Ryan Blaney, the 2023 champion whose weekend had unraveled faster than a short-pit strategy gone wrong. A qualifying misfire left him mired in 31st, a brutal 19 spots off the pace, forcing the Team Penske ace into a miraculous charge just to claw back into contention.

As the checkered flag waved on qualifying, Byron peeled off his helmet in the Martinsville garage, a mix of relief and fire in his eyes. Sunday’s 500-lap showdown loomed at 2 p.m. ET—broadcast live on NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, and the NBC Sports App—with four spots in the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix on the line.

For Byron and the Hendrick juggernaut, this pole wasn’t a luxury; it was a launchpad. In a playoffs defined by heartbreak and heroics, the young gun from Charlotte had seized the narrative. Now, could he convert momentum into survival? The paperclip awaited its next twist.

Martinsville Cup race qualifying results