Martin Truex Jr. is scheduled to run his final NASCAR Cup Series race as a full-time driver Sunday. He will do so from the pole.
With a lap at 134.741 mph in the second round of qualifying Saturday (Nov. 9), Truex won the top spot for the sport’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway. It is his second consecutive pole and the 25th of his career.
Truex was just one-hundredth of a second faster than Joey Logano, the best of the Championship 4 contenders and the quickest Group B driver. Ross Chastain, the defending race champion, will start third, then Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.
Ty Gibbs qualified sixth, followed by Christopher Bell and William Byron. Harrison Burton and Tyler Reddick round out the top-10 starters.
While Logano will slot in second Sunday, he doesn’t get the full benefit of his run. Earlier Saturday, Logano’s No. 22 failed pre-qualifying inspection twice, causing him to lose his pit stall selection.
In the first round of qualifying, William Byron was fastest in Group A with a lap at 135.880 mph. The lap was .084 seconds faster than Truex, who is driving a Toyota wrapped to look like the Chevrolet he made his Cup debut with at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2004.
20 years went by too fast.
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 9, 2024
Martin Truex Jr.'s final paint scheme as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver is inspired by his debut car from 2004. pic.twitter.com/92RFhWXqNl
Larson was third, then Gibbs and Reddick.
Team AmeriVet’s Jeb Burton failed to take time during the session. Since Burton was in Group A, he will start 39th. With only 40 cars attempting the race, no one failed to qualify.
Group B saw Logano go fastest with a lap at 135.803 mph. His lap was .132 seconds faster than Elliott. Chastain was third, then Bell and Burton.
Qualifying saw a number of drivers get loose in turn 1 and go up the track. The most notable of the bunch was Blaney, who lost control on his lap and ended up ninth in Group B. As a result, Blaney, who was fastest in practice Friday, was the only championship contender that did not make the second round. He’ll start 18th.
The driver that ended up the worst off of anyone was Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry, who spun on his qualifying lap and slid into the wall in turn 1. He did not set a time and will start 40th. While the damage to his Texas A&M No. 4 Ford was minimal, repairs will be necessary.
NASCAR Cup Series Phoenix Season Finale Starting Lineup
Coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series season finale will start Sunday with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. Race coverage will begin at 3 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:15 p.m. ET.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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Burtons- why keep hiring them!!! They must run cheap. Yay, Truex finally going.