The Trackhouse Racing driver qualified 22nd for Monday’s 500-lapper at the famous concrete bullring, which will decide who the remaining Championship 4 drivers will be.
SVG clocked a 19.462s to end up 0.176s behind pole position winner William Byron in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.
Byron will line up alongside the #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry of Ty Gibbs.
Heading to Martinsville, Byron is below the cut-off line in fifth with Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott behind him in sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively.
All four drivers are effectively in a must-win situation with Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson at +37 and +36 points above the cut-off line.
“It’s great. It’s not the race though,” said Byron of his pole position lap.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow. Felt good in practice and felt decent there in qualifying.
“It’s so cold, it took a while for the tyres to come in. It feels nice. First pole at Martinsville is always good. We usually struggle to qualify well here.
“Just excited for tomorrow. It’s a big challenge and that’s what counts. After 500 laps, we’ll see how we are.
“It’s going to be similar conditions [tomorrow] to what it is now,” he added.
“It’s going to be really chilly and the track is going to change a bunch, so we’ve just got to do a good job communicating, talking through it, and making the right adjustments inside the car.”
Van Gisbergen was the second-best Trackhouse Racing driver, behind 13th-placed Ross Chastain in the #1 and ahead of 30th-placed Daniel Suarez in the #99 car.
Ahead of the weekend, SVG commented on the skills needed to master Martinsville.
“It’s still difficult but there is more downshift and a bit more technique with braking, and how you can use your tools and how you get the car into the corners,” he explained.
“I am able to influence it (the car) a little more as a driver, unlike, the big ovals.
“You still see the regular oval drivers that are amazing at Martinsville. It’s a tough track. I got a decent result there last year, 12th, with some strategy.
“It’s a crazy race, I really enjoy racing there.”
The NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway gets underway at 5am AEDT on Monday, with coverage live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
Results: NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 Qualifying, Martinsville Speedway
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Car | Lap | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.286 | ||
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota Camry | 19.288 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.315 | 0.029 | 0.027 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Team Penske | Ford Mustang | 19.322 | 0.036 | 0.007 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota Camry | 19.347 | 0.061 | 0.025 |
| 6 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Racing | Ford Mustang | 19.348 | 0.062 | 0.001 |
| 7 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.352 | 0.066 | 0.004 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.353 | 0.067 | 0.001 |
| 9 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota Camry | 19.376 | 0.090 | 0.023 |
| 10 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford Mustang | 19.393 | 0.107 | 0.017 |
| 11 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.399 | 0.113 | 0.006 |
| 12 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota Camry | 19.401 | 0.115 | 0.002 |
| 13 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.408 | 0.122 | 0.007 |
| 14 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota Camry | 19.411 | 0.125 | 0.003 |
| 15 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.417 | 0.131 | 0.006 |
| 16 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford Mustang | 19.433 | 0.147 | 0.016 |
| 17 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.437 | 0.151 | 0.004 |
| 18 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford Mustang | 19.438 | 0.152 | 0.001 |
| 19 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford Mustang | 19.453 | 0.167 | 0.015 |
| 20 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.455 | 0.169 | 0.002 |
| 21 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota Camry | 19.459 | 0.173 | 0.004 |
| 22 | 88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.462 | 0.176 | 0.003 |
| 23 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford Mustang | 19.505 | 0.219 | 0.043 |
| 24 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota Camry | 19.511 | 0.225 | 0.006 |
| 25 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota Camry | 19.52 | 0.234 | 0.009 |
| 26 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.526 | 0.240 | 0.006 |
| 27 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota Camry | 19.53 | 0.244 | 0.004 |
| 28 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford Mustang | 19.53 | 0.244 | 0.000 |
| 29 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford Mustang | 19.559 | 0.273 | 0.029 |
| 30 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.56 | 0.274 | 0.001 |
| 31 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Team Penske | Ford Mustang | 19.606 | 0.320 | 0.046 |
| 32 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsport | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.629 | 0.343 | 0.023 |
| 33 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.648 | 0.362 | 0.019 |
| 34 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet Camaro | 19.67 | 0.384 | 0.022 |
| 35 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford Mustang | 19.704 | 0.418 | 0.034 |
| 36 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford Mustang | 19.832 | 0.546 | 0.128 |
| 37 | 66 | Casey Mears | Garage 66 | Ford Mustang | 19.895 | 0.609 | 0.063 |
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats and betting insights at MotorRacing.com
Discussion about this post