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NASCAR starting grid for Sunday: All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers start in the top 10

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – As the NASCAR Cup Series championship race approaches, the pressure throughout the garage is building. For Hendrick Motorsports, three drivers have their title hopes alive heading into Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway.

Saturday got off to a good start for the group as all four riders advanced to the final qualifying round. The feat marks the first time that Hendrick Motorsports has qualified all four drivers in the top 10 at “The Paperclip.”

RELATED: Driver Averages: Martinsville

Chase Elliott will lead the way for Rick Hendrick's team from the front row. He comes second on Sunday afternoon.

Following closely behind Elliott are William Byron in third, Alex Bowman in seventh and Kyle Larson in ninth. The organization is looking to release another grandfather clock following the historic 1-2-3 result in Martinsville in April.

RELATED: NASCAR TV schedule for Martinsville

In terms of points, Byron and Larson have a chance to advance to Championship 4 after Martinsville without having to win. The driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet sits fourth in points, seven points ahead of Larson in fifth.

For Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Racing team, winning streak is the goal. At 43 points below the cutline, solid finishes in both stages and trouble from the leaders could pave the way to the Championship 4 on points, but that won't be Elliott's goal. He will look to take advantage of his position on the track and claim another walk-off win, just like he did in his title season in 2020.

RELATED: Check out highlights from Truck or Treat

Here's a look at the lineup of the field for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville.

NASCAR qualifying lineup for Martinsville

  1. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
  2. Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
  3. William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
  4. Chase Briscoe, #14
  5. Ty Gibbs, #54
  6. Harrison Burton, #21
  7. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
  8. Ryan Preece, #41
  9. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
  10. Austin Dillon, No. 3
  11. Josh Berry, #4
  12. Joey Logano, #22
  13. Todd Gilliland, #38
  14. Ryan Blaney, #12
  15. Daniel Hemric, No. 31
  16. Christopher Bell, No. 20
  17. Michael McDowell, #34
  18. Brad Keselowski, No. 6
  19. Bubba Wallace, #23
  20. Daniel Suarez, No. 99
  21. Erik Jones, #43
  22. Ross Chastain, No. 1
  23. Kyle Busch, No. 8
  24. Austin Cindric, #2
  25. Noah Gragson, No. 10
  26. Chris Buescher, No. 17
  27. Carson Hocevar, #77
  28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #47
  29. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 16
  30. Justin Haley, No. 7
  31. Tyler Reddick, #45
  32. John Hunter Nemechek, #42
  33. Kaz Grala, No. 15
  34. Corey LaJoie, #51
  35. Josh Bilicki, No. 66
  36. Zane Smith, #71
  37. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 (not qualified)

NASCAR TV schedule this weekend

Sunday, November 3rd

2:00 p.m. ET: Cup Series Main Event – ​​NBC

NASCAR Playoff Rankings Round of 8

driver Win this round Margin of elimination
1. Tyler Reddick 1 ADV
2. Joey Logano 1 ADV
3. Christopher Bell 0 +29
4. William Byron 0 +7
—————–
5.Kyle Larson 0 -7
6. Denny Hamlin 0 -18
7. Ryan Blaney 0 -38
8. Chase Elliott 0 -43

NASCAR training results

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in practice with a best lap of 19.918 seconds. Championship hopeful Denny Hamlin was third fastest in practice before a mechanical problem caused the No. 11 car to crash into the outside wall.

Hendrick Motorsports' Elliott was fifth fastest, spending 94 laps on the track during the 45-minute session.

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