Preece rockets to first career NASCAR Cup pole at Martinsville

All four Stewart-Haas Racing cars advanced to the final round of Saturday’s qualifying session but Chevrolet driver Daniel Suarez led the speed chart as Preece began his final two-lap attempt.

Preece ended up fourth-fastest on his first lap, but also many drivers didn’t improve their speed on the second lap, he did – grabbing his first career pole with an average lap speed of 94.780 mph.

It was a welcome surprise for Preece, who has struggled so far this year in his first season driving the No. 41 Ford for SHR.

"As a race car driver you want to come here, you want to compete, you want to win races and I know my team is capable of that. I know I’m capable of that," Preece said. "I know my crew chief (Chad Johnston) is capable of that. 

"It’s really just been trying to put it all together and get the finishes that you feel you deserve. It’s nice to not be starting in the back for one week. We have such a fast (car) and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”

Suarez and Aric Almirola actually tied for second-fastest (94.298 mph) but Suarez will take the front row spot based on owner’s points.

Almirola will start third, Chase Briscoe fourth and Martin Truex Jr. will round out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 were Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher.

Round 1 / Group B

Preece, who struggled in practice, topped Group B in qualifying with an average lap speed of 94.463 mph – the fastest lap of the day at the time.

Briscoe ended up second-fastest (94.420 mph) and Wallace was third (94.402 mph).

Also advancing to the final round were Almirola and Byron, who was second-fastest in practice earlier Saturday.

Among those who failed to advance to the final round were last week’s race winner, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.

Round 1 / Group A

Truex, the next to last to make a qualifying attempt in his group, ended up with the fastest average speed (94.181 mph).

Suarez was second-fastest (94.027 mph) and Harvick was third (93.933 mph).

Also advancing to the final round were Buescher and Reddick, who had been fastest in practice earlier in the day.

Among those who failed to advance were Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger and Chase Elliott, who made some contact with the wall during his second qualifying lap.

Elliott is making his first start on Sunday after missing six races recovering from a fractured tibia in his left leg in a snowboarding accident in early March.

“It actually feels pretty good,” Elliott said of his left leg. “I had an abysmal qualifying lap but I can’t blame my leg.”