NASCAR Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway
Round of Eight: Elimination Race
Team Chevy Post-Qualifying Report
October 25, 2025
Byron Claims Pole Position for Round of Eight Elimination Race at Martinsville Speedway
- In pursuit of his third-straight Championship Four appearance, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green-flag in the Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. A two-time winner Martinsville winner, the feat marks Byron’s first pole win in NASCAR’s top division at the .526-mile Virginia short-track.
- Byron started Saturday’s on-track action by claiming the seventh position on the overall speed chart following the NASCAR Cup Series practice session. The 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native went on to post a best-lap of 19.286 seconds, at 98.185 mph, in qualifying to deliver Chevrolet its 13th pole win of the 2025 season.
- Byron led Chevrolet to four top-10 qualifying efforts for tomorrow’s 500-lap event, with fellow Team Chevy playoff contenders, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, driving their Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet’s to the third- and eighth-place starting positions, respectively. Two-time Martinsville winner, Kyle Busch, will join his manufacturer teammates in the top-10 of the starting lineup with the Richard Childress Racing driver ending qualifying with a seventh-place result.
Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Starting Lineup
Pos. Driver
1st – William Byron
3rd – Kyle Larson
7th – Kyle Busch
8th – Chase Elliott
Chevrolet’s statistics heading into the 35th NASCAR Cup Series race of the season:
Wins: 14
Poles: 13
Top-Fives: 61
Top 10s: 136
Stage Wins: 25
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Pole Winner Quotes
How big is it to be where you are on the track and get that pole?
“Yeah, like I’ve said before, it’s nice, but it doesn’t count for anything yet. But yeah, it’s good. We’ve prepared well coming here and feel pretty good about my race car. I think there’s a few guys out there that are really good, as well. It’s going good so far.”
Starting up front, does that change anything for you at this point? Is there any more relief at this point heading into tomorrow knowing that you’re starting as far forward as you are?
“You know, it’s funny. I said to myself before I came here, I was like, man, qualifying doesn’t matter as much as it normally does for us because we don’t really need the stage points. So maybe that was the key.
But, yeah honestly, for me, I was like — if I qualify 20th, as long as I keep my nose clean and have a good enough car to drive through the field, I should be okay. When we first saw Next Gen come around, it was like – oh man, if you qualify out of the top-10, it was like doomsday. So I think that’s changed a little bit with this tire and the fall off, but you always want track position. Being on the pole is nice and gives us a good pit stall. That’s probably the biggest key out of it. It gives us a chance to control the race for a little bit.”
The tire has been a popular conversation this weekend. Now that you’ve had some laps on the track, what are you seeing with the tire wear and the fall off?
“Yeah, I’m seeing a track that doesn’t lay a lot of rubber yet, which kind of gives me shades of Bristol. But I don’t think this tire is like that. You know, I don’t think it’s going to do like Bristol did. But I do think it’s going to hurt the tires if it doesn’t lay a lot of rubber. So we’ve just got to see where the temperature goes tomorrow and how, I call it, white the track stays. You know, we’ll see, but I think it’s going to be interesting. I think it’s going to get hot enough during the day where it’s going to do the traditional Martinsville things and still have some rubber streaks. But towards the end of the race, you could see kind of like what qualifying was, where it just might be hard on the tires and the pace might be fast.”
I know we’re going to get a lot of questions from people in terms of, like, the Bristol comparisons because the track looks so white, so how do we explain to people what you guys are dealing with? When we talked to you guys after Bristol, we get some of, like, okay, it’s a tire management race. But then also it’s just like a tire destruction race where there’s really nothing you can do, it’s more like the setup. So with this tire, is there stuff that you think you can do to preserve it for a longer run, like driver-wise? Or is it just baked into what the car is already going to do?
“Yeah, I think there’s a little bit of both. But I don’t think this is as extreme as Bristol. I think Bristol, to me, is a bit ridiculous because you can’t really manage. You’re just shredding the tire off the car. This is more of a management aspect. I don’t think it’s going to do like what it did at Bristol, where you just have to pit all the time. But I think you’re just going to suffer, you know, in terms of lap time and positions.
But I don’t know. I think the fact that the race starts at 2:00 p.m. makes a big difference. We’re going to bake heat into the racetrack. The beginning of qualifying is when the race is going to end, so I just see it as a management race. The guys who have a good setup and have a good feel for the place are going to manage their tires.”
So somebody could get out to decent lead but use their tires up and fall back?
“Maybe. I mean, that could always happen. I just don’t think you’re going to be punished for having a good car and running hard. But I don’t know. I think you just have to do a good job inside the car. You’ve got to tell the team the right feedback to make sure you’re managing whatever tire is falling off, but I don’t think it will be extreme like Bristol.”
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