Today at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Cup rages on from Martinsville Speedway, where race fans can live stream the Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville presented by AutoZone for free by clicking this link.
Races vying to make it to the next round of the Chase for the Cup were thrown for a loop this week when non-Cup contender Jamie McMurray blazed by them all and won the pole for this week's run.
"We made the car better throughout the test and hit on a couple of things that really had a lot of speed in it, so I was pretty excited about getting here this weekend," McMurray said. "Our cars have been so quick the past two or three months. This is a great track for me, we had a really good test, and when things are going well, you get excited to come to the track."
In more normal news, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski will start in second and third position, respectively, which they've done all year long. Fellow Chase driver Kevin Harvick had a nightmarish qualifying round and will begin in 33rd position. Keselowski expressed sympathy for Harvick, who is at a serious disadvantage at this small track.
"I've been there and it ain't no fun," said Keselowski. "But if you have a strong car and you can stay out of the early trouble, it doesn't seem to be too big of a hurdle."
Logano wasn't so positive, hinting that the close quarters might hinder Harvick's moves.
"When you're that far back, the inside lane just keeps checking up a lot into the corners and you can shove the nose in pretty quick there," Logano said. "The next thing you know, you're in the back of a car. So I think that will probably be something you've got to be aware of, and obviously guys fighting to the bottom and the sense of urgency back there is very high, so you're not really saving any tires because you've got to go."
Starting Grid
POS
DRIVER
MANUFACTURER
CAR
SPEED
1
Jamie McMurray
Chevrolet
99.905 mph
2
Joey Logano
Ford
99.605 mph
3
Matt Kenseth
Toyota
99.318 mph
4
Tony Stewart
Chevrolet
99.297 mph
5
Denny Hamlin
Toyota
99.266 mph
6
Brad Keselowski
Ford
99.240 mph
7
Jimmie Johnson
Chevrolet
99.230 mph
8
Kyle Busch
Toyota
99.209 mph
9
Ryan Newman
Chevrolet
98.836 mph
10
Kurt Busch
Chevrolet
98.620 mph
11
Carl Edwards
Ford
98.553 mph
12
Clint Bowyer
Toyota
98.328 mph
13
Jeff Gordon
Chevrolet
98.841 mph
14
Paul Menard
Chevrolet
98.815 mph
15
AJ Allmendinger
Chevrolet
98.810 mph
16
Kyle Larson
Chevrolet
98.646 mph
17
Brian Vickers
Toyota
98.625 mph
18
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Ford
98.589 mph
19
Austin Dillon
Chevrolet
98.466 mph
20
Casey Mears
Chevrolet
98.466 mph
21
Greg Biffle
Ford
98.446 mph
22
Justin Allgaier
Chevrolet
98.338 mph
23
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Chevrolet
98.333 mph
24
Kasey Kahne
Chevrolet
98.282 mph
25
Marcos Ambrose
Ford
98.216 mph
26
Martin Truex Jr.
Chevrolet
98.200 mph
27
Aric Almirola
Ford
98.114 mph
28
Landon Cassill
Chevrolet
98.089 mph
29
David Ragan
Ford
98.073 mph
30
Danica Patrick
Chevrolet
97.906 mph
31
Reed Sorenson
Chevrolet
97.886 mph
32
Alex Bowman
Toyota
97.876 mph
33
Kevin Harvick
Chevrolet
97.835 mph
34
David Gilliland
Ford
97.785 mph
35
Josh Wise
Chevrolet
97.729 mph
36
Cole Whitt
Toyota
97.694 mph
37
Michael Annett
Chevrolet
N/A
38
Clay Rogers
Toyota
N/A
39
Travis Kvapil
Chevrolet
N/A
40
J.J. Yeley
Toyota
N/A
41
Timmy Hill
Chevrolet
44
N/A
42
Kyle Fowler
Ford
N/A
43
Mike Wallace
Toyota
N/A
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