The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series hits Martinsville Speedway for qualifying today, Saturday, March 28, and we've got all of the timing, scheduling, and TV information you need ahead of the action.
NASCAR has confirmed that single-car qualifying procedures will be in place at the 0.526-mile paperclip oval, meaning that the drivers have one opportunity to claim the pole for Sunday's main event.
Last year at Martinsville, Joe Gibbs Racing star Christopher Bell was the man to take pole position, edging Hendrick Motorsports trio Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson to do so on that occasion.
It was Bell's teammate, Denny Hamlin, who went on to win the race, though, and there was a different pole and race winner when NASCAR returned to Martinsville in the fall, with William Byron dominating that weekend.
Only time will tell who prevails this time around, and it's certainly going to be exciting to see it all unfold.
READ MORE: NASCAR Qualifying Results: Hamlin takes Martinsville pole, Busch woes continue
What time is NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Martinsville?
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying from Martinsville Speedway takes place on Saturday, March 28, at 1:40 p.m. ET.
This follows immediately after the one and only Cup Series practice session this weekend, which starts at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Here are the start times converted to your local time zones.
| City (Time Zone) | Practice Start Time | Qualifying Start Time |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte, NC (ET) | 12:30 P.M. | 1:40 P.M. |
| New York, NY (ET) | 12:30 P.M. | 1:40 P.M. |
| Columbia, SC (ET) | 12:30 P.M. | 1:40 P.M. |
| Charleston, WV (ET) | 12:30 P.M. | 1:40 P.M. |
| Augusta, ME (ET) | 12:30 P.M. | 1:40 P.M. |
| Chicago, IL (CT) | 11:30 A.M. | 12:40 P.M. |
| Pierre, SD (CT) | 11:30 A.M. | 12:40 P.M. |
| Nashville, TN (CT) | 11:30 A.M. | 12:40 P.M. |
| Des Moines, IA (CT) | 11:30 A.M. | 12:40 P.M. |
| Montgomery, AL (CT) | 11:30 A.M. | 12:40 P.M. |
| Denver, CO (MT) | 10:30 A.M. | 11:40 A.M. |
| Salt Lake City, UT (MT) | 10:30 A.M. | 11:40 A.M. |
| Albuquerque, NM (MT) | 10:30 A.M. | 11:40 A.M. |
| El Paso, TX (MT) | 10:30 A.M. | 11:40 A.M. |
| Los Angeles, CA (PT) | 9:30 A.M. | 10:40 A.M. |
| Las Vegas, NV (PT) | 9:30 A.M. | 10:40 A.M. |
| Seattle, WA (PT) | 9:30 A.M. | 10:40 A.M. |
| Portland, OR (PT) | 9:30 A.M. | 10:40 A.M. |
| San Francisco, CA (PT) | 9:30 A.M. | 10:40 A.M. |
What TV channel is NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on today?
Today's NASCAR Cup Series qualifying action from Martinsville will not be broadcast live on traditional TV. Instead, it will be shown live on Prime Video.
You can download the Prime Video app on your handheld device from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon App Store.
You can also download the app on your TV on devices such as the following:
- Roku
- Amazon Fire TV
- VIZIO Smart TV
- LG TV
- Chromecast
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Samsung Smart TV
Today's qualifying session will also be broadcast live on the radio, with MRN and SiriusXM having the call.
Live stream options
The best live stream option for today's NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Martinsville is Prime Video.
For the first half of the season through San Diego (June 21), Prime Video is set to air all Cup Series practice and qualifying, with the exception of the Clash, Daytona 500, and All-Star Race.
Entry List and Qualifying Order
Here is the full list of Cup Series drivers set to take part in this weekend's event at Martinsville, listed in the order in which they will qualify.
| Pos | Driver | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Hill | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Cody Ware | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Riley Herbst | Toyota |
| 4 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Cole Custer | Ford |
| 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford |
| 7 | Joey Logano | Ford |
| 8 | Justin Allgaier (i) | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Noah Gragson | Ford |
| 10 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chevrolet |
| 11 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet |
| 12 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Todd Gilliland | Ford |
| 15 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota |
| 16 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Josh Berry | Ford |
| 19 | Zane Smith | Ford |
| 20 | Michael McDowell | Ford |
| 21 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Christopher Bell | Toyota |
| 23 | Chase Briscoe | Ford |
| 24 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Chevrolet |
| 25 | Erik Jones | Toyota |
| 26 | Ryan Preece | Ford |
| 27 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Austin Cindric | Ford |
| 29 | Daniel Suárez | Chevrolet |
| 30 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota |
| 31 | Chris Buescher | Ford |
| 32 | Ty Gibbs | Toyota |
| 33 | William Byron | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet |
| 35 | Brad Keselowski | Ford |
| 36 | Ryan Blaney | Ford |
| 37 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota |
NASCAR Cup standings ahead of Martinsville
Here is how the points standings look in the Cup Series ahead of this weekend's action.
| Pos | Driver | Manufacturer | Points (Stage) | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota | 325 (52) | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 230 (54) | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota | 205 (60) | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 203 (31) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 194 (34) | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 191 (40) | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 188 (41) | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 182 (43) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 182 (29) | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 176 (50) | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 173 (29) | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 12 | Ryan Preece | Ford | 154 (21) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet | 151 (27) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 14 | Daniel Suarez | Chevrolet | 150 (26) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Shane van Gisbergen | Chevrolet | 140 (16) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Joey Logano | Ford | 139 (31) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 139 (19) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 124 (15) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Zane Smith | Ford | 123 (10) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 115 (11) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Austin Cindric | Ford | 109 (36) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Chase Briscoe | Toyota | 108 (15) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | 106 (11) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 103 (0) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | John H. Nemechek | Toyota | 101 (14) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 93 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Riley Herbst | Toyota | 88 (6) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 86 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Noah Gragson | Ford | 84 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Todd Gilliland | Ford | 82 (11) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet | 80 (4) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 32 | Josh Berry | Ford | 76 (5) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | 69 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Cole Custer | Chevrolet | 61 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Cody Ware | Chevrolet | 53 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 23 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Casey Mears | Ford | 9 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | BJ McLeod | Chevrolet | 3 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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