Brandon Jones snags pole for Martinsville Xfinity playoff race

Jones, who is currently last in points among the eight drivers in the semifinal round of the playoffs, won the pole for Saturday’s race with an average lap speed of 95.482 mph.

He just edged Sheldon Creed (95.333 mph) and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith (95.314 mph) for the top starting position.

Jones already was coming into the weekend with confidence, having won the spring race at Martinsville which was how he qualified for the series playoffs.

“It cracks me up a little bit because I came here 10 years ago and I could not get around this race track to save my life,” Jones said. “Now, I’m here with a win under my belt from the spring and I’m sitting on the pole. It’s just funny how it full swings around and your weaknesses become your strong suits.

“I thought I had a really good lap. I was a little surprised by being on the front row. I had to lock up (my brakes) the very first lap and I knew my second lap was typically the better of the two here.

“We’ve prepared another fast Supra this weekend and definitely have something that is capable of winning the race tomorrow.”

JGR teammate Ty Gibbs ended up fourth and Noah Gragson rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 starting lineup are Justin Allgaier, Anthony Alfredo, Riley Herbst, A.J. Allmendinger and Jeremy Clements.

Gragson and Josh Berry are already locked in the Championship 4 next week at Phoenix. Gibbs, Allmendinger, Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer and Jones are all vying for the final two slots.

Daniel Hemric wrecked in practice and did not make a qualifying attempt. Hill developed a hole in a radiator tube while the team was pushing his No. 21 Chevrolet to the qualifying line and also did not make a lap.

Kyle Weatherman also failed to make a qualifying attempt as the team had a mechanical issue with the No. 34 Chevrolet.