Bubba Wallace loses Martinsville pole to Kyle Larson by 0.001 seconds: ‘Of all people’

For Kyle Larson, it is the second pole award in a row. He was on the pole for Richmond last week, but came up short in the end. This weekend he will try to defend his Spring Martinsville win. Larson, up until last year, had not had good luck at The Paperclip.

As for Bubba Wallace, it is another moment of falling just short. However, the improvement that Wallace has shown in qualifying the last two seasons and especially short track qualifying, has been impressive. There was a time not long ago when you would not expect him to be in contention for a pole anywhere but Daytona and Talladega.

Wallace was mostly speaking in jest about Larson. He appeared to congratulate his rival as the No. 5 car drove by after the interview.

Bubba Wallace has history at Martinvsille

Martinsville is a special track for Bubba Wallace. During his time running full-time in the Truck Series, Wallace won twice at The Paperclip. He has performed well there in his Cup Series career compared to other short tracks.

Last week at Richmond, until his tire strategy was ruined, he was one of the top-5 cars in the race. Even with his strategy thrown off, Wallace had a top-5 finish in his hands until a botched pit stop before the final restart.

I would keep an eye on the 23 team. They will have to be great on pit road. The number of cautions at Martinsville will make that more challenging than most weeks. However, this is a track that Wallace is familiar with and he enjoys.

Bubba Wallace didn’t get the pole, but he’s on the front row. Those Hendrick Chevys are going to try and get a big win for the 40th anniversary of the team. This track means eve more to that organization than it means to Wallace and his career. Should be a fun one on Sunday.