MARTINSVILLE, Va.--Talk about perfect timing.

William Byron, one of four drivers realistically needing a victory at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4 race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, picked the ideal moment to win his first pole position at the historic short track.

Covering the 0.526-mile distance in 19.286 seconds (98.185 mph) on Saturday, Byron edged non-Playoff driver Ty Gibbs (98.175 mph) by 0.002 seconds for the top starting spot in Sunday's Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The Busch Light Pole Award was Byron's third of the year and 16th of his career but his first since the eighth race of the 2025 season at Darlington Raceway.

Though he's starting up front, Byron was wary of placing too much emphasis on his pole-winning

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