NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400: Qualifying, Christopher Bell’s Pole Position, Lineup At Martinsville Speedway

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Jeff Hawkins
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Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  

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Published29 Mar 2025

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NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying

In his first appearance at Martinsville Speedway since last fall’s playoff setback, NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell put the incident behind him, moving forward by winning Saturday’s qualifying session for Sunday’s Cook Out 400. 

Bell turned a hot lap of 96.034 mph, topping three Hendrick Motorsports pilots Chase Elliott (95.951 mph), Alex Bowman (95.937) and Kyle Larson (95.854). 

After initially securing a spot in last fall’s Championship 4 race at Martinsville, Bell was later disqualified for riding the wall during the final lap.  

“I’ll never forget last year’s race, for sure,” Bell told Fox Sports.  

Bell’s pole position also helped him forget last week’s effort at Homestead, finishing P29 after spinning out of contention. 

“Miserable day,” he said.  

On Sunday, Bell will start from the inside of the front row for the first time at the 0.526-mile oval.

Casey Mears Penalized During Cup Series Return 

With 489 career Cup starts, veteran Casey Mears is eying 500. Can he get there? With a new team, Garage 66, Mears, who qualified 37th Saturday, remained poised to compete in his second circuit event since retiring in 2016. 

Mears’ comeback attempt hit two bumps as the No. 66 Ford was penalized twice for failing inspections. Mears’ team lost its pit stall selection and must work Sunday without one crew member (engineer Hector Flores). 

The fledgling Garage 66 organization, formerly MBM Motorsports, announced Thursday it secured a new sponsor.

Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out 400   

Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway:   

Starting Position, Driver, Car No.

  • 1, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota 
  • 2, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet 
  • 3, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet 
  • 4, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet 
  • 5, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota 
  • 6, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford 
  • 7, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford 
  • 8, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 oyota 
  • 9, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota 
  • 10, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet 
  • 11, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota 
  • 12, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet  
  • 13, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota 
  • 14, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford 
  • 15, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet 
  • 16, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota 
  • 17, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet 
  • 18, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet 
  • 19, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford 
  • 20, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford 
  • 21, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford 
  • 22, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford 
  • 23, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet 
  • 24, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford 
  • 25, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford 
  • 26, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet 
  • 27, Brad Keselowski, No. 5 Ford 
  • 28, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet 
  • 29, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet 
  • 30, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet 
  • 31, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota 
  • 32, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford 
  • 33, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet 
  • 34, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet 
  • 35, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota 
  • 36, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford 
  • 37, Casey Mears, No. 66 Ford 
  • 38, Burt Myers, No. 50 Chevrolet