Elliott takes pole for NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville
By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Chase Elliott won the pole Friday for the Saturday night race at Martinsville Speedway.The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion and current co-leader turned a fast lap at 96.151 mph in the new Next Gen cars to end co-leader Ryan Blaney’s string of three consecutive poles. Blaney qualified 12th.Aric Almirola qualified second, followed by Cole Custer, James Buescher and William Byron, who won the Truck Series race at the track Thursday night.