Truex led the field with a top lap of 98.206 mph. Five of the eight remaining Chase drivers will start in the top 10.

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“This place is just so tough and that first pit stall is just so critical to having a shot at winning here,” Truex said on NBCSN after winning the pole. “I would love to get my first grandfather clock. And a little bit after last week, this helps a little bit. All in all, just proud of the guys for coming here with a game plan and executing.”

Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, AJ Allmendinger and Chase Elliott round out the top five starters. Logano and Johnson remain in the Chase. Others in the top 10? Carl Edwards (seventh), Denny Hamlin (eighth) and Kyle Busch (ninth).

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Martinsville, as the opening race in the Round of 8 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, offers drivers their first chance to lock into the championship race. A handful of those Chasers are starting at a deficit on Sunday after failing to make it to the final round of qualifying.

Starting deeper in the field, and with a less ideal pit stall, at the 0.526-mile track can have an impact on one’s race.

Matt Kenseth, one of the four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in this round, will start 17th. He’ll be followed by Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick (20th) and Kurt Busch (23rd).

MORE: Logano seeks win, not another incident, at Martinsville

Busch might not be overly concerned, though. He won from 22nd in the 2014 spring race and then has the win from the deepest in the field, 36th, in the 2002 race.

Sunday’s race is scheduled to begin at 1:13 p.m. ET in near-perfect weather.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun and crashed in the opening segment of the qualifying session. Stenhouse’s car smacked the wall hard, stopping the countdown clock with almost 14 minutes remaining in the session. All three Roush Fenway Racing cars were eliminated in the opening run.

Austin Dillon had trouble in the session as well, wheel-hopping during his run and relegating him to a starting position of 32nd. Dillon and his team made a strong run into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but were eliminated after the race at Talladega last Sunday.

Logano starts second after claiming pole position the three previous Martinsville races. Johnson has won eight times at the track; Logano seeks his first Martinsville victory and the traditional grandfather clock that is the winner’s prize.

As to Truex, he’s happy with his start to the weekend, though he knows it doesn’t guarantee anything. 

“It’s no guarantee that we’ll race well on Sunday, but it’s definitely a nice advantage if you have a good race car to be able to make up stops on pit road and not  have to worry about getting blocked in and all those things,” he said. “It’s a definite advantage and hopefully we can have a good car to take advantage of it.”

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, in their expected final races at the track, will start sixth and 10th.

Here is the full starting lineup. Chase drivers are in bold.