Triple Crown contender bests his own track record, earns $5,000 bonus and will lead first heat race to green on Saturday
Click here to download images of Bobby McCarty and a PDF of the unofficial qualifying results.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Sept. 22, 2023) — Bobby McCarty made it known that he‘s going to be the driver to beat under the lights on Saturday night in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway by setting the fastest time in Friday‘s practice and qualifying sessions.
McCarty, who trails Brendan “Butterbean” Queen in the Virginia Triple Crown standings by only a half position, will lead the first of four qualifying races to green on Saturday following a lap time of 19.704. The time bettered his own Martinsville track record in the process.
Landon Huffman posted the second-fastest time of 19.768 and will sit on pole in the second qualifying race. Carson Kvapil will lead off the third qualifying race after a lap of 19.809, and Ryan Millington posted a time of 19.825 to hold the top starting position the fourth and final qualifying race.
“It feels great to win the pole, especially with 85 cars here. I‘m really proud of everyone at R&S, Solid Rock Carriers and all of our sponsors that make this possible,” said McCarty. “We were fastest in practice and qualified on the pole, hopefully I can win this thing finally this year so we can go celebrate.”
By virtue of having the fastest lap time, McCarty also won a $5,000 bonus.
This year, no drivers are locked into the field for Saturday evening‘s prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 through qualifying. Instead, the field will be set by those four 25-lap afternoon qualifying races. The top 10 finishers in each of the qualifying races will comprise the 40-driver field for the main event.
McCarty started off the day fast, topping the afternoon practice session with a time of 19.966 seconds. Millington was second with a time of 19.978, Huffman was third, Matt Cox was fourth, and Queen rounded out the fastest five in the session.
When it comes to the Virginia Triple Crown picture, Queen‘s average finish of 1.5 through the first two races at South Boston Speedway and Langley Speedway gives him a narrow lead over McCarty‘s 2.0 average finish. Queen had the seventh-best time in qualifying. Trevor Ward is in third with a 5.0 average finish, but will need to find some speed on Saturday, as he posted the 25th-best lap in qualifying.
Reigning ValleyStar Credit Union 300 race winner Peyton Sellers was 13th on the leaderboard during qualifying, improving his time from practice, when he was 24th fastest overall.
The ValleyStar Credit Union 300, the nation‘s biggest, richest and most prestigious NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race and the Virginia Triple Crown finale, will return for an evening of intense competition on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m. The qualifying races begin at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.
Tickets to the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 are available for purchase via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.
Stay connected to Martinsville Speedway on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the NASCAR Tracks App.
About Martinsville Speedway
Founded by H. Clay Earles in 1947, Martinsville Speedway is the only NASCAR track to host NASCAR Cup Series races every year since its inception in 1949. At .526 miles in length, the track annually hosts two NASCAR race weekends featuring the NASCAR Cup Series, along with NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races in the fall. Martinsville Speedway also annually hosts the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, the nation‘s biggest, richest and most prestigious NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race. For more information about Martinsville Speedway, visit martinsvillespeedway.com.
About NASCAR
Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation‘s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Seriesu2122, NASCAR Xfinity Seriesu2122, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Seriesu2122), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Pinty‘s Series (Canada), NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Associationu2122 (IMSAu00ae) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championshipu2122, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 12 countries and more than 30 U.S. states. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR‘).
Media Contacts:
Steph Harris
NASCAR Communications
386-275-6245
[email protected]
Kendall Lambert
NASCAR Communications
386-481-8548
