Preece wins pole at Martinsville; Elliott starts 24th
By STEVE REED
AP Sports Writer
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Ryan Preece will start on the pole for Sunday’s Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, capping a strong day of qualifying for Stewart-Haas Racing. All four SHR cars will start in the top seven. Daniel Suarez and Preece’s teammate, Aric Almirola, were tied for the best qualifying lap before Preece took the half-mile track last among the top-10 finalists and zipped around the paperclip-shaped course in 94.78 mph, besting the effort of 94.298 shared by Suarez and Almirola. Chase Elliott will start 24th in his first race since Fontana.