Martin Truex Jr., who will retire from full-time racing in two weeks, won the pole during Saturday qualifying in Martinsville.

Truex turned a lap at 95.951 mph, beating Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and William Byron. Truex was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round and Elliott and Byron are trying to make it championship four.

Chase Briscoe in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing was fourth, followed by Truex teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing Ty Gibbs. Harrison Burton, who will lose his seat at Wood Brothers Racing in two weeks, finished sixth. Briscoe, Gibbs, Burton and Truex are already out of the playoffs.

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman was seventh, followed by SHR’s Ryan Preece, Hendrick’s Kyle Larson and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon.

Joey Logano, who is already part of the fourth championship, qualified twelfth – two places ahead of Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney. Title contender Christopher Bell of JGR qualified 16th, while Tyler Reddick, who is already in the championship race, qualified 31st.

Denny Hamlin, meanwhile, had a short Saturday at Martinsville when he crashed during practice due to a stuck throttle. The damage to his No. 11 Toyota was so severe that JGR spent the remainder of the session deciding whether the car could be repaired or whether he needed a backup.

His car was fast for the 33 laps he completed before backing into the wall, and despite his shortened session he finished in third place on the speed chart.

The team decided to repair his car, but Hamlin was unable to attempt qualifying anyway and will start last Sunday.

Hamlin is below the elimination cutoff and can only move into the championship fourth position with a win on Sunday or significant collapses from the drivers ahead of him in the standings.

Hamlin is a five-time winner at Martinsville but hasn’t been to victory lane since 2015.

“Nothing from the past guarantees the future. During the fall race it seems like everyone is giving their best, and we have had some unfortunate circumstances at the end of the races here that have kept us out of victory lane,” said Hamlin. ‘That’s just part of it. You just hope the law of averages works itself out.

“It’s like data and analytics: one strike: anything can happen. You just never know. You just hope you’re on the right side, right?”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.