NASCAR at Martinsville 2018 Qualifying Canceled; Martin Truex Jr. Awarded Pole

Martin Truex Jr. will start from the pole position in Sunday's STP 500 after qualifying got canceled Saturday because of poor weather conditions at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.

NASCAR announced the cancellation and noted the entire field for the sixth race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season will be set by owners' points.

Here's a look at the top 10 starters for Sunday's event (via NASCAR.com):

1. Martin Truex Jr. (78)

2. Kyle Busch (18)

3. Joey Logano (22)

4. Brad Keselowski (2)

5. Ryan Blaney (12)

6. Denny Hamlin (11)

7. Kyle Larson (42)

8. Kevin Harvick (4)

9. Clint Bowyer (14)

10. Aric Almirola (10)

Kelly Crandall of Racer passed along comments from Truex about the advantages of starting from the pole at Martinsville, both during the race and on pit road.

"At Martinsville, it's definitely a big advantage to start out front," he said. "The first pix box is a big deal here and it's where you want to be. You get that clean stall in and out, and hopefully, not get tore up on pit road."

The 37-year-old New Jersey native is the defending Cup Series champion, and he's looking for his second straight victory in the early going this season after winning last week's Auto Club 400 in California.

Busch, who will start alongside Truex on the front row, was listed as the original betting favorite for Sunday's 263-mile battle, per OddsShark.

The conditions should improve enough to get the race in despite Saturday's rainout. The Weather Channel forecasts a chilly race day in Virginia with a high temperature of 47 degrees, but there's only a 20 percent chance of precipitation.