Tristan McKee Makes NASCAR History With Martinsville Pole

Photo by: Mark J. RebilasTristan McKee continues to prove that age is just a number in NASCAR. The 16 year old driver delivered a historic performance Friday at Martinsville Speedway, capturing the pole position for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black’s Tire 200.Driving the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, McKee posted a qualifying lap of 19.549 seconds at 96.864 mph. His lap was just fast enough to beat Layne Riggs, who qualified second with a time of 19.567 seconds.The accomplishment gives McKee his first career Truck Series pole in just his fifth start. More importantly, he becomes the youngest pole winner in Truck Series history at 16 years, two months and 27 days old.McKee Continues Impressive RiseMcKee’s qualifying performance is another major milestone in what has already been an impressive 2026 season. The young driver recently captured the ARCA Menards Series East championship, becoming the youngest champion in the history of the series.He has quickly become one of NASCAR’s most promising young prospects, and his performance at Martinsville shows he can compete against experienced drivers in the national touring series.McKee also showed speed earlier Friday, recording the second-fastest time in practice before carrying that momentum into qualifying.A Big Opportunity at MartinsvilleMcKee will have a difficult challenge ahead of him when the green flag waves. Riggs starts alongside him, while Chandler Smith qualified third and Ben Rhodes fourth. Championship points leader Kaden Honeycutt will start fifth.The Black’s Tire 200 gives McKee an opportunity to turn his historic qualifying effort into an even bigger accomplishment.At just 16 years old, McKee has already made NASCAR history. Now, he will look to turn his first Truck Series pole into his first career victory.