MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It may not have been how he wanted to earn his third-straight pole starting spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but Martin Truex Jr. will still lead the field to green for Sunday’s STP 500.

Truex, who led both practice sessions for the Cup Series on Saturday, was awarded the top place on the grid after a mix of rain and snow invaded lower Virginia around 2:30 p.m. ET, stopping the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event after just 23 laps and forcing NASCAR officials to scrap Cup qualifying.

That left Truex’s No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-Hour Energy Toyota atop the starting grid by virtue of owner points, which he took Furniture Row Racing to the lead in after his victory last Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.

Still, the Mayetta, N.J., native admitted he would have liked to have qualified and tried to set a fast lap.

“I would have liked to get three in a row the right way and no doubt about it, I thought we had a shot at it,” said Truex. “I’ve qualified well here in the past. I would say qualifying has probably been our strongest thing we’ve done here on average, to be honest with you. I would have liked to try for sure, but that’s the way it goes. You can’t change the weather.”

“I was actually really happy we got both practices in, because earlier today it looked really bad and I think even after the first practice and before the second we were like, ‘This doesn’t look too good,’ but it was nice to get that time on the track and get ready for Sunday.”

Truex will also have the coveted first pit stall for Sunday’s race, something he circles as a major advantage.

“At Martinsville, it’s definitely a big advantage to start out front. Everyone knows that first pit box is a big deal here, and that’s where you want to be, so you can get that clean run in and out and not get torn up on pit road.”

“I’m happy about that and happy about our car. The guys put a heck of a setup in there for round three of qualifying,” he joked to the assembled media.

Defending Martinsville winner Kyle Busch will join Truex on the front row for Sunday’s race, with the three Team Penske Fords of Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney filling out the top five.

Keselowski won the spring race at Martinsville last April.

Starting sixth through 10th, respectively, will be Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola.

Nine-time Martinsville winner Jimmie Johnson rolls off 18th on Sunday after a rough start to his season, mired outside the playoff grid through the first five races as well.

Sunday’s STP 500 takes the green flag at 2 p.m. ET, with television coverage on FOX Sports 1.