Mark Martin has won the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway for a race that will be critical to his Chase for the championship chances.
Martin turned a lap at 124.484 mph yesterday to win his fifth pole of the season and sweep the top starting spot at Bristol this season. He beat Greg Biffle, who ran a lap at 124.307, and rookie Scott Speed, who qualified third at 124.146. Richmond Times Dispatch
Knowing he had a fast car, Martin said he would have been on “suicide watch,” had he botched his qualifying lap.
“I have gotten a number of really nice laps qualifying this year,” said Martin, who has won nine poles in 42 races at Bristol. “Not every lap can be like that, and I was afraid that the law of averages was going to get me here, and I was going to choke.
“This is the one place where we don’t need to be choking right now. We went out, and instead of playing it conservative, we put it out there and got another good lap. But I’m so relieved it’s over with. I feel like there’s a 200-pound gorilla off my back right now. NASCAR
Martin’s fuel gamble didn’t pay off last week, and his 31st-place finish dropped him to 12th in the series standings, 12 points ahead of 13th-place Brian Vickers.
Scott Speed qualified third, Dave Blaney fourth and Matt Kenseth fifth.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Sharpie 500 at Bristol - Race Line-Up
Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Reed Sorenson will start sixth through 10th, respectively. News & Observer
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