For the first time since Dan Wheldon’s fatal accident, the focus was back on the racetrack.
Hendrick Motorsports proved Saturday it has the best superspeedway program in NASCAR with a sweep of the front row in qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway.
Mark Martin won the pole with a lap of 181.367 mph, just a tick faster than the 181.360 posted by five-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Hendrick Motorsports now has won the pole at all four superspeedway races this season, and swept the front row in all but one. Indianapolis Star
The Coors Light Pole Award was Martin’s second of the season and the 51st of his career, eighth on the all-time list.
“I really want to make sure that I give 100 percent of the credit to, first, the organization of Hendrick Motorsports for the incredible work that they do on restrictor-plate racing cars,” Martin said. “But also [crew chief] Lance McGrew and the GoDaddy.com team took the same parts and pieces that the three teammates had and managed to put down just a little bit quicker lap.
“It is a competition. Someone asked me [Friday] about the pole, and I said, ‘Yes, sir, we’re going for it.’ It’s a competition, too, and we try to win every single competition there is, no matter what it is. Of course, the race is a bigger, more important competition, but this is still for pride—and I’m proud of my team for the great work they have done.” NASCAR.com
“We’ve been able to flex a lot of muscle on the restrictor-plate stuff lately, so I’m very proud of everyone at HMS,” said Johnson, who won at Talladega earlier this year.
Team owner Rick Hendrick is one win away from capturing his 200th in NASCAR’s premier series.
Clint Bowyer, the defending race winner, qualified third.
Trevor Bayne, who won this year’s Daytona 500, qualified fourth. HMS teammates Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. took the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.
Paul Menard, David Ragan, Carl Edwards, the current points leader, and Ryan Newman completed the top-10. Fox News
The Johnson-Earnhardt duo in April beat Richard Childress Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick in the push to the finish line.
Because of the two-car tandem style of racing that has developed this season at Daytona and Talladega, the two fastest tracks require the use of horsepower-sapping restrictor plates, it’s essential for everyone to find a drafting partner. Tony Stewart has worked well this season with David Gilliland, but with the championship at stake, that’s one of the alliances that’s been dissolved.
Stewart, winner of the first two Chase races and only 24 points behind leader Edwards, can’t get help again from Gilliland because Gilliland is a Ford driver with an allegiance to Edwards and Matt Kenseth, who is third in the standings.
“It is such a tight points battle right now and we are going to try to help the Ford guys out all we can,” Gilliland said. “We are going to go that route. We are One Ford. That is the goal for this weekend. I feel good about it.” ESPN
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega - Race Line-Up
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