Veteran Mark Martin, winner of four races this season at the age of 50, claimed the pole for Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard with a lap of 182.054 mph. He became the oldest pole winner of any major race in the 100-year history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I like making history,” Martin said. “There is nobody in NASCAR having more fun than me. Ultimately, that’s really what it’s about.” Kansas City Star
Martin blew away Juan Pablo Montoya, winner of the 2000 Indianapolis 500, for the pole. Running a retro Target paint scheme that duplicates his Indy 500 car, Montoya qualified second with a lap at 180.803.
Montoya has always been good at Indy — he also raced on the track in Formula One — and many competitors have predicted he’ll contend for his first win of the season on Sunday. But he’s also clinging to a spot in the Chase for the championship, and Montoya has raced cautiously all season in an effort to earn one of the 12 berths.
He’d rather settle for a strong points showing than do something stupid in pursuit of a victory, and insisted that won’t change with a win on the line Sunday.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. battled back from a brutal stomach virus to qualify third — his best effort since Lance McGrew took over as crew chief seven races ago. The Associated Press
POS CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 2 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 4 21 Bill Elliott Ford 5 0 David Reutimann Toyota 6 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 7 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 8 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge 9 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge 10 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 11 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 12 16 Greg Biffle Ford 13 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 14 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 15 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 16 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 17 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 18 20 Joey Logano* Toyota 19 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 20 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 21 12 David Stremme Dodge 22 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 23 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 24 26 Jamie McMurray Ford 25 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 26 82 Scott Speed* Toyota 27 7 Casey Mears Chevrolet 28 98 Paul Menard Ford 29 6 David Ragan Ford 30 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota 31 96 Bobby Labonte Ford 32 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 33 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge 34 66 Dave Blaney Toyota 35 34 John Andretti Chevrolet 36 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 37 171 David Gilliland Chevrolet 38 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 39 36 Mike Skinner Toyota 40 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 41 99 Carl Edwards+ Ford 42 19 Elliott Sadler+ Dodge 43 8 Terry Labonte Toyota
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