After topping the chart in Friday’s practice (speeds), Mark Martin blistered Atlanta Motor Speedway with a 29.640-second lap (187.045 mph) to win the pole for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.
All Martin has to do now is find a way to finish the race in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, after turning a lap that left him breathless and shaking.
Martin was the 12th competitor on the track, but he didn’t leave his hauler until Travis Kvapil, who ran 47th, finished his lap.
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“Not only did the lap scare me ... I continued to be nervous all the way through the rest of qualifying like I used to back in the early ‘90s when we were lucky enough to get poles back then,” Martin said.
POS CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 2 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 3 26 Jamie McMurray Ford 4 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 6 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 8 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota 9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 11 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 12 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 13 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge 14 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge 15 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 16 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 17 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 18 0 David Reutimann Toyota 19 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 21 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 22 28 Travis Kvapil Ford 23 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 24 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 25 7 Casey Mears Chevrolet 26 82 Scott Speed* Toyota 27 66 Dave Blaney Toyota 28 12 David Stremme Dodge 29 99 Carl Edwards Ford 30 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 31 171 David Gilliland Chevrolet 32 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge 33 98 Paul Menard Ford 34 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 35 21 Bill Elliott Ford 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 37 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 38 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge 39 6 David Ragan Ford 40 96 Bobby Labonte Ford 42 34 John Andretti Chevrolet 42 20 Joey Logano+* Toyota 43 9 Mike Bliss Dodge
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