Martin wins pole in Phoenix
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| Mark Martin's Toyota on pole |
Mark Martin’s new job at Michael Waltrip Racing produced results in just his second week on the job.
The 53-year-old Martin, who joined the team this year to run a 25-race schedule, won the pole Saturday for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 as he turned the fastest lap in Sprint Cup qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway.
His speed of 136.815 mph edged that of Tony Stewart’s 136.126 on the 1-mile oval, repaved and reconfigured between the February and November races last year.
The pole marked the 52nd of Martin’s career and second at PIR.
Regan Smith, Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top five for the race, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Sunday.
Lineup
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 136.814 | 26.313 | Leader |
| 2 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 136.126 | 26.446 | -0.133 |
| 3 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 135.998 | 26.471 | -0.158 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's / Kobalt Tools | 135.583 | 26.552 | -0.239 |
| 5 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 135.547 | 26.559 | -0.246 |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Wix Filters | 135.491 | 26.570 | -0.257 |
| 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M Commercial Graphics | 135.074 | 26.652 | -0.339 |
| 8 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Rheem | 135.014 | 26.664 | -0.351 |
| 9 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 134.998 | 26.667 | -0.354 |
| 10 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 134.771 | 26.712 | -0.399 |
| 11 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Wheaties | 134.615 | 26.743 | -0.430 |
| 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's Ms. Brown | 134.564 | 26.753 | -0.440 |
| 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 134.499 | 26.766 | -0.453 |
| 14 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 134.449 | 26.776 | -0.463 |
| 15 | 22 | A.J. Allmendinger | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 134.278 | 26.810 | -0.497 |
| 16 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 134.268 | 26.812 | -0.499 |
| 17 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Kingsford / Scott Products | 134.058 | 26.854 | -0.541 |
| 18 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Smithfield "Allez cuisine" | 134.048 | 26.856 | -0.543 |
| 19 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 133.939 | 26.878 | -0.565 |
| 20 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Tarkett / Menards | 133.814 | 26.903 | -0.590 |
| 21 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats | 133.764 | 26.913 | -0.600 |
| 22 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King | 133.665 | 26.933 | -0.620 |
| 23 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Ollie's Bargain Outlet | 133.630 | 26.940 | -0.627 |
| 24 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Subway | 133.615 | 26.943 | -0.630 |
| 25 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Filters | 133.417 | 26.983 | -0.670 |
| 26 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Best Buy | 132.871 | 27.094 | -0.781 |
| 27 | 23 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 132.743 | 27.120 | -0.807 |
| 28 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 132.709 | 27.127 | -0.814 |
| 29 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew | 132.597 | 27.150 | -0.837 |
| 30 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 132.441 | 27.182 | -0.869 |
| 31 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 132.251 | 27.221 | -0.908 |
| 32 | 10 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | Accell Construction | 132.231 | 27.225 | -0.912 |
| 33 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | Morristown Driver's Service | 132.081 | 27.256 | -0.943 |
| 34 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Barrett-Jackson | 132.057 | 27.261 | -0.948 |
| 35 | 249 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | America Israel Racing | 131.685 | 27.338 | -1.025 |
| 36 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Rick Santorum for President | 131.516 | 27.373 | -1.060 |
| 37 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | Curb Records | 131.502 | 27.376 | -1.063 |
| 38 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 130.596 | 27.566 | -1.253 |
| 39 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy | 130.364 | 27.615 | -1.302 |
| 40 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 129.092 | 27.887 | -1.574 |
| 41 | 37 | Timmy Hill* | Ford | Poynt.com | 128.967 | 27.914 | -1.601 |
| 42 | 33 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet | South Point Hotel & Casino | 128.824 | 27.945 | -1.632 |
| 43 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King | 127.845 | 28.159 | -1.846 |
| 44 | 32 | Mike Bliss | Ford | U.S. Chrome / Southern Pride Trucking | 118.060 | 30.493 | -4.180 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie