Mark Martin Grabs Daytona 500 Pole; Dale Jr. Second

Danica who?

Most of the attention for a GoDaddy-sponsored driver at Daytona this weekend – OK, just about all of it – has been focused squarely on Danica Patrick.

The star of racy commercials (and sometimes racing commercials) has been a constant topic among the fans and media ahead of her stock-car debut here in the ARCA race.

But another GoDaddy driver’s on-track performance earned the spotlight on Saturday afternoon, as 51-year-old Mark Martin became the oldest pole-sitter in Daytona 500 history.

“We’re still under the radar compared to Danica, even though we won the pole for the Daytona 500,” Martin said with a chuckle. “And that’s cool. I’m under the radar.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver qualified just ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., the sport’s most popular driver who has been mired in a slump for the past few seasons. It gave Hendrick both spots on the front row for NASCAR’s Super Bowl.

“It’s all about the team – that was not an accomplishment of mine,” Martin said. “That was [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and all the guys. To have Dale Jr. on the outside, it just means we’re doing stuff right.”

The result reflected team owner Rick Hendrick’s insistence that the cars working out of his No. 5/88 shop work better together, the formula that has been so successful for the Nos. 24/48 (Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson).

“It’s a tribute to a great organization,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The driver really doesn’t have nothing to do with it that time.”

Daytona 500 qualifying works differently from every other race: Only the top two spots in Sunday’s session are guaranteed, meaning everyone else will race for their positions in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel.

Three other drivers put themselves into the Daytona 500 field as well based on speed, though their starting positions are yet to be determined: “Go-or-go-home” drivers Bill Elliott, Scott Speed and Joe Nemechek locked themselves into the big show.

Earnhardt Jr. went out early in the hours-long qualifying session and knocked Ryan Newman from the top spot. Martin followed six drivers later and bumped Earnhardt Jr. to the second spot, then watched as his lap of 191.188 mph held up.

The rest of the top five – basically the first losers – were Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott and Juan Pablo Montoya. Four-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was sixth.

Pole-sitters for the Daytona 500 have won the race five times, but overall haven’t had much success: Their average finishing spot is about 16th.