General

Mark Martin wins Pure Michigan 400 pole, Qualifying Results

Aug 17, 2012, 10:31 PM UTC

June 2, 2012; Dover, DE, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Mark Martin (55) celebrates after winning the pole for FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Mark Martin has competed at Michigan International Speedway 53 times in the Sprint Cup Series since 1982. He’s won four times and has finally captured his first career Michigan pole. He will lead the field down to the green for the start of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400,

The pole is Martin’s fourth of the season and 55^th of his career, good for seventh all-time, matching his both his car number and Bill Elliott on the career list. Martin navigated around the track in 36.053 seconds and crossed the line at 199.706 mph. The second-fastest driver, Carl Edwards, was more than a mph slower at 198.626 mph.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to see Martin translate one of these poles into a victory at least once in 2012? At 53 years old, you never know when his last season will be and the fan in me would like to see Martin’s last victory.

However, if Martin continues to run like he has in 2012, a full-time return wouldn’t be out of the question. But Martin seems content running a 26-race schedule through at least 2013, while cherry-picking his best tracks has made him look like a champion.

In any case, his stats since returning in 2009 have cemented his place as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. Here’s hoping he closes out the twilight of his career with at least one more Cup Series victory celebration.

Maybe even as early as this Sunday’s race at Michigan...

The complete qualifying results (and starting lineup) can be found after the jump.

Qualifying Results (Not a Starting Lineup)
Michigan International Speedway
43rd Annual Pure Michigan 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, August 17, 2012 @ 05:59 PM Eastern
Track Qualifying Record: Marcos Ambrose 06/17/12 35.4259 203.241

Pos	Car	Driver	Team	Time	Speed	Fastest	Next
1	55	Mark Martin	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	36.053	199.706	0.000	0.000
2	99	Carl Edwards	Geek Squad Ford	36.249	198.626	0.196	0.196
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	36.283	198.440	0.230	0.034
4	17	Matt Kenseth	Fifth Third Bank Ford	36.330	198.183	0.277	0.047
5	5	Kasey Kahne	Farmers Insurance Chevrolet	36.386	197.878	0.333	0.056
6	21	Trevor Bayne	Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford	36.404	197.780	0.351	0.018
7	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	36.428	197.650	0.375	0.024
8	9	Marcos Ambrose	Stanley Ford	36.457	197.493	0.404	0.029
9	83	Landon Cassill	Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota	36.468	197.433	0.415	0.011
10	27	Paul Menard	Menards / Pittsburgh Paints Chevrolet	36.518	197.163	0.465	0.050
11	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger / AARP Chevrolet	36.527	197.114	0.474	0.009
12	15	Clint Bowyer	5-hour Energy Toyota	36.546	197.012	0.493	0.019
13	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	36.568	196.893	0.515	0.022
14	14	Tony Stewart	MOBIL 1 / Office Depot Chevrolet	36.571	196.877	0.518	0.003
15	39	Ryan Newman	WIX Chevrolet	36.598	196.732	0.545	0.027
16	20	Joey Logano	The Home Depot Toyota	36.641	196.501	0.588	0.043
17	22	Parker Kligerman(i)	Shell Pennzoil Dodge	36.688	196.249	0.635	0.047
18	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row / Farm American Chevrolet	36.694	196.217	0.641	0.006
19	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	36.701	196.180	0.648	0.007
20	29	Kevin Harvick	Jimmy John's Chevrolet	36.725	196.052	0.672	0.024
21	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Office Toyota	36.743	195.956	0.690	0.018
22	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet	36.768	195.822	0.715	0.025
23	18	Kyle Busch	Interstate Batteries Toyota	37.248	193.299	1.195	0.480
24	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops / Mercury Chevrolet	37.254	193.268	1.201	0.006
25	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	37.279	193.138	1.226	0.025
26	51	Kurt Busch	Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet	37.308	192.988	1.255	0.029
27	91	Reed Sorenson(i)	Plinker Tactical Toyota	37.362	192.709	1.309	0.054
28	47	Bobby Labonte	Clorox Toyota	37.384	192.596	1.331	0.022
29	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Ford	37.391	192.560	1.338	0.007
30	93	Travis Kvapil	Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota	37.395	192.539	1.342	0.004
31	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Toyota	37.430	192.359	1.377	0.035
32	31	Jeff Burton	Wheaties Chevrolet	37.445	192.282	1.392	0.015
33	19	Jason Leffler(i)	Plinker Tactical Ford	37.460	192.205	1.407	0.015
34	26	Josh Wise #	MDS Transport Ford	37.465	192.179	1.412	0.005
35	87	Joe Nemechek(i)	AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota	37.477	192.118	1.424	0.012
36	38	David Gilliland	Taco Bell Ford	37.541	191.790	1.488	0.064
37	34	David Ragan	Long John Silver's Ford	37.554	191.724	1.501	0.013
38	23	Scott Riggs	North Texas Pipe Chevrolet	37.906	189.944	1.853	0.352
39	98	Mike Skinner	Phil Parsons Racing Ford	37.907	189.939	1.854	0.001
40	33	Stephen Leicht #	LittleJoesAutos.com Chevrolet	38.006	189.444	1.953	0.099
41	10	David Reutimann	TMone.com Chevrolet	38.088	189.036	2.035	0.082
42	37	JJ Yeley	Max Q Motorsports Chevrolet	38.266	188.157	2.213	0.178
43	32	TJ Bell(i)	Southern Pride Trucking / U.S. Chrome Ford	38.894	185.119	2.841	0.628
44	43	Aric Almirola	Eckrich Ford	0.000	0.000	-36.053	-38.894
45	36	Dave Blaney	Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet	0.000	0.000	-36.053	0.000