Mark Martin always runs strong at MIS. Last year I was talking with him after the drivers meeting and he exuded a quiet confidence in his car and told me he had a top five hot rod, and he did.
Open Race Thread: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 | Michigan International Speedway
This year is no exception for Martin as he is sitting in the P1 spot for today’s race. And he is even doing it with a different team as he is racing for MWR this time around.
I’m thinking if I were to approach him after today’s driver’s meeting he’d still tell me he has a top five hot rod and he’d do it with that quiet confidence he has become known for in his twenty plus years of racing at NASCAR’s top level.
I’m personally cheering for him to be in Victory lane today. To me Martin is everything a Sprint Cup Champion should be, and could be, even though he has not won the darn thing ever.
Other favorites to win today? Dale Jr., Ky. Busch, Edwards, and Kenseth. Anyone else? Hmm ... Johnson and Truex Jr. (especially if teammate Martin mentors him over the course of the race).
Starting line up is after the jump. See you on the other side.
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 199.706 | 36.053 | Leader |
| 2 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Geek Squad | 198.626 | 36.249 | -0.196 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 198.440 | 36.283 | -0.230 |
| 4 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Fifth Third Bank | 198.183 | 36.330 | -0.277 |
| 5 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 197.878 | 36.386 | -0.333 |
| 6 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 197.781 | 36.404 | -0.351 |
| 7 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 197.650 | 36.428 | -0.375 |
| 8 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 197.493 | 36.457 | -0.404 |
| 9 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 197.433 | 36.468 | -0.415 |
| 10 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Menards / Pittsburgh Paints | 197.163 | 36.518 | -0.465 |
| 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger / AARP | 197.115 | 36.527 | -0.474 |
| 12 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 197.012 | 36.546 | -0.493 |
| 13 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 196.893 | 36.568 | -0.515 |
| 14 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 / Office Depot | 196.877 | 36.571 | -0.518 |
| 15 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Wix Filters | 196.732 | 36.598 | -0.545 |
| 16 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 196.501 | 36.641 | -0.588 |
| 17 | 22 | Parker Kligerman | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 196.249 | 36.688 | -0.635 |
| 18 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 196.217 | 36.694 | -0.641 |
| 19 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 196.180 | 36.701 | -0.648 |
| 20 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Jimmy Johns | 196.052 | 36.725 | -0.672 |
| 21 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 195.956 | 36.743 | -0.690 |
| 22 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew | 195.822 | 36.768 | -0.715 |
| 23 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 193.299 | 37.248 | -1.195 |
| 24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Mercury | 193.268 | 37.254 | -1.201 |
| 25 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 193.138 | 37.279 | -1.226 |
| 26 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | 192.988 | 37.308 | -1.255 |
| 27 | 191 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | Plinker Tactical | 192.709 | 37.362 | -1.309 |
| 28 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Clorox | 192.596 | 37.384 | -1.331 |
| 29 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 192.560 | 37.391 | -1.338 |
| 30 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 192.539 | 37.395 | -1.342 |
| 31 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 192.359 | 37.430 | -1.377 |
| 32 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Wheaties | 192.282 | 37.445 | -1.392 |
| 33 | 119 | Jason Leffler | Ford | Plinker Tactical | 192.205 | 37.460 | -1.407 |
| 34 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | MDS Transport | 192.179 | 37.465 | -1.412 |
| 35 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 192.118 | 37.477 | -1.424 |
| 36 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Taco Bell | 191.790 | 37.541 | -1.488 |
| 37 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Long John Silver's | 191.724 | 37.554 | -1.501 |
| 38 | 23 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 189.943 | 37.906 | -1.853 |
| 39 | 10 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | TMone.com | 189.036 | 38.088 | -2.035 |
| 40 | 32 | T.J. Bell+ | Ford | Southern Pride Trucking / U.S. Chrome | 185.118 | 38.894 | -2.841 |
| 41 | 43 | Aric Almirola+ | Ford | Eckrich | - | - | - |
| 42 | 36 | Dave Blaney+ | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing | - | - | - |
| 43 | 98 | Mike Skinner | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing | 189.939 | 37.907 | -1.854 |
| Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 44 | 33 | Stephen Leicht* | Chevrolet | Little Joes Autos.com | 189.444 | 38.006 | -1.953 |
| 45 | 37 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Max Q Motorsports | 188.157 | 38.266 | -2.213 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie
* Denotes Rookie
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