Mark Martin overcame very windy conditions
during Friday's qualifying at Kansas Speedway to capture the pole for the
Price Chopper 400 -- the third race in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup"
championship.
Martin, the current points leader and 2005 race winner at Kansas, turned a lap
around the 1.5-mile track at 175.758 m.p.h. (30.724 seconds) for his series-
leading and career-high seventh pole of the season. The 50-year-old driver
also recorded his 48th pole in his Sprint Cup career.
"Today was a tough day on my heart, and it's making it very strong," Martin
said. "That was such a stressful day and a very stressful lap. If my heart
survives the next couple of years, I'm sure it will make it to 100."
Martin and Jimmie Johnson, who presently trails his Hendrick Motorsports
teammate by 10 points, are amid controversy when NASCAR warned their teams
this week after Johnson's winning car and Martin's second-place car barely
passed post-race inspection last weekend at Dover. The measurements of the
No.48 (Johnson) and No.5 (Martin) were found to be outside of NASCAR's
tolerated measurements. Both teams were not penalized.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified second, while Brad Keselowski, running a limited
Sprint Cup schedule this year, was third, giving Hendrick the top three
starting positions.
Earnhardt held the pole, which pleased the crowd on hand for qualifying at
Kansas, until Martin knocked him off the top spot.
"The track was real good," Earnhardt said. "We've been wanting to run good,
and we just hope we can keep it up for the rest of the year."
Jamie McMurray and Chase contender Tony Stewart rounded out the top-five.
Stewart was the first driver to qualify when wind gusts topped close to 40
m.p.h.
"It was terrible," Stewart said. "I wouldn't even try to go near as fast as
where we practiced."
Kasey Kahne, Joe Nemechek, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon and Scott Speed qualified
sixth through 10th, respectively. Kahne and Gordon are Chase drivers.
Johnson, the three-time defending series champion and last year's winner at
Kansas, will start 11th.
The remaining drivers in the Chase and their starting positions include: Brian
Vickers (12th), Juan Pablo Montoya (14th), Carl Edwards (17th), Denny Hamlin
(22nd), Ryan Newman (30th) and Greg Biffle (31st). Kurt Busch, currently
fourth in points, qualified a disappointing 39th.
David Gilliland, Michael McDowell and Kevin Hamlin failed to qualify.
Sunday's 400-mile race is scheduled to start just after 2:00 p.m. (et).
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