Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark
Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. secured the front starting row for the February
14 Daytona 500 after recording the top two speeds in Saturday's qualifying at
Daytona International Speedway.
Martin, who finished second in last year's points, captured his first career
Daytona 500 pole after turning a lap around the 2.5-mile superspeedway at
191.188 m.p.h. He also became the oldest driver to win the pole for NASCAR's
biggest race of the season. Martin turned 51 years old last month. Dale
Jarrett previously held the record when he won the pole for the 2005 Daytona
500 at age 48.
Earnhardt Jr., the 2004 Daytona 500 winner, posted a lap at 190.913 m.p.h. to
give team owner Rick Hendrick a second-time front row sweep for the season-
opener at Daytona. Ken Schrader and Darrell Waltrip put their Hendrick
Chevrolets on row one for the 1989 Daytona 500, with Waltrip winning the race.
"It's all about the team," Martin said. "That was not an accomplishment of
mine, that was [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and all our guys. To have Dale
Jr. on the outside of the front row locked in just means we're doing stuff
right."
Yates Racing was the last team to sweep the front row for the Daytona 500 when
David Gilliland took the pole and Ricky Rudd started second in 2007.
Martin collected his 49th career pole, which placed him in a tie with Bobby
Isaac for eighth on the series' all-time pole winners list.
Earnhardt Jr. -- NASCAR's most popular driver -- is coming off a disappointing
season last year, finishing 25th in points and failing to win a race.
"I would have liked to gotten the pole, but at least we got two Hendrick cars
on the front row."
Hendrick said in November he intends to make Earnhardt Jr. his number-one
priority. Lance McGrew recently was evaluated to full-time status as Earnhardt
Jr.'s crew chief after serving in the role on an interim bases for a majority
of last season.
"I'm so proud of Lance and Alan and the teams for doing what they have done
during the off-season," Hendrick said. "This is the first opportunity we've
got to show what that group can do."
Ryan Newman recorded the third quickest speed, followed by Bill Elliott and
Juan Pablo Montoya.
Jimmie Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, Kurt Busch, Clint
Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, were
sixth through 10th, respectively.
Martin and Earnhardt Jr. are the only drivers with guaranteed starting
positions in the Daytona 500. The remaining 43-driver field will be determined
in Thursday's outcome in the Gatorade Duel at Daytona. The top-35 in last
year's owner points are guaranteed a spot in the race.
Three drivers -- Elliott, Scott Speed and Joe Nemechek -- finished outside of
the top-35 last season, but have earned a spot in the Daytona 500 based on
their qualifying speeds. The trio can advance their starting positions in the
race based on their finishes in the Gatorade Duel.
"For us, it was an excellent time," said Elliott, a five-time pole winner at
Daytona. "We were hoping we could get just a little bit more speed."
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