Mark Martin wins Phoenix pole; Hendrick drivers strong

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Mark Martin may be another year older, but he's certainly not any slower.

The 54-year-old Martin became the second-oldest driver ever to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole position on Friday, putting up a lap of 138.074 mph to take the top spot at Phoenix International Raceway.

"They took a good car and made a pole car out of it," Martin said. "It's all about trophies, and we got a small one today. There's a bigger one Sunday."

Martin's pole was the 56th of his career and his 15th since 2009. It helped him break a tie with Bill Elliott for seventh on the all-time poles list.

"The car was right on the money," Martin said. "They were talking about what changes they wanted to do for qualifying, and I covered my ears up and left. (Crew chief Rodney Childers) texted me later and said, 'I wasn't trying to scare you.' I said, 'You just do what you do, man.'"

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson — the Daytona 500 winner — qualified second and third, respectively, followed by Kyle Busch and another Hendrick driver, Jeff Gordon.

"(Martin's) not afraid to stand on the gas, for starters," Johnson said. "I deeply admire him and his passion for the sport. ... He just loves driving for his team, loves driving his car and is an inspiration for any team he works for."

The other Hendrick driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was 21st.

"I watch everybody qualify, and when he goes out, he's the guy more than anyone else where I'm like, 'He's probably going to beat me — or it's going to be close,'" Kahne said of Martin. "It's just the way it is with Mark right now. Last year was the same way."

Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10.

Danica Patrick's momentum from Daytona failed to carry over to qualifying, as she posted a time more than one second slower than the leaders. Patrick will start 40th.

"Really disappointing," she said. "We always get better in the race and that's the strong part of the weekend usually for us, but to have a great weekend all around, we've got to qualify better."

Kurt Busch qualified 25th but hit the wall during his qualifying lap. AJ Allmendinger, making his season debut driving for Phoenix Racing, was 23rd.

Since only 43 cars were entered, all drivers made the field.

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Subway Fresh Fit 500 lineup

Here's the starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix:

1. Mark Martin

2. Kasey Kahne

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Kyle Busch

5. Jeff Gordon

6. Tony Stewart

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Denny Hamlin

9. Matt Kenseth

10. Ryan Newman

11. Brad Keselowski

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Clint Bowyer

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. Carl Edwards

16. Paul Menard

17. Greg Biffle

18. Aric Almirola

19. Jamie McMurray

20. Jeff Burton

21. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

22. Marcos Ambrose

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. David Ragan

25. Kurt Busch

26. Dave Blaney

27. JJ Yeley

28. Scott Speed

29. Juan Pablo Montoya

30. Travis Kvapil

31. David Gilliland

32. Joey Logano

33. Bobby Labonte

34. David Reutimann

35. Mike Bliss

36. Josh Wise

37. David Stremme

38. Landon Cassill

39. Scott Riggs

40. Danica Patrick

41. Joe Nemechek

42. Ken Schrader

43. Casey Mears