Martin’s on right track for second straight Daytona 500 pole

Martin’s on right track for second straight Daytona 500 pole


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(February 12, 2011)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Mark Martin hopes to recapture the magic that propelled him to a second-place NASCAR Sprint Cup points finish in 2009.
Clearly, he’s on the right track.
Martin, who won the Coors Light pole award for the Daytona 500 last year, led both Cup practice sessions Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in sessions limited to single-car runs, as drivers prepared for Sunday’s time trials at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. ET.
With a top speed of 185.311 mph in the second session, Martin was the only driver to exceed 185 mph in either practice. Apparently, a change in crew chiefs from Alan Gustafson to Lance McGrew hasn’t slowed the 52-year-old driver.
“Magic is sort of intangible,” Martin said. “It’s not something you can reach out and touch. We had magic going on in 2009, and we had magic going on in 1998 (when Martin finished second in points to Jeff Gordon), and I am aware of it.
“I’m working hard to try to create it and maintain it through 2011 with Lance and my team.”
Recapturing the magic, however, doesn’t mean contemplating back-to-back poles for the 500. That’s not in Martin’s chemistry.
“I’m not even thinking about that,” Martin said. “I CAN’T think about it. You never know at this place with the wind and the sunshine … you just don’t know. We go out early (sixth), and I’m not going to think about the pole and worry about getting it until there’s only about three or four cars left.”
Jamie McMurray, last year’s Daytona 500 winner, cut a tire as he sped into Turn 1 with about 10 minutes left in the first practice session and scraped the wall with his No. 1 Chevrolet. McMurray had just started to run a high line when the accident occurred.
“It looked like we ran over something on the racetrack, and that’s what cut the tire down,” McMurray said. “Fortunately, though, you’re on your first lap so high that we were right against the wall, and it did minimal damage to the car.
“But they still have to take it home and put a new side on it and get it fixed up. It’s not tore up near as bad as it could be.”
Nevertheless, McMurray’s team unloaded a backup car, which he’ll race in the Daytona 500. The backup is the same car McMurray raced to a second-place finish behind Kevin Harvick at Talladega last April.
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is unique, with only the top two drivers locked into their starting positions. The time trials, however, help set the starting order for Thursday’s Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races, which will fill out the starting grid.
Denny Hamlin must start from the rear in his duel after blowing and changing an engine during Saturday's practice. Should Hamlin win a front-row spot during Sunday's time trials, he would still start from the front row in the 500.
Drivers drew lots for Sunday’s qualifying order. Brad Keselowski will go out first, with McMurray 14th. Starting with the Feb. 27 race at Phoenix, NASCAR will set qualifying order based on practice speeds (the average of the top speeds in prequalifying sessions).