McMurray wins Cup pole at Martinsville
(April 2, 2011)
MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Jamie McMurray’s Sprint Cup season may have gotten the boost it needed Saturday when the driver of the No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet won the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
On the second of his two qualifying laps, McMurray sped around the .526-mile track in 19.621 seconds (96.509 mph) to win the eighth Coors Light pole award of his career and his first on one of NASCAR’s short tracks.
After a dream 2010 season that included victories in the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, McMurray hasn’t achieved the results he expected this year. Through five races, McMurray is 28th in the Cup standings and in dire need of a strong finish.
Ryan Newman qualified second at 96.342 mph, followed by Kasey Kahne (96.293) and Joey Logano (96.220 mph).
Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, who have combined to win the past nine races at NASCAR’s oldest track, will start fifth and 17th, respectively.
Because Martinsville moved its time trials from the traditional Friday afternoon time slot to Saturday, Cup drivers ran only their two qualifying laps, with qualifying order based on Friday’s practice speeds (slowest to fastest).
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
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