Jimmie Johnson smiles after qualifying for the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
So what else is new?
Jimmie Johnson, who won last fall’s race at Martinsville Speedway from the top starting spot, continued his mastery of the paper-clip-shaped track during Friday afternoon’s time trials.
In the first competitive appearance of NASCAR’s Gen-6 race car at Martinsville, Johnson blistered the vaunted short track in 19.244 seconds (98.400 mph) in winning the pole for Sunday’s STP Gas Booster 500, as the top six drivers in the field topped the former track record of 98.084 mph established by Tony Stewart in October 2005.
In winning his third Coors Light pole award at Martinsville and the 30th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole of his career, Johnson edged Marcos Ambrose by .007 seconds. Brian Vickers qualified third, followed by Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon. Kahne and Gordon, Johnson’s teammates at Hendrick Motorsports, ran identical speeds (98.185 mph), with Kahne getting the fifth starting spot based on his car’s higher standing in owner points.
In his first practice run earlier in the day, Johnson knew his No. 48 Chevrolet SS was fast.
“In the first run out, we were in (qualifying) trim and made two or three laps, and I knew right away that we had a great shot at it today,” said Johnson, a seven-time winner at Martinsville. “At that point, I just needed to do my job and not mess up.
“So I’m very proud of that. It’s very easy to (mess up) at this race track, especially once practice ends. You sit and have lunch and relax for a couple hours and have to do it all over again. A great day across the board — team, driver, engine, car, everything that’s new. We were able to step up and figure it out and get the car dialed in.”
Early in Friday’s session, the track record fell. Logano, the third driver to make a qualifying run, toured the .526-mile short track in 19.269 seconds (98.272 mph), breaking the record set by Stewart, one of his Fontana antagonists from two weeks ago.
Six cars later, Ambrose (98.384 mph) knocked Logano off the provisional pole, and Vickers followed with a lap at 98.287 mph to push Logano back to third after 14 of 44 cars had taken time trials. Johnson’s pole run late in the session bumped Logano to fourth.
The No. 2 Ford of defending series champion Brad Keselowski was late getting through inspection and made it to the grid with seconds left on the five-minute clock. Keselowski nevertheless qualified seventh at 98.078 mph.
Notes: Danica Patrick will start 32nd for her first race at Martinsville and the first for a female driver in NASCAR’s top division at the venerable short track. … Subbing for injured Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin qualified 35th in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. … Mike Bliss failed to make the 43-car field.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA
STP Gas Booster 500 Qualifying – April 5, 2013
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 19.244 98.400
2 9 Marcos Ambrose 19.251 98.364
3 55 Brian Vickers 19.266 98.287
4 22 Joey Logano 19.269 98.272
5 5 Kasey Kahne 19.286 98.185
6 24 Jeff Gordon 19.286 98.185
7 2 Brad Keselowski 19.307 98.078
8 20 Matt Kenseth 19.319 98.017
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10 39 Ryan Newman 19.330 97.962
11 18 Kyle Busch 19.333 97.947
12 56 Martin Truex Jr. 19.334 97.941
13 1 Jamie McMurray 19.352 97.850
14 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 19.366 97.780
15 15 Clint Bowyer 19.378 97.719
16 27 Paul Menard 19.393 97.643
17 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19.399 97.613
18 51 Regan Smith 19.419 97.513
19 78 Kurt Busch 19.430 97.458
20 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 19.433 97.442
21 29 Kevin Harvick 19.435 97.432
22 16 Greg Biffle 19.438 97.417
23 34 David Ragan 19.445 97.382
24 30 David Stremme 19.462 97.297
25 93 Travis Kvapil 19.472 97.247
26 14 Tony Stewart 19.478 97.217
27 98 Michael McDowell 19.486 97.177
28 95 Scott Speed 19.512 97.048
29 31 Jeff Burton 19.523 96.993
30 38 David Gilliland 19.532 96.949
31 47 Bobby Labonte 19.541 96.904
32 10 Danica Patrick 19.542 96.899
33 33 Landon Cassill 19.546 96.879
34 43 Aric Almirola 19.556 96.830
35 11 Mark Martin 19.571 96.755
36 32 Ken Schrader 19.587 96.676
37 36 JJ Yeley Owner Points
38 44 Scott Riggs Owner Points
39 7 Dave Blaney Owner Points
40 83 David Reutimann Owner Points
41 13 Casey Mears Owner Points
42 35 Josh Wise Owner Points
43 87 Joe Nemechek Owner Points
Did Not Qualify: Mike Bliss
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