Daytona, Fla. – Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have secured the front row for the Daytona 500 held next week with lap speeds of 191.188 mph and 190.913 mph. “We hope to both raise our game this year, the No. 5 and the No. 88” said Martin.
Martin was the only driver to top 191 mph (47.074 secs) during qualifying and is looking for more speed. “That would be really cool to get in the 46.00’s. I’d like to thank Alan Gustafson, the GoDady.com team, and Hendrick Motorsports; I was just out there riding really fast. It sure is fun. It’s quite an opportunity to get to drive their stuff here.”
This is Martin’s 26th Daytona 500 and he has a good chance to win it. “It’s time; it’s time. You know we haven’t done it yet, so this is the best shot I’ve had, or as good. I had some really good shots and didn’t get it done, but think we have our best chance now.”
Earnhardt Jr. is trying to rebound from a horrible 2009 season and a second place qualifying result is a good start for the new season. “Man, it is fun to drive a car that performs like that. We have a little bit different wind situation but we were able to put down a pretty good lap. It was hitting the ground a little bit yesterday and that is slowing it down some.” Earnhardt Jr. said.
“This is nice, we just need to keep going; you know what I mean. We just need to keep going. We did a lot to get this, but you can never have enough good things happen to you.”
The Hendrick motorsports domination continues in the sport for at least the beginning of the Daytona 500. Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson qualified 7th (190.359 mph) and Jeff Gordon qualified 10th (190.050 mph), but starting positions will be set in Thursday’s 150-mile qualifying races.
“Those guys (No, 5 crew) have been working hard on their stuff. We expected them to be faster than us based on what they have done with their cars.” Johnson said of Martin’s qualifying result.
“I’m really proud of Hendrick Motorsports and the effort that’s been put out to come down here and be strong. And we were hoping for a little bit more than that. But we’ll take it and get ready to go race with the DuPont Chevrolet.” Gordon said.
Qualifying Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time | Behind |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 191.188 | 47.074 | |
| 2 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 190.913 | 47.142 | -0.068 |
| 3 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 190.577 | 47.225 | -0.151 |
| 4 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Ford | 190.573 | 47.226 | -0.152 |
| 5 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | 190.408 | 47.267 | -0.193 |
| 6 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 190.359 | 47.279 | -0.205 |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 190.359 | 47.279 | -0.205 |
| 8 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 190.118 | 47.339 | -0.265 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 190.054 | 47.355 | -0.281 |
| 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 190.05 | 47.356 | -0.282 |
| 11 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 190.05 | 47.356 | -0.282 |
| 12 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 190.05 | 47.356 | -0.282 |
| 13 | 82 | Scott Speed | Toyota | 189.958 | 47.379 | -0.305 |
| 14 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | 189.757 | 47.429 | -0.355 |
| 15 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 189.737 | 47.434 | -0.36 |
| 16 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 189.709 | 47.441 | -0.367 |
| 17 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 189.693 | 47.445 | -0.371 |
| 18 | 71 | Bobby Labonte | Chevrolet | 189.665 | 47.452 | -0.378 |
| 19 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 189.593 | 47.47 | -0.396 |
| 20 | 151 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | 189.454 | 47.505 | -0.431 |
| 21 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 189.374 | 47.525 | -0.451 |
| 22 | 0 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 189.314 | 47.54 | -0.466 |
| 23 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | 189.294 | 47.545 | -0.471 |
| 24 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 189.282 | 47.548 | -0.474 |
| 25 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | 189.255 | 47.555 | -0.481 |
| 26 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 189.195 | 47.57 | -0.496 |
| 27 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 189.072 | 47.601 | -0.527 |
| 28 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Ford | 189.056 | 47.605 | -0.531 |
| 29 | 36 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet | 189.052 | 47.606 | -0.532 |
| 30 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 188.996 | 47.62 | -0.546 |
| 31 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 188.865 | 47.653 | -0.579 |
| 32 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Toyota | 188.735 | 47.686 | -0.612 |
| 33 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 188.727 | 47.688 | -0.614 |
| 34 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 188.699 | 47.695 | -0.621 |
| 35 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 188.628 | 47.713 | -0.639 |
| 36 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | 188.533 | 47.737 | -0.663 |
| 37 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 188.411 | 47.768 | -0.694 |
| 38 | 132 | Reed Sorenson | Toyota | 188.391 | 47.773 | -0.699 |
| 39 | 190 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 188.3 | 47.796 | -0.722 |
| 40 | 13 | Max Papis | Toyota | 188.198 | 47.822 | -0.748 |
| 41 | 49 | David Gilliland | Toyota | 187.766 | 47.932 | -0.858 |
| 42 | 34 | John Andretti | Ford | 187.512 | 47.997 | -0.923 |
| 43 | 197 | Jeff Fuller | Toyota | 187.363 | 48.035 | -0.961 |
| 44 | 38 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Ford | 187.289 | 48.054 | -0.98 |
| 45 | 37 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | 187.285 | 48.055 | -0.981 |
| 46 | 9 | Aric Almirola | Chevrolet | 187.278 | 48.057 | -0.983 |
| 47 | 46 | Terry Cook* | Dodge | 187.056 | 48.114 | -1.04 |
| 48 | 26 | Boris Said | Ford | 186.908 | 48.152 | -1.078 |
| 49 | 66 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | 186.254 | 48.321 | -1.247 |
| 50 | 55 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | 185.923 | 48.407 | -1.333 |
| 51 | 175 | Derrike Cope | Dodge | 185.04 | 48.638 | -1.564 |
| 52 | 127 | Kirk Shelmerdine | Toyota | 184.407 | 48.805 | -1.731 |
| 53 | 192 | Mike Wallace | Dodge | 182.678 | 49.267 | -2.193 |
| 54 | 157 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | 180.607 | 49.832 | -2.758 |
