The NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule has been off for a week since the race at Auto Club Speedway in California and things pick up once again at Martinsville, where Jimmie Johnson got off to a fast start by winning the pole in record fashion, nearly two months after taking the checkered flag at Daytona.
According to the Associated Press, Johnson took the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville, making his way around the shortest track on the circuit with a track record of 98.400 around the just over half mile oval, coming in first over Tony Stewart's previous record of 98.083. Johnson won the 30th pole of his career and now has three at Martinsville over 23 starts at the track.
Johnson has won seven times on the track and he set himself up for another victory on Sunday, as the pole position at Martinsville is a valuable way to hold position on the tight and short track. Johnson will be at the front of pit road and he will now be starting ahead of Brian Vickers at the STP Gas Booster 500. The top five was rounded out by Marcos Ambrose, bad-boy Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon. Five drivers finished with numbers faster than Stewart's previous record and Stewart himself finished 26th.
Danica Patrick is making her first career appearance at Martinsville and she finished 32nd in qualifying after taking the pole position at Daytona in the first race of the year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the points leader this season, but he qualified 17th, while Marcos Ambrose put up a 98.364.
Patrick is making history yet again on Sunday by taking the track at Martinsville, as she will be the first woman to ride there in a Sprint Cup series race event. Danica started off the season with a historic pole win at Daytona, but since then she has yet to get into the top 25 in any race and she also crashed in Phoenix. Patrick started in 10 Sprint Cup races last season, but not at Martinsville, but she said she is ready for the tough and tight track.
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"That's the icing on the cake," Johnson said. "That makes the day even better yet. Track records are hard to come by, so I'm very proud of that and happy to have that."
