Martin fastest at Bristol to capture second consecutive pole

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- After going eight years without winning a pole, Mark Martin earned his second in a row for NASCAR's Food City 500 on Friday.

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Martin turned a qualifying lap at Bristol Motor Speedway at 125.773 mph to earn the top starting spot for Sunday's race.

It marks the first time in 20 years that Martin has won consecutive poles. He did it at Darlington and Bristol in 1989.

Two weeks ago in Atlanta, the 50-year-old Martin became the second oldest driver in NASCAR history to win the pole. That pole had been Martin's first since May 2001 at Richmond.

"It's the (No.) 5 car," Martin said in giving all the credit to his Hendrick Motorsports crew. "We have learned so much through each individual event that man, I feel good. We unloaded here rolling."

Mark Martin wins his second straight pole after going eight years without one. (AP)

It's the lift Martin and his team needed after falling far short of their early season goals. His motor blew up at California and Las Vegas, leading to consecutive 40th-place finishes, and then he cut a tire at Atlanta while running fourth. That caused him to finish 31st and he heads into Sunday's race 34th in the Sprint Cup Series standings.

"As soon as we have one good run, one good finish, we're going to start feeling better," he said. "We've been a little bit nauseous."

Ryan Newman qualified second at 125.740 mph and three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson was third.

Bristol is one of just six tracks where Johnson has yet to visit Victory Lane, and his 17.4 average finish is only better than his marks at Indianapolis (where he's a two-time winner but has three DNFs), Infineon and Richmond.

"I've studied video, I have worked with engineers, I've driven many laps in my head and I started the whole process of convincing myself I love this track so my outlook is I love this place and cannot wait to get on track," he said before practice.

Greg Biffle qualified fourth and Kasey Kahne was fifth. He was followed by David Reutimann, Reed Sorenson and Dave Blaney. Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 10.

With only 45 cars entered, only two were sent home. But the two who failed to make the field were Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs -- the same two who started the season with such optimism after racing their way into the Daytona 500.