Full Throttle

Martin Truex Jr claimed pole position for the Daytona 500 while Mark Martin will start beside him on the front row.

Truex set a fastest lap of 47.872 seconds (188.001mph) and despite not being as quick as veteran Martin on his first lap he was able to pick up enough speed on his second to win his second ever Sprint Cup series pole.

“It’s good to see the hard work pay off finally,” Truex said. “They’ve been through a lot this winter. This is the third year in a row we’ve had to move shops during the winter. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but to move everything and start over, that’s a big deal to the guys.”

“I can’t wait to start running in race trim,” Martin said. “We had to sit and watch all the Bud Shootout practice and watch that race. We’re going to make up for some lost time this week when we get into race trim.”

Behind the front row pair, the rest of the starting positions will be set by the results of next Thursday’s Gatorade Duels.

Bill Elliot, who had the pole for a micro-second and the talk of the weekend, is guaranteed a spot in the 500 as the fastest of those not inside the top 35 in owner’s points from last season.

Elliot’s speed was also quicker than the “Ford Armada” of Roush-Fenway Racing, Greg Biffle had the teams fastest time at 186.889, followed by Kenseth, McMurray, Edwards and Ragan.

The other two drivers securing a spot based on their qualifying speed were Yates Racing’s Travis Kvapil, who was eighth fastest, with Tony Stewart driving the #14 Chevrolet he now co-owns was next on the list with the tenth-fastest overall time.

Last year’s Rookie of the Year Regan Smith was 14th quickest. Terry Labonte, despite clocking just the 50th fastest time, earned the champion’s provisional.

NOTE: You may be wondering about the thumbnail image that accompanies this post.

Wonder no more, it’s the cover of USA Weekend magazine with drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, in addition to Sports Illustrated swimsuit models Brooklyn Decker and Julie Henderson and photographer Walter Iooss.

The promo blurb reads; “It’s the two most anticipated February events after the Super Bowl — the Daytona 500 and the arrival of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. For the first time ever, we’ve brought the two together!”

Well ok, but next time could you put them all in fire suits? Or all in swimsuits?

Hey, I’m just looking for a bit of consistency is all.