Mark Martin turned a lap of 158.297 mph (254.74 kph) to win the NASCAR pole at Dover International Speedway Saturday. The 53-year-old Martin has 54 career poles, including three this season in 10 races while racing a limited schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing. He's looking for his first win in the Dover 400 Sunday since 2009. Martin took the last qualifying lap of the day in the No. 55 Toyota and knocked off Jimmie Johnson from the top spot. Johnson went 158.263 mph (254.69 kph) and starts second. “I feel like a lucky guy to be strapping in that 55,” Martin said. Waltrip was among the first to greet Martin after the winning lap. “I'm so proud of you. That's amazing,” Waltrip told him. Martin has turned into a driver-for-hire over the latter stages of a career that has seen him do it all except win a Cup championship. He spent the past three seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, but changed teams in the offseason, joining Waltrip for a partial season. Martin is slated to run 24 of 36 races this season while sharing seat time with Waltrip. He has four top-10 finishes over his first nine races and was third at Texas. “They're learning about me, I'm learning about them, and we're having a blast,” Martin said. Johnson has yet to win a pole this season. Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Kenseth round out the top five. Points leader Greg Biffle starts seventh. Johnson, who won the All-Star race in Charlotte, wants to keep Hendrick Motorsports' recent of run of strong finishes going at Dover. Johnson and teammate Kasey Kahne won the last two NASCAR races. Teammates Jeff Gordon starts 14th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 17th. “We don't want to let the boss down,” Johnson said of Rick Hendrick. “We want to get all four in the Chase.” Martin has five poles to go with his five wins on the 1-mile (1,600-meter) concrete track at Dover. Martin is as physically fit and dedicated to healthy eating and clean living as any other driver in the garage. His lifestyle has played as much a critical part of extending a NASCAR career that dates to 1981. “I'm going to have to look into his dietary intake and start eating what he does before qualifying, because it's been working,” Newman said. “He's always been an awesome qualifier.” Martin, who turned 53 in January, won his first NASCAR race at Dover in 1987 on the second-tier circuit now known as the Nationwide Series. When the green flag drops Sunday, Martin will officially make his 840th career start. He has 40 career wins, but none since he won five times for Hendrick in 2009. “He has tried to retire a few times, but just can't do it,” a smiling Johnson said. “That fire still burns in him.”
