VONDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Mark Martin will be on the pole at Phoenix International Raceway for the second straight year after becoming the second-oldest pole-sitter in NASCAR history.
Martin went around PIR's mile oval at a speed of 138.075 mph on Friday to earn his 56th career pole a week after finishing third in the Daytona 500.
Martin turned 54 in January, leaving him a few months short beating Harry Gant as the oldest driver to win a Sprint Cup pole. Gant was 54 when he won his last pole at Bristol in 1994.
Kasey Kahne will start on the front row with Martin for Sunday's 312-mile race. Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson will take the green flag in third next to Kyle Busch.
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