Richmond qualifying: Martin on pole

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 11, 2009) – Mark Martin scored his sixth pole position of the season during Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying session at Richmond International Raceway. It’s a promising way for Martin to enter Saturday’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400. The NASCAR veteran needs to finish 12th or higher to stay inside the top 12 and qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which starts next week. Martin and his No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team rank 10th going into Saturday night’s race. "This is huge. The pressure's off. We were trying to approach today like there was no pressure but there was, and now I get to relax till tomorrow night," said Martin, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who are locked into the postseason dash for the championship, also earned top-10 starting positions. Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, qualified fourth. Gordon, who is piloting a specially painted No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Wounded Warrior Chevrolet, earned the seventh spot. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will roll off the grid 15th in his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet. Race coverage for Saturday’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 starts at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m.