Mark Martin wins pole at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Mark Martin won the pole Friday for Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.

The event will determine the 12 cars that will compete in NASCAR's 10-race playoff chase.

No driver has won more poles (6) or races (4) than Martin has this year, but he could miss the chase if he has a poor finish Saturday. If he can finish among the Top 12 in the race, however, he will earn a spot in the chase no matter what any other driver does.

Martin, who is 10th in points, won the pole by turning in a lap of 21.292 seconds. A series of engine problems and wrecks earlier in the season led to poor finishes that have kept him from standing higher in the points race.

"I didn't really expect to sit on the pole," Martin said. "I hoped to be fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth, in that range. But we got a stellar lap with a stellar race car.

"Some of the teams need to make that (championship) chase to save their year, but for us, it would be icing. And then we'll have to see if we can get a cake to put it on. If we miss it tomorrow night, there won't be any icing or cake. It will just be a great year."

Martin Truex Jr. had the second fastest qualifying time, followed by Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne.