Mark Martin nabs pole position at Phoenix - MotorSportsTalk

Fresh off a third-place finish at the Daytona 500, Mark Martin will start on the pole for Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500k at Phoenix International Raceway.

In this evening’s qualifying session, Martin wheeled the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota to the top spot of the grid with a fast lap of 138.074 mph around the one-mile PIR oval. Martin, who will run 24 races this season with MWR, earned his 56th career Sprint Cup pole and gave full credit to crew chief Rodney Childers and his team.

“They make great decisions and put me in great race cars,” Martin told SPEED Channel’s Matt Yocum following the end of qualifying. “I’m so proud to succeed with these guys. They back me up and support me so much.”

Martin will be joined on the front row by Kasey Kahne, who threw down a lap of 137.862 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Three Hendrick drivers qualified within the top 5 positions, with Daytona winner Jimmie Johnson starting third and Jeff Gordon starting fifth. Tony Stewart wound up sixth.

Johnson and his No. 48 team had problems prior to qualifying, as the Lowe’s Chevrolet needed multiple trips to get through tech inspection. But for the five-time Sprint Cup champion, everything worked out well in the end.

“Not exactly sure, but something with [the laser inspection system] wasn’t showing right, ” Johnson said of his pre-qualifying issues on the SPEED broadcast. “We went through a couple of times and got it. I was fortunate to get in the car early, get buckled in, and try to catch my breath. I know my crew guys were winded by the time they got me down there.”

Defending race winner Denny Hamlin will start eighth and in Row 4 alongside Kevin Harvick, who won at PIR last fall. As for Danica Patrick, she’ll have a long climb ahead on Sunday after qualifying 40th.

With three multiple winners now vying for the championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Chase Sexton earned his second victory of the season in Detroit when Aaron Plessinger fell on the final lap. Though he was penalized seven points for disobeying a flag, Sexton is third in the championship race. The Honda rider trails leader Cooper Webb (two victories) by 17 points, and defending series champion Eli Tomac (five wins) is three points behind Webb in second with seven races remaining.

Tomac won last year in Seattle on the way to his second season title.

Honda riders have a Supercross-leading 20 victories in the Seattle event but none at Lumen Field since Justin Barcia in 2013. Tomac and Barcia are the only past 450 Seattke winners entered in Saturday’s event.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 11 of the 2023 Supercross season in Seattle:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Round 11 will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock with a re-air Monday at 1 a.m. ET on CNBC. The Race Day Live show (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

NBC Sports will have exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and heats for the record 31 events in SuperMotocross. The main events will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will become the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying, and heats from January to October. There will be 23 races livestreamed exclusively on Peacock, including a SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff event. The platform also will provide on-demand replays of every race. Click here for the full schedule.

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Here are the start times for Saturday’s Supercross Round 11 in Seattle, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

4:50 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
5:05 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:20 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:35 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
6:25 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 2
6:40 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 2
7:55 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 2
8:10 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 2
10:06 p.m.: 250SX Heat 1
10:20 p.m.: 250SX Heat 2
10:34 p.m.: 450SX Heat 1
10:48 p.m.: 450SX Heat 2
11:22 p.m.: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:34 p.m.: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:54 p.m.: 250SX Main Event
12:28 a.m.: 450SX Main Event