1 55 Mark Martin Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 21.040 128.327
2 99 Carl Edwards Ford Eco-Boost Ford 21.046 128.290
3 29 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 21.087 128.041
4 22 AJ Allmendinger Shell Pennzoil Dodge 21.100 127.962
5 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Brown Toyota 21.101 127.956
6 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 21.135 127.750
7 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 21.138 127.732
8 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Brakes Toyota 21.147 127.678
9 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 21.161 127.593
10 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet 21.169 127.545
11 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Helping Hungry Homes Ford 21.184 127.455
12 39 Ryan Newman Army Reserve Chevrolet 21.194 127.395
13 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet 21.205 127.328
14 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 21.213 127.280
15 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing / Farm American 21.225 127.208
16 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge 21.261 126.993
17 36 Dave Blaney SealWrap.com Chevrolet 21.266 126.963
18 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 21.274 126.915
THE FINAL LAP WEEKLY #199 – RICHMOND PREVIEW
19 47 Bobby Labonte Bush’s Beans Toyota 21.278 126.892
20 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 21.290 126.820
Fans get a glimpse of Mark Martin's Toyota during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 12, 2012 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
Mark Martin has unloaded fast this week in Texas, and his Michael Waltrip Racing team continues to roll. Martin paced the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session of the week Thursday evening with a lap of 189.427 mph.
Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, A.J. Allmendinger and Regan Smith rounded out the top-five fastest in this practice session.
The No. 55 car that Martin shares with Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip sits ninth in Sprint Cup Series owner points, and all three of the Michael Waltrip Racing team cars rank inside the top-10 of the owner point standings.
Is it time for Martin – the oldest driver that will compete Saturday night at age 53 – to roll back into victory lane? Maybe, but don’t crown him the champion of the Samsung Mobile 500 just yet.
Why you ask? Well we are six races into the 2012 season, and did you know that no driver who has paced the first practice session of a weekend has gone on to win a race? In fact in 2012, the guy who unloads the fastest off the truck has an average finish of 15.5 so far. Can Martin buck the trend? Find out Saturday evening in the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Mikey Likes It
Michael Waltrip Racing still has three drivers in the top 10 in owner points and two in the top nine in the driver standings. Martin Truex Jr. is one of four drivers with four top-10 finishes, along with Biffle, Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson.
Truex’s surge shouldn’t surprise many. The New Jersey native finished the 2011 season with five top 10s in the last six races.
MARK MARTIN
No. 55 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY PREVIEW
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Mark Martin watched last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway on television. But it wasn’t a peaceful weekend.
Martin’s 60,000-follower Twitter account (@55markmartin) was hacked early Saturday morning rendering the 30-year NASCAR veteran completely powerless over his newest hobby. The unknown culprit – Epic Swag – commandeered the account and began changing every setting and altering followers.
Blasting out of the 2012 gate, Michael Waltrip Racing boasts both its cars in the top 10 in points. The ageless Mark Martin sits seventh in points after a ninth-place Phoenix finish. Martin Truex Jr. flirted with victory at Phoenix, leading 29 laps. He’s currently sixth in points.
POINT STANDINGS | CUP SERIES
10 Carl Edwards
9 Kyle Busch
8 Joey Logano 7 Mark Martin 6 Martin Truex Jr.
5 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4 Matt Kenseth drops 3 spots
3 Kevin Harvick
2 Greg Biffle
1 Denny Hamlin takes over the points lead, by 6
1 55 Mark Martin Aaron’s Toyota 26.313 136.815
2 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet 26.446 136.126
3 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row / Farm American Chevrolet 26.471 135.998
4 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 26.552 135.583
5 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 26.559 135.547
LISTEN TO THE FINAL LAP WEEKLY – PHOENIX PRE-RACE SHOW
6 39 Ryan Newman WIX Filters Chevrolet 26.570 135.491
7 16 Greg Biffle 3MWraps.com Ford 26.652 135.074
8 29 Kevin Harvick Rheem Chevrolet 26.664 135.014
9 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 26.667 134.998
10 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 26.712 134.771
11 31 Jeff Burton Wheaties Chevrolet 26.743 134.615
12 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Brown Toyota 26.753 134.564
MARK MARTIN ON MUSIC - “Music has always been important to me. I don’t know if that makes me any different than anyone else or not. I’ve always had all my vehicles with extra oomph to them. They have all had loud speakers and stereo in them. Growing up I listened to bands like Aerosmith, AC/DC and music like that. But, there was always another side of me that likes Neil Young and singers that weren’t quite as hard rock. There was always two sides to my musical tastes even when I was a kid coming up.”
RAP - “I kind of got away from keeping up with different kinds of music when my family started growing. Then we went testing in 2002 and my crew chief Ben Leslie was playing rap music really loud in our truck. I was like ‘Man, this is really good.’ It just triggered something in me. That’s how I stumbled over rap music.”
The Final Lap with Kerry Murphey featuring NASCAR News, Rumors, Opinions, Interviews, and more. Check out our nationally syndicated Radio Shows, free NASCAR Podcasts, and Videos
1 55 Mark Martin Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 21.040 128.327
Blasting out of the 2012 gate, Michael Waltrip Racing boasts both its cars in the top 10 in points. The ageless Mark Martin sits seventh in points after a ninth-place Phoenix finish. Martin Truex Jr. flirted with victory at Phoenix, leading 29 laps. He’s currently sixth in points.
1 55 Mark Martin Aaron’s Toyota 26.313 136.815
