In his first event with his new sponsor, Mark stole the headlines — at least for a moment — by
winning the pole for the 2010 Daytona 500 Saturday.Mark ran a fast lap of 190.188 mph, beating Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 0.088 of a second.
Mark's success continues Hendrick's recent dominance on pole day at Daytona. Jimmie Johnson claimed it in 2008 and Mark won the outside pole last year. More importantly for Mark, it continues his wave of momentum from 2009 when he scored seven pole positions, five wins and finished runner-up in the championship.
"It's incredible to be behind the wheel of that No. 5 car," said Mark, who became the oldest polesitter in Daytona 500 history and is tied for eighth all time in career poles.
"We did the Goodyear tire test on Jan. 12-13, and when we hit the racetrack I knew we had picked up where we left off. We were fast and we just had a blast.
"I knew then that it was just going to be an extension of last year and it certainly is. ... I've looked deeper and worked harder and that's my commitment to the year, just like my race team, in every area. We are ready to go I can't wait to go racing every week so that we get in a routine."
The 1-2 finish for the Nos. 5-88 shop, which is the first team sweep at Daytona since Robert Yates Racing did it in 2007, also boosts the hopes for Earnhardt's team.
"When we went out yesterday and (Dale Jr.) ran a (47.70-second lap) and we ran a (41.71), I looked at Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and asked, 'It's supposed to be like that, right?' And he said, 'Yeah,'" Mark said. "We hope to both raise our game this year, 5 and 88.
"It was kind of a surprise last year to me that we sat on the outside pole. After a little while, I've kind of come to expect it with these guys. They bring fast race cars."
Should Mark, 51, continue his momentum and go on to win the Daytona 500, he would become the eighth driver to win both the pole and race, and he'd be the oldest to take the checkered flag. The 1988 winner, Bobby Allison, currently holds the mark (50 years old).
The Daytona 500 uses a unique qualifying format where only the first two starting positions for the race are locked in during qualifying day. Four drivers not locked into the race via the top 35 rule also secured a starting position Saturday: two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott, Scott Speed and Joe Nemechek (the three fastest non-top-35 teams) and Bobby Labonte (past champion's provisional) but their starting positions will be set along with the rest of the field during Thursday's Gatorade Duel races.
"These guys laid down a nice lap. Everybody worked hard (crew chief) David Hyder, (owners) Len and Eddie Wood have put so much effort into this deal ... you cant say enough about those guys," said Elliott. "I'm just proud to race it come Sunday afternoon."
Fittingly, qualifying ended shortly before the start of the ARCA Series race where Danica-mania took over again as the IndyCar Series star made her stock car debut.
Mark was OK with that.
"Even though we got the pole, we're still under the radar compared to Danica," Mark said. "That's cool. That's my style."
If he can continue this type of performance, Mark will steal headlines from his GoDaddy.com teammate as well as the rest of the Sprint Cup Series field.
