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NASCAR Mark Martin Leads the Field Drivers Playing it Safe Dale Jr Fastest in Practice

Mark Martin has the pole for tonights race in Richmond

Mark Martin is the oldest kid in the NASCAR sandbox, and yesterday he proved that he can still be the fastest.  Turning the second fastest lap on his first run around the track there was nowhere to go but up.  On his second time around the 3/4 mile D shaped oval he topped the speed set by Carl Edwards just minutes earlier to take the pole for tonights Capitol City 400 presented by Virginia is For Lovers.  Setting the pace at 128.327 mph was enough for the 53 year old to take the coveted pole position.  So how does the oldest kid on the block feel about taking his 5th pole in Richmond?

As far as Im concerned, this is just as big a deal, he said.

After running his laps Martin showed his trademark humility about how his talent and experience kept him out front.

I was very close to skinning the car up, especially off of four [on] the second lap, Martin said. Im driving it as hard as I can go, and at the very limits of my talent.

I did not ask Rodney [Childers] what he put under the car, said Martin. We made some improvements to the car in happy Hour [final practice] in race setup right at the end.

If it would have been me, I probably would have incorporated those changes into the qualifying setup, and I didnt want to ask Rodney if he did or not, or what he did to the car. All I want to do is roll out on the race track with no preconceived notion and drive it as fast as itd go and rely on him and his judgment.

I was really hoping that he [Childers] would call me [on the radio] on the first lap and tell me to shut it down I told him to tell me to shut it down if we happened to get the pole on the first lap. When he didnt, I was afraid, Oh, no, were 15th-fastest. That wasnt near fast enough, and Ive really got to get up on the wheel.

I was very close to skinning the car up, especially off of [Turn] 4 on the second lap, and that was my concern. That was my concern in practice, as well. Both the qualifying runs I made in practice, I almost skinned it up, too. So I was driving as hard as I can go at the very limit of my talent, for sure and if I keep pushing the limits, Im going to run out of talent here, one of these days.

Carl Edwards will sit on the outside of row 1 beside Mark Martin.

Carl Edwards will be sitting on the outside of row 1 beside Martin when the green flag drops tonight.  Edwards top lap at 128.290 had hung on through 17 drivers, but when Martin moved to second on the scoring tower with his first lap, Edwards paid much closer attention.

I thought we had him, and then he shot up to the top of the scoreboard, he said.

Edwards was asked how he feels his 2012 season is playing out and what he feels about the fans concerns about the log green flags in the previous races causing a drop in the ratings from fans looking for more excitement in the form of wrecks and/or tempers flaring on and off the track.

We are [11th] in points and dont have a win, Edwards said of his status. It is not like we are tied for first right now. We have to be very cautious with our points. Lets say we know some things. Lets assume some things that are true. Right now we dont have the fastest car on the race track every week so we can say, Alright for the next 16 or 18 races we might still not have the fastest car.

Under the old points system we would say, Damn, we are already ninth and not running that great, lets just go for it here. Lets do some crazy stuff and get a win or two and have some fun. But we cant do that now because we say that we have to make it into the top 10. We cannot give up any points.

What we are banking on, what we hope comes is that we hope in those last 10 races that we are good enough then to go shoot for the championship.

If you were in my position you would never be able to forgive yourself if you were ninth in points here in Richmond and they drop the green flag on the last restart and you have a great race car and you go for some banzai run and wreck the thing and dont make the Chase.

Lets say those last 10 races we have a hell of a run and would have won the thing if we would have made it. I would be a moron to give it up right here at Richmond. I dont know if that is right or wrong but that is why it ends up this way because guys start to think, OK, just gather all your troops here, focus, work everything out, make the Chase and then go get em. That wasnt intended by NASCAR I am sure but that is the way we feel.

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Dale Jr talks about his newly returned confidence and the firestorm he caused by saying he is"the best driver" in the Hendrick stable.

Last week some comments by Dale Earnhardt Jr caused a bit of a firestorm in the garage when he stated that he felt he was the best driver at Hendrick Motorsports, maybe even the best in the entire garage.   In Fridays interview session at Richmond International Raceway he reconfirmed his opinion and then in final practice for Saturdays Capital City 400, put an exclamation point on it by outrunning 44 other drivers.

That is a healthy debate, that is healthy among race fans as far as who is the best driver, Earnhardt said. All the drivers in the garage feel like they are the best, individually, and they should. That is kind of the way you have to approach it.

I figured that was definitely debatable and the race fans are going to voice their opinion and thats good. I certainly dont like to rock any boats, but you have to answer the question honestly.

Jr lays a lot of his confidence at the feet of Steve Letarte for giving him the best equipment he can, and for being the best cheerleader in the business.  Keeping his mind in the game when frustration might normally take over, and keeping him focused on the race are just a few of the things Jr credits his crew chief for.

Hes definitely made me more accountable, would be a way to explain it for the words I choose to use and how I choose to describe the car to him, Earnhardt said of Letarte. Hes not going to put up with me verbally abusing him or the equipment. I wouldnt expect anything less than him being a professional, as well.

I think we have a good in-race relationship. He does a really good job of providing me with information and calming me that we are going to fix any issues we have. I feel confident that he has fixed enough issues and improved the car during enough races that I dont really get as worried about it when something isnt quite right. I know that the chances of it getting improved and fixed are really good.

Ive got great confidence in him and his abilities to orchestrate the weekend as good as I would expect. We get along really good because of that confidence between each other. I think there is good trust there, too.

That confident attitude send waves through his team and pit crew as well.

I learned a long time ago that if you dont have confidence in your car that can be problematic for you, Earnhardt said. If you dont have confidence in your crew chief then that can be problematic for you and if you dont have the same confidence in yourself its not conducive to being successful.

You have to feel like youre here and youre the best and that is the way you should feel. In any profession, you have to have that kind of confidence.

So off we go to Richmond tonight, under the lights, for what some drivers call a race on the ultimate short track.  Get those helmet straps and set belts tightened folks, its looking like a good race tonight.

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3. NASCAR Mark Martin Edges Out Trevor Bayne for the Pole at Daytona
4. NASCAR Mark Martin Takes The Pole For Phoenix Hendricks Teams Look For Big Rebound
5. NASCAR The Field is Set, The Fans Are Ready, The Drivers Are Looking to Win! 2012 Here We Go.