Mark Martin will start the Sharpie 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race from the pole Saturday night after posting a speed of 124.484 mph during qualfying this afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. Greg Biffle, Martin's former teammate, will line up second on the starting grid.

"I didn't need to choke today, and we got a great lap," Martin said after his pole winning run.

This is Martin's fifth pole of the season and the Batesville, Arkansas driver currently occupies the 12th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings. Martin needs a strong run at Bristol to stay in contention for a spot in the Chase to the Cup.

Scott Speed garnered the third starting position with Dave Blaney and Matt Kenseth completing the top five.

Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Reed Sorenson will start sixth through tenth.

Scott Wimmer qualified the #4 Morgan-McClure entry in the field and will start 26th.

The Sharpie 500 is scheduled to take the green at 8 pm ET Saturday night and will be televised live on ESPN with pre race coverage beginning at 6:30 pm.

                 SHARPIE 500 QUALIFYING

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