Mark Martin takes fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup pole of 2012 at Michigan

The 53-year-old's lap was around two tenths of a second quicker than the previous pole benchmark set by Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards, at an average speed of 199.706 mph around the two-mile oval.

Hendrick Motorsports' Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson, both quicker than Michael Waltrip Racing driver Martin in practice earlier in the day, ran just after him in the order but could not match the veteran's speed or knock Edwards off the front row.

Martin's fourth pole of the season places underlines his status as the top Cup qualifier this year despite only being on a limited schedule.

His 55th career pole arrives at one of his best tracks, where he has won five times - although this is his maiden pole at the venue.

"I didn't almost wreck on the first lap so I tried to go a little harder on the second lap," said Martin. "I'm designed and geared for one-lap qualifying. I know I can never make another lap that crazy, no matter what."

Points leader Johnson and Edwards' Roush Fenway team-mate Matt Kenseth will start from the second row of the grid, ahead of Kahne and Wood Brothers' Trevor Bayne, the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers.

Martin's team-mate Martin Truex Jr will line up second beside last week's Watkins Glen winner Marcos Ambrose, who sat on pole at Michigan with a new track record in June.

Parker Kligerman replaced Sam Hornish Jr at the wheel of the #22 Penske Dodge as the three-time IndyCar champion practiced and qualified his Nationwide Series car in Montreal. Kligerman surprised by outqualifying his team-mate Brad Keselowski.

Richard Petty Motorsports' Aric Almirola clipped the wall as he was starting his flying lap due to an apparent part failure and will be forced to a back-up car for Saturday's practice and the race.

Dave Blaney did not set a time but will start Sunday's race thanks to his points status while Stephen Leicht and JJ Yeley failed to make the field.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time     Gap
 1.  Mark Martin         Waltrip Toyota               36.053s
 2.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford            36.249s  + 0.196s
 3.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet           36.283s  + 0.230s
 4.  Matt Kenseth        Roush Fenway Ford            36.330s  + 0.277s
 5.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet           36.386s  + 0.333s
 6.  Trevor Bayne        Wood Brothers Ford           36.404s  + 0.351s
 7.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota               36.428s  + 0.375s
 8.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                   36.457s  + 0.404s
 9.  Landon Cassill      BK Toyota                    36.468s  + 0.415s
10.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet          36.518s  + 0.465s
11.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet           36.527s  + 0.474s
12.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota               36.546s  + 0.493s
13.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford            36.568s  + 0.515s
14.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       36.571s  + 0.518s
15.  Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       36.598s  + 0.545s
16.  Joey Logano         Joe Gibbs Toyota             36.641s  + 0.588s
17.  Parker Kligerman    Penske Dodge                 36.688s  + 0.635s
18.  Regan Smith         Furniture Row Chevrolet      36.694s  + 0.641s
19.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Dodge                 36.701s  + 0.648s
20.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet          36.725s  + 0.672s
21.  Denny Hamlin        Joe Gibbs Toyota             36.743s  + 0.690s
22.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           36.768s  + 0.715s
23.  Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota             37.248s  + 1.195s
24.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  37.254s  + 1.201s
25.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  37.279s  + 1.226s
26.  Kurt Busch          Phoenix Chevrolet            37.308s  + 1.255s
27.  Reed Sorenson       Humphrey Smith Ford          37.362s  + 1.309s
28.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota         37.384s  + 1.331s
29.  Casey Mears         Germain Ford                 37.391s  + 1.338s
30.  Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                    37.395s  + 1.342s
31.  David Stremme       Inception Toyota             37.430s  + 1.377s
32.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet          37.445s  + 1.392s
33.  Jason Leffler       Humphrey Smith Ford          37.460s  + 1.407s
34.  Josh Wise           Front Row Ford               37.465s  + 1.412s
35.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                 37.477s  + 1.424s
36.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford               37.541s  + 1.488s
37.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford               37.554s  + 1.501s
38.  Scott Riggs         R3 Chevrolet                 37.906s  + 1.853s
39.  David Reutimann     Baldwin Chevrolet            38.088s  + 2.035s
40.  TJ Bell             FAS Lane Ford                38.894s  + 2.841s
41.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford
42.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet
43.  Mike Skinner        Parsons Ford                 37.907s  + 1.854s

Did not qualify:

     JJ Yeley            Max Q Chevrolet              38.266s  + 2.213s
     Stephen Leicht      Circle Sport Chevrolet       38.006s  + 1.953s