Martin does not like All-Star qualifying format

Later today, Mark Martin will qualify his car for the Sprint All-Star Race by driving one lap, stopping on pit road for a four-tire stop and zooming off again for his second lap. It's the only time during the season when qualifying is conducted in such a format, and Martin doesn't seem to be much of a fan.

"That's marginally ridiculous, to be honest with you, the way we do that qualifying," he said Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "We don't really do anything like that, and I don't subscribe to that, but it has made for a lot of tire smoke and a lot of heartbreak."

Martin noted that the all-star race always seems to have rules or formats that make it harder for the fastest cars to bring home the $1 million prize. Wrinkles such as double-file restarts and built-in breaks that close up the field are roadblocks for the best cars.

"Part of the appeal to the all-star race is built on heartbreak, and if it wasn't, then the fastest car would always win," said Martin, who won the all-star event in 1998 and 2005. "The rules are set up so that the fastest car has a less likely opportunity to win than normal.

"That's OK, as long as you're not the best car. If you're the best car, that's tough. I've been on both ends of it."' Scenedaily.com