KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brad Keselowski took a seat next to Mark Martin and patted Martin's right arm and shoulder.

"I want some of that magic to rub off on me," Keselowski said with a wide smile after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway.

"Everything he does turns to gold," Keselowski said.

Martin's magical season continued Friday as he turned a lap of 175.758 mph on a blustery day and won the pole for Sunday's race. It was the seventh pole of the season for Martin — tying his career best, set 20 years ago — and his 48th career pole, putting him in prime position to maintain his lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Martin headed a sweep by Hendrick Motorsports drivers as Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 2002 pole winner at Kansas Speedway, was second (175.279), and Keselowski was third (175.205).

Martin, 50, still searching for his first Cup championship, leads another Hendrick driver, Jimmie Johnson, by 10 points in the Chase standings and by starting from the pole, he should lead at least the first lap and pick up a quick five bonus points. Johnson, the defending three-time Sprint Cup champion, and last year's winner at Kansas Speedway, qualified 11th.

Martin, the sentimental favorite among fans to win the championship, heard the cheering from the crowd after he finished his lap.

"I try not to think too far forward right now," Martin said, "because I don't like to think about the possibility of letting all those people down. I will race with all my heart, like I have all my life, and I'm incredibly blessed."

It was an eventful day for Hendrick. NASCAR released a statement that Johnson's and Martin's cars, which finished 1-2 at Dover last Sunday, had been inspected at NASCAR's facility in Concord, N.C., because they were "extremely close (to being in violation) on some of the tolerances."

That didn't seem to affect the performance of the team's cars Friday, including the Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon, who qualified ninth.

"You ever step on a cat's tail?" Martin asked. "It's pretty funny ... they make a noise, and they go really fast. When I stepped on the gas of that 5 car today, it was like stepping on a cat's tail. It had so much horsepower. I felt like I was breaking the land-speed record coming off turn four for the green flag."