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While it's a cliché to most people; age is just a number to Phoenix pole winner Mark Martin.

Speaking of numbers Martin becomes the second-oldest pole winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup history

Less than one week after he finished third at the Daytona 500 Martin repeated his 2012 spring Sprint Cup pole at the one-mile oval.

"A lot of people describe Mark by saying, 'Mark's on it,'" Martin's crew chief, Rodney Childers, said. "Well, for 2013, Mark's on it squared."   

Mark Martin, Toyota No. 55 (Photo: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

With a speed of 138.074 mph for his 56th career pole, Martin, driving a Toyota, eclipsed Bill Elliott for seventh place all-time.

Harry Gant is the oldest pole winner as he took the pole at 54 years, seven months in 1994 at Bristol.  Martin's 54th birthday was in January.

Kasey Kahne whose car was wrecked at the Daytona 500 starts second in a Chevrolet followed by Jimmie Johnson's Chevrolet and Kyle Busch's Toyota, respectively third and fourth.

"I said it last week and had some people make some snide remarks about it, but at this stage of the game it's pretty amazing I get to drive something like this," Martin said

He won from the pole, in Phoenix, in 2009.

"I deeply admire him and his passion for the sport," said Johnson, a five-time Sprint Cup series champion and Martin's former teammate.

"He's tried to walk away a few times -- I think we had a farewell tour for him once -- and he came back. He couldn't do it. He just loves driving his car and is an inspiration for any team he works for."

Danica Patrick who monopolized the media spotlight by winning the pole for the Daytona 500 and leading laps - both firsts for a woman in that race - had a problem in between turns three and four and will take the green for Sunday's 500k race in 40th place.

Adapted from GMM

Mercedes is one of the teams that has been experimenting with the allowed 'passive double DRS' concept in recent testing.

The system, attached to the rear wing, has not been difficult to spot at times on the cars fielded in Barcelona by Lotus, Mercedes, Sauber and Red Bull.

Red Bull was fitted with the wing-stalling device all day on Friday.

"Until now, the systems were always being tried only briefly," said Mercedes' Aldo Costa.

"But whoever wants to use it in Melbourne needs to use it at least during one day of testing."

Sauber designer Matt Morris said the innovation is worth between "a few hundredths to a tenth" of a second per lap.

"And a tenth can make a huge difference when the cars are so closely matched," he added.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) added to speculations his team could race for the 2013 championship, setting the fastest lap of the third day of the last pre-season venue, in Barcelona, Spain.

Overall this week, his former teammate, Jenson Button, has been impressed with the progress of the silver arrows: "The one team that has been consistently quick has been Mercedes more than anyone else," dixit the 2009 champ.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W04 (Photo: WRi2)

But as Hamilton pointed out, none of his fellow world champions were out on track today. Button himself, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen were all enjoying a day off.

Davide Valsecchi, Lotus E21 (Photo: WRi2)

Maybe the latter wasn't "enjoying" so much the day off. The Finn sat out the test because of food poisoning.

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber C32 (Photo: WRi2)

Coming back to what happened on the track, Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) managed his best time, the second fastest of the day, before losing a wheel on the track.

Adrian Sutil, Force India VJM06 (Photo: WRi2)

Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06), in his first outing as a confirmed driver for the Silverstone based team, was third fastest.

Completing the top 5 were the two Williams drivers, Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado a tenth ahead of rookie Valtteri Bottas.

Jules Bianchi, Marussia MR02 (Photo: WRi2)

Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02) went 12th fastest in his new machine, half second quicker than Giedo van der Garde (Caterham CT03), 13th and last.

Sergio Pérez, McLaren MP4-28 (Photo: WRi2)

F1 winter testing, March 2nd, Barcelona (Spain)*
1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'20"558 - 117 laps
2 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'21"266 - 94
3 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'21"627 - 109
4 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'22"305 - 34
5 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'22"468- 31
6 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'22"553 - 99
7 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'22"658 - 59
8 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4-28-Mercedes) - 1'22"694 - 101
9 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'23"223 - 114
10 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'23"380 - 46
11 - Davide Valsecchi (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'23"448 - 22
12 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'24"028 - 74
13 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'24"520 - 126

*Unofficial timing

Mark Webber, Red Bull RB9 (Photo: WRi2)

Having stepped up from the GT class to the LMP2 category, US based Extreme Speed Motorsports withdrew is Ferrari F458 from the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The move made way for a fifth Aston Martin entry at the fabled race.

ESM had planned running Le Mans in a GT Ferrari, and the 2013 American Le Mans Series season with two. But the Scott Sharp-owned team changed its plans, instead racing LMP2 prototypes.

So the team elected to pull out of Le Mans, which made way for a fifth Aston Martin.

Aston Martin Vantage (Photo: Aston Martin Racing)

No drivers have been announced yet for the fifth Vantage, but Richie Stanaway et Dane Cameron are expected to be tested soon at Sebring.

So far, Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and Peter Dumbreck have been assigned to the No. 97 and Frédéric Makowiecki, Bruno Senna and Rob Bell to the No. 99, in GTE Pro.

Allan Simonsen, Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen will drive in GTE Am, as well as Stuart Hall, Roald Goethe and Jamie Campbell Walter.

Ally Financial said in a securities filing that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently told the U.S. auto lender that it is being investigated for certain "retail financing practices."

By Design: Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo

Lifting the curse.

This is more like it. In one simple profile revision, from whalelike fastback four-door to tough-looking aerodynamic sport wagon, Porsche's Panamera has been transformed from a car I wouldn't want to be seen driving into something I actually could covet. The concept of a fastback four-door sedan is intriguing, but making one genuinely attractive is a difficult task. General Motors managed it from 1949-51 with Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile, basically because the roof tapered inward quite sharply in plan view and because, by our contemporary standards, they were pretty big cars, allowing a long roofline. But many other attempts, including the 1949 Lincoln, GM's late-'70s downsized four-doors, and Porsche's first sedan, have ranged from grotesque to ghastly.

Photo Gallery: By Design: Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: By Design: Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo - Automobile Magazine

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First Look: 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible

The soft-top C7 debuts in Switzerland.

The new 2014 Corvette Stingray may share precious little with the previous sixth-generation Corvette, but there is one common thread. In 2004, Chevrolet rolled out the C6 Corvette coupe in Detroit and then waited several weeks to unveil the convertible variant at the Geneva Motor Show. Fast-forward nine years: weeks after the C7 coupe was unveiled in Detroit, the new Corvette convertible will make its first appearance in Switzerland.

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible - Automobile Magazine

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Mercedes-Benz reported a 22 percent surge in U.S. sales last month, building on its early lead as it tries to unseat BMW as the leader in luxury-auto deliveries this year.

China boosted its share of automakers' global spending on capacity increases last year, while Mexico again attracted the bulk of North American investment, a university study says.

Australians love their pickup beds -- perhaps even more than we do. The

Online automotive lead provider Autobytel posted a modest increase in net profits for the fourth quarter last year due to an increase in demand from automotive dealers and manufacturers.

News 5 Mar, 2013

The 444bhp Chevrolet Corvette Convertible has made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show

Also in this episode: Alpina will display the BMW B3 Biturbo in Geneva, and Porsche recalls more than 2,200 911 Carreras.

Ford's Lincoln brand, which aired two ads during the Super Bowl in February, posted a 29 percent U.S. sales slide for the month as dealers continued to run short of the MKZ sedan featured in the commercials.

News 5 Mar, 2013

Kia has unveiled this stylish MINI-rivalling provo coupe concept at the Geneva Motor Show

Well, if you needed any more evidence that car passion is dead, look no further than the Golden State.

Chrysler Canada recorded a 2 percent rise in Canadian vehicle sales last month, selling the most vehicles in any February since 2000 and extending its streak of year-over-year gains to 39 consecutive months.

News 6 Mar, 2013

A gas-powered Audi A3 Sportback has been unveiled at Geneva, and it emits only 30g/km of CO2

General Motors is including scheduled maintenance in the price of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup for sales in March and April, matching a promotion it began last month on the GMC Sierra.

McLaren Automotive's U.S.-born managing director, Antony Sheriff, is expected to be absent from the launch of the