MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 POP TARTS/CARQUEST IMPALA SS – Finished 2nd POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

KERRY THARP: We'll roll into our post race here for the Sharpie 500. Tonight's race runner up, his one thousandth career NASCAR National Series start, Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's Carquest Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

You certainly had a very strong car tonight. You led a lot of laps. Moved up a couple spots in the standings. Your thoughts about how tonight's race unfolded.

MARK MARTIN: Well, you know, I'd first like to say that it was incredible what the fans did here tonight. In my opinion, a thousand starts ain't no big deal. But what they did made me cry. It's pretty cool. Almost get emotional thinking about it again.

I love this sport as much as they do. I'm so grateful to have a chance to do what I did tonight, which is drive a really fast racecar and finish where it was running. We've had so much trouble this year, not finishing like we ran. It was cool.

Yeah, we ran second, but I bet we had the fans on their feet those last few laps. You know, that's cool.

KERRY THARP: We'll start with questions.

Q. Mark, your philosophy on last laps. Quite clear you were not going to make contact. How do you not go back and wonder about all the races you could have won had you used your bumper?

MARK MARTIN: If you watched that race real close, I didn't need to use the bumper. Kyle gave me all the room in the world to make that pass, and I didn't make it. That's one thing.

If somebody abused me enough to really, really irritate me, I might use that bumper. But Kyle gave me all the room in the world. It's a good thing because I was over my head when I went in that corner and I got loose. If he'd have been crowding me, we both would have went up to the wall. I'm really grateful for that. He raced me like a good sport. When he's behind me, I will be comfortable that he will race me the same way that I raced him. I can't say how he might race someone else on the racetrack because they may have different history. But I feel really, really good at night when I go to bed. I have managed to win a race or two, and none of 'em did I have to pull something dirty.

Q. Mark, on the restarts, the race leader can get on the gas well before the start/finish line. You're second. How much of a disadvantage is it that you can't pass him before you get to the start/finish line?

MARK MARTIN: Well, the double file restart, I mean, you can't start picking that apart. No, I wasn't in the best line the whole second half of the race. I was always on the inside. So that was a disadvantage. Probably not as big a disadvantage as single file and lining up behind the leader. Maybe it was because there was one instance where I lost second place, you know, because I was on the inside. But that's the breaks.

We raced really hard. Anybody that thinks that I was soft out there on the racetrack tonight wasn't watching. I raced my guts out. And my team gave me an incredible car. We made a race out of it.

Q. Mark, not only did you get out of here unscathed, you nearly won the thing. You gained 48 points in the big picture tonight. What is that sense of relief tonight?

MARK MARTIN: It's not enough. But it's much better than last week (laughter). I really, really would be a lot more comfortable with 150. And we had that leaving Indy. Everything turned upside down. We will be fine if we finish how we run, absolutely.

But, you know, I don't have the greatest of confidence that, you know, the things we can't control are going to be kind to us because we haven't had an average year for those things. It hasn't been average. Anyway, I'm sure that we'll run really good at Atlanta and I'm sure we'll run really good at Richmond. You know, if it comes down to just flat out racing, and not a bunch of, you know, cautions and crashes and flat tires, people stay out, all that mess, rain comes, all that stuff that's happened to us this year, if we can just go out and race for it, it's going to be great.

I had a good time tonight. I had a really great racecar. I felt that that was a great battle right there at the end with Kyle. He didn't even attempt to pinch me, crowd me or anything else. He gave me more than enough racing room to pull it off, and I just couldn't get it done on the bottom that quick. We weren't that much better. We were just pretty equal. I got a good handful of wheel and managed to get beside him and get the fans on their feet.

Q. When you see Kyle Busch, looking at his record here, running third, what goes through your mind in terms of wondering what is he going to do, how is he going to do it?

MARK MARTIN: You know, all those guys out there are incredibly talented racecar drivers. Kyle's driving personality isn't that different than a number of others that I was racing with. We're racing, going for it, you know. I expect Kyle to race me hard. I expect him to race me clean. And he has. He can expect the same from me.

Q. Mark, why do you think the fans here loved you so much and hated Kyle so much? What was it like toward that end with those two things colliding?

MARK MARTIN: You know about Kyle. You don't need me to say anything about that. He has won a lot of races. I'll tell you, anybody that wins a whole lot gets booed. Jeff Gordon never did anything, in my opinion, to get booed. And he got booed a lot because he won a lot. That's part of the sport. Kyle's incredibly talented and he's won a lot. That's part of it.

The other part is he's kind of antagonized his detractors, as well, which doesn't help any either. I don't know why they were so kind to me tonight. Maybe they realize that the reason that I've been around for a thousand races is because I love it as much as they do.

Q. (No microphone.)

MARK MARTIN: I didn't catch that completely. When you guys watch that race, you don't know how over my head I am to be there. You know, if it was so easy, I would have passed him. But I was over my head just being there.

Just like Marcos (Ambrose) said, Dick Trickle told me in 1977, in order to finish first, first you must finish. And I almost didn't finish. I was so close to losing control of my car when I got on the inside of him. Y'all can't see that.

I guess you have a hard time grasping that if I could have, I would have passed him, but I couldn't. And I was also so out of control that if we'd have touched, I would have wrecked, too, because I didn't have control of my car. If I thought, Well, I'll just go up there and rub him out, well, I'd have wrecked. I was already just about to wreck. You guys can't see that. But, man, I was right here. I was just about gone. And so was Kyle. I mean, he's doing everything he could.

So, man, I'm sorry, Dustin, that I didn't win, but I tried hard (smiling). I tried really hard. And I know it's points. And it's a trophy. And it's everything else. It's a win. But that's all I had in that little 16 seconds that I had. If you'd have gave me 20 laps, I might have, could have got it done. In that 16 second span that I had to get it done, that was all I had.

Q. Mark, when you're out on the track, as a driver, is being in a really fast car going door to door with somebody who is equally as talented as you are, win, lose or draw for the last 20 laps, is that pretty much as much fun as you can have as a driver?

MARK MARTIN: It's a lot more fun than not going door to door and not being able to see anybody out there. Even though you have to take second sometimes, that grind and that grit, that push and that challenge, you know, is way more rewarding than running away easy.

You got to get your wins. And I've had enough. I like those run aways, easy ones, too, because I like to pile 'em up. But definitely a very gratifying race. I'm not disappointed that we ran second and I'm proud that we had the fans on their feet. And we'll get ours. We have already this year. And we'll get 'em again.

Q. When you're out there on the track, doing it, is it as much fun as when you were 18 or 20 on a dirt track, kind of going balls out?

MARK MARTIN: To be real honest with you, what I was explaining to Dustin, it's really only fun when you look back. At the time I don't know what Marcos would say, but it wasn't fun to me. It was really, really, really hard, you know. I have drove a racecar before and laughed, was laughing. I wasn't having any laughs out there. There was some serious business going on there, and I thought I was going to do something stupid and spin out and mess this up again.

So it's so hard at the time that I don't think you realize the fun in it as much as now that it's over with, yeah, that was fun and, yeah, it was really cool. I'm sure the fans were on their feet. That's cool.

Q. Was it so much fun that it made you wonder if you could have had five more laps, might have been different?

MARK MARTIN: Well, it might have been different with five more laps. But we didn't have 'em. You know, we could have had a flat tire if there had been five more laps. I'm glad the thing's over with really, to be honest with you. We've had so much trouble this year, I really did want to make the pass. When I got completely beside him, I thought, This is going to be tough on the inside, but I'm completely beside him. Only problem was, my car was out of control, you know, for an instant there. It wasn't like I could mash the gas and accelerate and start finalizing the pass there. I got in there over my head (laughter).

I'll take it. It was a great race. It's not like we haven't won one this year. We might win some more if we keep running like that. We really gave it our all.

Q. You don't know what it's like up here when there's 10 laps to go and there's five minutes to get the story in, and we ask these stupid ass questions because we don't know what happened because we're doing five things at once. We have to ask you that so can you let us know how hard it was.

MARK MARTIN: Yeah, well that's cool (laughter). Thank you. It means a lot. Boy, I'm not sure that you guys realized how hard I was really trying. For a brief moment, Marcos was sitting pretty to win the race there. I don't know what it looked like to you, but I knew I was in trouble there for a second.

KERRY THARP: Congratulations. Put on a great show for us tonight. Thank you.

MARK MARTIN: Thank you.

Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes – Sharpie 500
GM Racing
August 22, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 POP-TARTS/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, FINISHED 2ND

IT WAS A LOT OF FUN TO WATCH, HOW WAS IT INSIDE THE CAR?

"That was pretty exciting. I want to thank all the fans again for being so great tonight. Thank you guys. You brought a tear to my eye. What can I say? Kyle (Busch) gave me room and I didn't get the pass. We were both racing hard for it. That inside was tough and I took my shot at it. I just about slid up into him and wiped us both out. He gave me plenty of room there. He didn't crowd me at all and I needed the room because I slipped the back end and I did everything I could. I wanted to get him but just couldn't pull it off."

YOU TALKED ABOUT YOU AND ALAN (GUSTAFSON) GETTING TOGETHER AND TALKING ABOUT PUTTING MICHIGAN BEHIND YOU AND MOVING FORWARD, YOU DID THAT TONIGHT VERY NICELY.

“It was a good run. I'm really glad that we finished like we ran tonight. There were so many times this year that we haven't done that and I'm proud to drive this guy's car. Alan and all these guys, they are just fantastic. I'm having the time of my life and it's a real special night even though we ran second.

"I wanted to get him, but there wasn't any use in, you know; we were racing hard for it. I got in under him. He gave me plenty of room and it was a good thing because I got sideways and slid right up and it was a good thing that he didn't crowd me or we'd have both wrecked. I tried to get him. But I'm real proud of Pop Tarts and CARQUEST and everybody. I'd like to have won it, but we finally got a decent finish with a great race car and no matter how this thing falls, I'm proud of this race team. I'm proud to drive their car and I'm having the time of my life."

THIS IS BRISTOL. YOU COULD HAVE USED THE BUMPER, WHY DIDN'T YOU?

"I don't he (Kyle Busch) would have (used it) on me. He gave me room. I just didn't get it done. He gave me room to pass him and I couldn't do it."

Mark Martin Post Qualifying Notes and Quotes – Pole Position – Sharpie 500
August 21, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 POP-TART/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, POLE SITTER

"I feel like I just got a 200 lb. gorilla off my back. We got a great lap again. So that was really good."

EVERY POINT MATTERS. HOW BIG OF A SHOT IN THE ARM IS IT FOR YOU TO BE ON THE POLE.

"It's a big shot in the arm. It's huge. All these guys on this team mean so much to me and they dig so hard. They give me such great race cars and we're just trying to let our performance do our work for us. We can't so a whole lot about the racing gods, but if we put our performance out there on the race track, we hope that takes care of us."

Mark Martin Post Qualifying Interview - Sharpie 500
GM Racing
August 21, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 POP TARTS/CARQUEST IMPALA SS

THIS IS YOUR 46TH CAREER NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES POLE, WHICH PUTS YOU IN A TIE WITH JUNIOR JOHNSON FOR NINTH ON THE ALL-TIME SPRINT CUP SERIES POLE WINNER'S LIST. IT IS YOUR FIFTH POLE IN 2009. THE LAST TIME YOU HAD THIS MANY POLES WAS IN 1993. THIS IS YOUR NINTH POLE IN 42 RACES AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY. TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORT TODAY

"Well I'm just so grateful to (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) and everybody on the No. 5 team. They did so hard and they want it so bad. And it's cool to be a part of their team and I'm grateful for the stuff that they put me in to drive. I have got a number of really nice laps qualifying this year. Not every lap can be like that and I was afraid that the law of averages was going to get me here and I was going to choke. And this is the one place where we don't need to be choking right now. We went out and instead of playing it conservative, we put it out there and got another good lap. But I'm so relieved that it's over with. I feel like there's a 200 lb. gorilla off my back right now. I was carrying it around there for about an hour and a half after practice. I knew we had a good car, but it's really close out there. And in order to qualify good you have to get a spectacular lap because you're driving against a bunch of other spectacular guys that are getting them too. So it's cool to have it in the books and all done."

THERE ARE A LOT OF BENEFITS TO WINNING THE POLE. WHAT'S THE BIGGEST BENEFIT TO YOU, RIGHT NOW BEING IN THIS POINTS CHASE, OF GETTING ON THE POLE AS OPPOSED TO QUALIFYING ANY PLACE ELSE?

"Just the possibility is a little less of being caught up of being caught up in somebody else's mess (laughs). It's not out. If you start in the back with a poor pit selection, you can do it from there. But it's made things a lot harder. So there are no guarantees."

IS IT A BIG RELIEF FOR YOU?

"Yes it is. And the flipside of that is that my choking, I'd be on suicide watch, okay? So, yeah. And the possibility of choking gets higher every time I lay a great one down. Sooner or later you slip. And I didn't want to go out there and run it too conservatively. And yet I didn't want to go out there and slip either. So I felt more pressure than normal to get it right. And I can't believe that I looked out and got another one."

UP UNTIL NOW IN YOUR SEASON, THINGS DIDN'T LOOK SO GOOD AND THEN THINGS TURNED THE CORNER. SHOULD WE LOOK AT TODAY AS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE IN YOUR SEASON?

"I think you just look at the performance. I think that's what you really look at. Alan and I made a pact on Tuesday afternoon that we were going to let our performance do it's thing. And it that's not enough, then it's not enough. We do have the performance. And we can't let the things that we can't control, the racing gods, the luck, we can't let that tear us apart. Let's go out here and do it; do what we do and do it. We can't change the outcome. And that's what we're doing. We don't know who is going to have a disaster tomorrow night. I'm sure somebody is (laughs) and we don't know who that might be. But we came here and I'm very, very proud. I believe that every day at any race track, when they open the gate and let these cars roll out on the track, that everybody in the garage knows that they've got to watch that No. 5 car. And for me, that's enough, you know. That's probably not enough for my race team. They want it all. But for me, I've been around a long time and that means more to me than anything, that we've got that kind of performance that they've got to keep their eye on us all the time."

THROUGHOUT THE SEASON YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE POINTS. HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT NOW?

"It's a real big battle. I mean it's a battle for me to keep all that in check. And it's mostly because I want it for my team. For all of you who have children, you never want your children to be disappointed or their hearts broken. And that's how I feel about the guys that work on my car. For me, man I've had lots of brutal disappointments and I care for them. That's why I want it so bad. They want it so bad and they dig so hard. And Alan just will never give up and neither will I. But we should be comfortable, but we're not (laughs). We should be comfortable in the point standings, but we're not. So, you know what? Mr. Hendrick told me again Sunday night, 'It ain't life threatening.' And that's the third time he's told me that this year. And that helps when you think about it like that."

CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT'S LIKE SITTING ON THE POLE AT BRISTOL WITH ALL THE FESTIVITIES GOING ON?

"Well it's pretty cool; I wish it would just stay like that (laughs) for 500 laps. It's really cool. But that competition is over with now. It's really cool that we won that little competition but it's over now and now we've got a whole new thing and it's in some ways a greater challenge because there are more things that you can't control. We can control many circumstances in qualifying that we can't control in 500 laps. So, we'll focus on the race now."

Mark Martin Friday Media Visit – Sharpie 500
GM Racing
August 21, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed making his 1000th start, racing at Bristol, Jimmie Johnson as a driver and much more.

YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT MAKING YOUR 100TH NATIONAL SERIES START AS YOU REFLECT ON 999 STARTS, TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE 1000 CONGRATULATIONS.

Thank you. I didn't know it was coming until last weekend. It was just not something that was really on the radar screen. In some ways it's an accomplishment but really to me it's what you did in those 1000 starts that really matters. It's not just the sheer number it's what happened in those starts that makes it special."

LAST WEEK WAS A PRETTY DEVASTATING END RESULT FOR YOU IN THE STANDINGS, CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT LAST WEEK AND WHAT ALAN (GUSTAFSON) HAS BEEN DEALING WITH THIS WEEK AND WHAT YOU'VE HAD TO DO TO GET HIM OFF THE EDGE?

"I worked at it Sunday night right away and Monday morning. He's a very, very competitive guy and he's so smart. It's such a special opportunity in my lifetime to work with him. He was doing much better on Tuesday. Just to lay it out, I've accomplished everything I had hoped to accomplish this year already and much more. The least difficult of all the things I hope to accomplish I thought would be making the Chase. Alan and I are both confident in our performance from here forward. I can't speak for him but I'm not so confident in our luck but I'm certainly confident in our performance and that really all we can do. In some ways the tension had increased because we should be comfortable in instead of where we are and I think that he and I both are working as hard as we can to keep that minimized. After all I did say I've accomplished everything that I hoped to and much more already this year. It just would be devastating for my team to not be included in that elite group but they have won more races than anyone else so far this year. I'm proud of that."

IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAVE SO MANY GUYS SO CLOSE IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO FOCUS MORE ON WHAT YOU ARE DOING OR DO YOU PAY MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING?

"Before Chicago we were out. We were not in the Chase going into Chicago. Like I told you guys I decided after Chicago that's where my mind was going to stay, outside looking in. So that's how we're racing. We'll take it as it comes. We're very confident in our performance and we'll just see what happens. It's certainly a dog fight and there's a lot of racing left. Actually three races is a lot when you're talking about something like this."

WHEN YOU WERE ON YOUR PART TIME SCHEDULE WASN'T THIS ONE OF THE TRACKS YOU AVOIDED AND WHY? DOES THAT ADD SOME ANXIETY OF HAVING TO BE IN THE CHASE MIX WITH THIS RACE TRACK ON THIS SCHEDULE?

"This race track was not on the schedule mainly because some had to come off or it wouldn't have been a limited schedule. I had been caught up in a lot of other people's wrecks here. That was prior to the redoing of the race track. Since then, it's great. We had a great run here, came here and sat on the pole and had a great run just like we did at Martinsville. It wasn't on the list either. No issues there.

IS KYLE BUSCH AND EASY TARGET FOR GUYS TO TAKE A SHOT AT?

"I think that the competitors don't as much, but they may. I don't know. In my circles I certainly have great respect for Kyle. I'd be careful about that. I'd be careful about taking a shot at Kyle Busch because I have so much respect for him and his abilities and everything else. Obviously he's pretty self out there in ways to get criticized by the media and the fans and competitors a lot. What is he, 25? He's 24 (laughs). He's got a lot of time to evolve as a person as well as a driver. He's an incredible driver and I respect him. Obviously he's pretty self out there and made himself a target in many ways. Don't forget how good he is and that's one of the reasons why people take a shot."

ON POINTS RACING

"I'm not going to answer that incredibly directly but I am going to say this. I think there's lots of racing and I understand that the Chase is a big deal but last year when I raced it was every time I went to the race track it was about the race and the love for the sport. For many people in this sport the race is a big deal too. Points are points and points are what they are. Flat tires change points and of course they change outcomes of races too. All I'm saying is don't forget we still are racing every week and points are points. They are what they are. We're still racing. Let's talk about the excitement and the thrill of the events as well."

IT SEEMS LIKE LARGELY BECAUSE OF YOU OWNERS NOW ARE LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCED DRIVERS RATHER THAN LOOKING FOR THE NEXT 18-YEAR-OLD TO COME ALONG, IS THAT A LONG-TERM TREND AND WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO CHANGE IT BACK THE OTHER WAY?

"It's a shorter long-time trend certainly until the economy changes. The economy has a lot to do with it not just what I've been able to accomplish or (Ron) Hornaday for example. It does have some to do with the economy, sure bets right now instead of taking the long-shot everyone is having to be a little bit more calculated with what they do. These young guys are going to get their shots but they're going to be the sure bet guys like the Joey Logano's and so on. They're the ones that are going to get the opportunity. Experience means a lot especially in the sport today with everything that's going on and testing policies and everything."

JIMMIE (JOHNSON) WAS IN HERE JUST A SECOND AGO AND WAS TALKING ABOUT YOU AND HOW HE ADMIRED YOU BEFORE HE GOT INTO NASCAR AND NOW ADMIRES YOU EVEN MORE AFTER BEING A TEAMMATE, CAN YOU PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE WHAT JIMMIE'S DONE OVER THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS?

"Wow. You know I thought Cale Yarborough was the man, so incredibly determined and everything else. Usually when you're in the middle of it you don't see as well as when you get out and away from it but even in the middle of it you can see what an incredible, shining, bright, hot star Jimmie Johnson is -- incredible talent."

DESCRIBE FOR US HOW QUICKLY DISASTER CAN HAPPEN IN THIS RACE AND WHAT THE FRUSTRATION IS LIKE WHEN THAT HAPPENS.

"This race is a little bit like Talladega as far as something happening in front of you and you can see it clearly and you know what's going to happen but you can't change directions that fast or you can't change the outcome. So you see it coming and it can be very frustrating especially when you have no participation in the accident that happens. You see it and you see it coming and you still aren't able to avoid it and if it happens repeatedly then it really gets frustrating. Of course the heat is really building up right now for everyone especially from sixth to 16th or whatever. So I would expect someone to experience that frustration tomorrow night."

SINCE THE TRACK WAS REDONE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND YOU CAN DO TWO-WIDE RACING HERE, HOW HAS THAT CHANGED THE LEVEL OF AGGRESSION OUT ON THE TRACK?

"It's allowed you to race instead of having to knock somebody and it's brought honor and respect back into the game where it was difficult to live by those principles at the later part of the last few years before it was redone. Now you can do your racing in a more honorable and respectful way. Also, with the way the corners are laid out, you don't want to really have a lot of contact because you can lose control yourself. The laws of physics get you worse now than they did before. So if you're underneath somebody and you bump them with your right front you might spin out. Whereas before you weren't nearly as likely. With self-preservation in mind it also tempers a little bit of the beating and banging."

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview – Sharpie 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
August 18, 2009

1,000 START

Mark Martin will etch his name in the record books this Saturday night when he makes his 1,000th start in a NASCAR-sanctioned, points-paying event. Saturday's Sprint Cup race will be the 746th of Martin's career. He also has competed in 231 Nationwide Series races and 23 Camping World Truck Series events. Martin joins Richard Petty and Michael Waltrip as the only drivers to reach this milestone.

CAREER STATISTICS

Martin has earned 94 NASCAR victories in its three series with 39 Cup, 48 Nationwide and seven Truck series victories. Martin is the winningest driver in Nationwide Series history. He is 17th on the all-time Sprint Cup winner's list and third among active drivers.

FIRST CAREER START

Martin made his first career NASCAR start on April 5, 1981, at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Driving the No. 02 entry for Bud Reeder, Martin started fifth and finished 27th after suffering mechanical issues. Richard Petty won the event, earning his 194th career Cup victory, and Bobby Allison finished second. Darrell Waltrip, Dave Marcis and Harry Gant rounded out the top five.

LAST TIME AT BRISTOL

Martin earned his second pole position of the 2009 season when the Cup series traveled to Bristol last March. He went on to finish sixth, posting the team's first top-10 finish of the young season. The No. 5 team jumped four spots to 31st in the standings after that race and has continued its climb into the top 12, which is the cut-off for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

CHASE RACE

With three races remaining until the Chase, Martin and the No. 5 team are 12th in the standings, 12 points ahead of 13th.

MARTIN AT BRISTOL

Martin has earned eight poles at Bristol, which is double the amount he has earned at any other active track. In his 41 Cup starts at the short track, he has posted two wins, 15 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s.

NO. 5 IN VICTORY LANE

The No. 5 team won the Cup race at Bristol on March 25, 2007, which marked the first victory for the Car of Tomorrow. The win with the Impala SS also marked the 600th victory for Chevrolet and the 200th NASCAR win for Hendrick Motorsports. Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the team has earned one win, two top-five finishes and four top-10s at the short track.

BRISTOL CHASSIS

Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-500 for Saturday's race at Bristol. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a sixth-place finish at Bristol in March.

HENDRICK AT BRISTOL

Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has tallied eight wins, 39 top-five finishes and 70 top-10s in 51 Cup events (155 starts) at the short track.

KELLOGG CARES

In honor of Martin's achievement, Kellogg Company is donating 1,000 pounds of food to the Arkansas Food Bank Network, Inc., which will benefit Martin's hometown of Batesville, Ark.

FEEDING AMERICA

Earlier this year, Kellogg Company donated 3.5 million pounds of cereal, an entire day's production, to Feeding America, the nation's leading hunger relief organization. NASCAR fans can join the fight against hunger by visiting www.kelloggs.com/feedingamerica or www.facebook.com/kelloggscares to donate to the cause. Currently, one in eight Americans is struggling with hunger.

ANOTHER MILESTONE

At Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sept. 27, Martin will make his 750th career Sprint Cup start. Martin will become only the ninth driver to reach this mark in Sprint Cup's 61-year history. In his 745 Cup starts, he has earned 39 victories, 249 top-five finishes and 407 top-10s (almost 55 percent). He has driven 272,794.4 miles in his 27 seasons.

QUOTES

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 POP-TARTS/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON MAKING HIS 1,000TH NASCAR START)

"I honestly didn't know this milestone was coming until I had a few reporters bring it up lately. Wow. That's a lot of races. I didn't realize that I was even close to that many. To me, personally, 1,000 starts is not that big of a deal. How many wins I have in those 1,000 starts would be a stat I would be more interested in. Don't get me wrong, I think this is great, but I don't view starting races as a huge accomplishment. I would say the wins, poles, top-five and top-10 finishes in those 1,000 starts are a bigger deal."

MARTIN (ON HIS MEMORIES OF HIS FIRST CAREER NASCAR START)

"I remember that it was sprinkling that day. And it was the first race I've ever been in that the race actually started under caution. I kind of freaked out about it. It was a new experience. While I was circling under yellow, I completely forgot to turn the rear-end cooler on. I guess it didn't hit me that the race was actually starting so I didn't think through turning everything on. I never turned it on, and I ended up burning up the rear end during the race. I was happy that we had qualified fifth for that first start, but I wasn't real impressed with the way we performed all day. I wanted to run in four more races that year, and I knew I still had a lot to learn."

MARTIN (ON WHAT HE BELIEVES HAS SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED IN HIS 999 STARTS)

"There's so much. That's such a difficult answer because it's just my opinion. I think the drivers themselves are one of the biggest differences that I have personally seen. The competition has gotten much more difficult. Back then, there were about 12 really good teams. Now there are probably 40. The attention that the sport has gotten has grown about 10 times over. The media coverage. The fan support. Everything has grown so much. But nothing has changed how I feel about the sport. I think, back then, my job was to race cars, and of course now there are more responsibilities than just on-track. A lot has changed in 27 years. I can't pick any one that was bigger than another."

MARTIN (ON HOW DRIVERS HAVE CHANGED FROM HIS FIRST RACE TO HIS 1,000TH)

"I can't really compare them. The way I've viewed drivers, both then and now, is through my own eyes. It's hard today to recognize who will be heroes 20 years from now. When I first started, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison, those guys were already heroes in my eyes. Now I can't really tell you anything about the drivers. I'm blinded by the competition and by everything else we're doing right now. I have different view of drivers now than I did when I started racing. And I'm sure, 20 years from now I'll have a different view then, too."

MARTIN (ON HIS MOST MEMORABLE RACE)

"For me, personally, I've had a lot of important wins. This year's Phoenix win was a big one to me. I just didn't really know if I'd have more wins, so that one just meant a lot to me. I've said all along, and I'll still say, that you don't get to choose the races that you win -- if you're lucky, you just get to win. I've given my best to all 999 races and made decisions in each of those that I thought were the best at the time. I wouldn't change a thing."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 POP-TARTS/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON MARK MARTIN MAKING HIS 1,000TH START)

"I think Mark is an incredible person and an incredible race car driver. I don't even know if saying that does him justice. The 1,000th start is a huge accomplishment. But I would go farther to say that he's the only guy that's started 1,000 races and been competitive in all of them. There are not many people who can say they've done that. He operates at such a high level and runs so well. I look at his history, through clippings and articles when he was 19 years old and dominating short tracks and dirt tracks and ASA and up through the ranks. The guy is just amazing. In my opinion, I don't know of anybody who has done more in racing than he has. There are obviously people on his level – Jeff Gordon, Steve Kinser, Tony Stewart for what all he's done is so many different types of cars – but I think that Mark is one of the very, very few with his credentials, talents and abilities. I don't think he gets enough credit for what he does and how good he is. He's not real flashy. Everyone respects him, but he's not someone who is always in the spotlight. He's classy. He's quiet and does his job. And I think he does it better than about anybody."

GUSTAFSON (ON BRISTOL BEING A WILD CARD)

"I don't think it is. The races left are all scary. The double-file restarts will be a little concerning at Bristol. But that track races really good. If you have a good car and good driver -- as long as you're smart about it -- then you can make your way through the field. I want to focus on getting the car good. I know Mark (Martin) will do his part. If we've got a good car, we'll be in good shape."

GUSTAFSON (ON WHAT A CREW CHIEF CAN CONTROL AT BRISTOL)

"I think you enable yourself by having a fast car, a good qualifying position, a good pit stall, good track position, good strategy and a good pit crew. Yes, things can get out of your hands. If you qualify 18th, and you get in a wreck, was that out of your hands or not? No, it wasn't. You might be 18th and the guy in 16th wrecked. But if you had qualified 14th, you wouldn't have been in it. I do think that circumstances play in, but you can't let that consume you. Ultimately you have more control over the situation than you think you do. If you qualify good, have a good pit stall and have a good car. Bad things can happen, but I think you can minimize that by doing your job, and that's what I like to focus on. If you do a good job, then your risks are less."

Mark finishes 31st in Carfax 400

Mark Martin was fastest during the Carfax 400 Happy Hour with a 181.717 mph lap.

Mark Martin Post Qualifying Notes and Quotes - Carfax 400
GM Racing
August 14, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, QUALIFIED 2ND:

"All I know is that scared me to death. Way too loose. I rubbed the wall coming to take the green and I can't hardly talk right now. Pretty loose. I was so loose I was scared to get in to turns three and four easy so I just went in too hard I cause I figured it would make it push for a little while at least. I think that is finally where I made my time up."

Mark Martin Post Qualifying Interview< - Carfax 400
GM Racing
August 14, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS QUALIFIED 2ND

DOES THIS PLACE REALLY TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY? CAN YOU COMPARE IT TO CHARLOTTE OR ATLANTA?

MARTIN: "This place is easy to drive, but my car wasn't (laughs). Like I told (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson), you tried to kill me but I'm not mad at you (more laughter). Our car was pretty good. We qualified 32nd last race here. We were too tight. We made a plan or a pact. We did the same thing at Texas when we qualified poorly and were too tight. We made a pact between ourselves that we might be too loose, but that wouldn't happen to us again. So, I only had a brief conversation after our last run in the car and then I'm said I'm leaving, and I'm going to clear my head. I don't want to talk about it; I don't want to know. You know what to do. So I didn't think about how loose the car was going to be. I just strapped in it and found out when I hit the corner. And it worked out okay. I would never do it again. Next time, when we get to Texas, I'm not even going to think about it until I strap in and hit the first corner for qualifying because he better do it to me again because that's our plan.

"We'll keep digging. I'm having a lot of fun driving these cars and trying to keep up with you (Juan Pablo Montoya) man, you make an old man run hard. We'll see. We're having fun. Hopefully we'll have a car that can contend again on Sunday maybe if we do things right."

IS QUALIFYING ONE TIME WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT POINTS? YOU CAN JUST GET ONE FAST LAP IN?

MARTIN: "That's exactly what I was trying to say, too. At Indy, I made it through (Turn) 1, made it through (Turn) 2 and made it through (Turn) 3. And then when I looked at Turn 4, I saw this picture of my car on the wrecker right before I got to that corner. I couldn't see if there was any damage on the car or not because I didn't have a lot of time to look at the car, but I did see my car on the hook, okay? So that doesn't help your day like Juan said. If you do that, you can still win. We won from 32nd last time here but you know, you're making it hard on yourself. Qualifying is part of it. And it's a competition just like the race is. Everybody wants to do as good in every single competition that they can as well."

ON NIGHT RACING AT BRISTOL:

MARTIN: "It's mostly beneficial for the fans. It's always been one of the coolest races that we do on the circuit. A lot of it has to do with the night atmosphere and the way the cars look lit up. It's like you're at a high school football game. It's just all that. The racing itself is not that much different, I don't think, for the competitors. But it's really a cool thing for the fans and all.

Mark Martin Friday Media Visit
GM Racing
August 14, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed returning to MIS following win in June, not getting caught up in stress of the Chase, success over 50 years old for himself, Ron Hornaday and other athletes, driver conditioning, the economy and other topics.

GIVE US YOUR THOUGHTS ON COMING FROM 32ND TO WIN THE RACE BACK IN JUNE.

"You know the deal is that it's nice to start in the front, but you don't have to. You do the best you can with what you have to work with. Last time here we qualified 32nd. We didn't want to, but we did and we worked with what we had to work with."

DOES THAT PLAY WITH YOUR MIND THAT YOU ARE WAY BACK IN THE FIELD AND YOU HAVE YOUR WORK CUT OUT FOR YOU?

"Every day is a competition. With qualifying, I don't like to lose qualifying. And you know, I felt like I lost. Being 32nd with a car that is capable of doing what our car is capable of doing was.........I was embarrassed. But, somebody has to start 32nd every week and it was us, last time here."

YOU SAID YOU WERE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE POINTS, BUT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS OF BEING IN THE TOP-12 AND THE POINTS BEING SO TIGHT?

"Just not getting caught up into it. You know, it would be nice to be locked in but it's also nice to be contending to get in. It would be a lot worse if you were back and didn't have a shot at it.

So with our race team and the performance we have had on the race track, you know, all we have got to do is go out and race and if things go against us, we can't help that. But the performance of the race team certainly makes me comfortable. There's things you can't control that I'm not going to stay awake at night worrying about."

DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON ATLANTA NOT BEING IN THE CHASE THIS YEAR, AND CALIFORNIA BEING IN THE CHASE?

"No I haven't even thought about it. Just you know, everybody gets a little too caught up in all this points stuff. You know, we still race every weekend. And it's really fun to win and that is what I am trying to do. To have fun, win some races, drive for a great race team and we're doing that.

Whatever the schedule is..........I'm not going to stress about it. Where we are going next week, I'm not going to stress about it. I'm happy to be driving fast stuff and working with a great race team."

DID YOU USED TO STRESS ABOUT IT AND YOU HAVE JUST LEARNED OVER THE YEARS NOT TO STRESS ABOUT IT?

"I used to stress about everything and I stress about plenty now. But I am not going to get caught up in the points. I've told you guys that to start with.

I can't help if we have a flat tire, or we get caught up in a wreck, or a part breaks, or if rain comes at an inopportune time. I can't help that. So I'm not going to stay awake at night or stress about that, because I'm having too much fun."

ARE WE GOING TO SEE PEOPLE WHO RUN WELL HERE AND AT ATLANTA, RUN WELL IN THE CHASE AND IS IT TOO LATE TO MAKE GAINS?

"Most likely if they are a 30th place car at those two tracks, they are going to be a 30th place car at Bristol too. So if you are running good, you pretty much run good everywhere, and if you are running bad, you pretty much run bad everywhere and to be real honest with you, almost everyone that is vying for a Chase spot runs good everywhere and it's really about things that you can't control that are the determining factors."

DO YOU SEE FOLKS WHO ARE IN THE TOP-FIVE AS HAVING AN ADVANTAGE TO BEING LOCKED IN THE CHASE BECAUSE THERE IS NO TESTING AND IT'S SO HARD TO CATCH UP?

"I don't know. I'm just out here racing man. Having fun."

WOULD YOU BE WORRIED IF YOU WEREN'T GETTING TOP-TEN FINISHES HEADING INTO THE CHASE?

"Yes, if your intentions were to win the championship (laughs). You look at Juan Pablo Montoya and the way they have been running the last few races, I would say they have a shot at winning the championship. You wouldn't have said that six weeks ago.

It's all a cycle. Everybody goes good for a while and then don't go good. Its only ten races. You only have to put a roll together for ten. And anyone that gets in the Chase is capable of putting that roll together."

GIVEN WHAT YOU ARE DOING, AND WHAT RON HORNADAY IS DOING IN THE TRUCK SERIES AND WHAT TOM WATSON DID IN THE BRITISH OPEN, ARE YOU GUYS MAKING 50 THE NEW 40?

"I don't know. I feel 25 when we win, but I feel 75 the next morning. So I don't know. It kind of balances itself out I think. Sometimes you feel pretty good and sometimes you don't. We're just out here doing what we love."

DOES IT JUST COME DOWN TO STILL HAVING THE PASSION? "You know, things change as you age and for me I have had good fortune from the racing standpoint to not have the passion not diminish any or the willingness to do what it takes to be the very best you can possibly be. So those are a couple of the things that have really helped me.

DO YOU FEEL MORE BUMPS AND BRUISES NOW THAN YOU DID TWENTY YEARS AGO?

"No, but I do feel stiffer and stuff but from crashes, bumps and bruises.........no."

ON HOW MUCH A DRIVER GETS BEATEN UP DRIVING THROUGHOUT THE SEASON.

"That varies. It varies on the kinds of hits you take. For me, you take that shot and you wear that shot for a while. Someday fortunately that goes away. But the wear and tear of just the burnout is actually bigger and is a bigger deal than the bumps and bruises. Some things linger for a long, long time. But a lot of the stuff goes away in a month or so.

"Jeff (Gordon) is experiencing a problem that lasts years, not months. And you know, I have been through that and many other drivers have been through that as well. They last a lot longer, especially the lower back problems."

HOW MUCH DO YOU TALK WITH JEFF GORDON ABOUT THOSE LOWER BACK PROBLEMS?

"Only a little. His problem is different than mine. That we have determined, so I don't have the world's greatest advice. I'm not an expert about his problem, I'm an expert about my problem. (Laughs)."

DO SOME THINGS DEVELOP OVER THE YEARS THAT ARE CHRONIC?

"I don't know if it's you know, who knows. It's all I have done since 1974. It's all I have done. I don't know how much my problems that I have today have to do with the racing and how much have to do with being 50. It would be hard for me to answer."

THERE ARE A FEW DRIVERS IN THE CHASE THAT DON'T HAVE A WIN. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR IF YOU DON'T HAVE A WIN? AND DO YOU THINK CARL EDWARDS WITHOUT A WIN; IS STILL A THREAT TO WIN THIS THING?

"Anybody that makes the Chase can win the Chase. It only takes a ten race roll. The guys that look like today they could do that are obviously Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson but everybody in it can. It doesn't matter. Those wins, you saying that word, you don't need them.

I don't know how to explain it to you but it doesn't matter. If you are in the Chase you can win the Chase. Because you haven't run the races yet and after the races are all over with and someone out performs you ten times then you can't win. But until they do, everyone in it is capable of putting together a roll that would do that.

I think the year that Kurt Busch won it; it was a little bit like that. He was on much more of a roll than he was prior to the Chase beginning. And that is what it took."

ON JIMMIE JOHNSON SAYING THAT SOMEONE WILL HAVE TO WIN A RACE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

"Anything can happen. What do you think is going to happen? I think it will be multiple wins. What could happen? Anything. It can be done."

ON WHETHER THE DRIVERS ARE DRIVING THIS CAR MUCH HARDER THAN THE OLD CAR BECAUSE IT'S SAFER?

"I don't really think so. I don't think that is it. I think they are driving harder, but I don't think it's because of the car, the safety of the car, or anything like that. It's because it's what you have to do. You just have to do that, you have to do that today."

WHY IS THAT?

"It's because if everybody does it, you have to do it or you are left out."

IS IT BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY, ARE SOME GUYS DRIVING TO SAVE THEIR CAREER AND TO KEEP SPONSORS?

"There are all different factors of why people drive like they do. It always has been and always will be. Some people drive over their head because they are about to lose their job and some drive over their head because they haven't learned to do that yet and every the scenario under the sun.

Some drive hard because they are broke and some drive hard because they want more. There are all different ways and all different reasons why people do what they do so I don't think you can determine and boil it down to one thing.

The competition is more fierce than it's ever been and you have to drive hard and if you don't drive hard, all the guys that do are going to drive by you because their cars are about as good as yours is."

SO YOU DON'T FEEL MORE BULLET PROOF BEHIND THE WHEEL AS YOU USED TO WITH THE OLDER CAR?

"I don't. But you are only talking to one of 43 though. I know I don't. I feel the same. I don't want to wreck anymore now than I used to."

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Race Preview - Carfax 400
Michigan International Speedway
August 11, 2009

RETURNING VICTOR: Mark Martin won the June NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in dramatic fashion. He conserved enough fuel to outlast the first- and second-place cars and improved from the third position to lead the final lap on his way to Victory Lane. The win was his fifth at the two-mile track, which is the most for the veteran driver at any racetrack.

MARTIN AT MICHIGAN: Martin will make his 48th Cup start at Michigan this Sunday. In his 47 previous races there, he has earned five wins, 17 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s. Surprisingly, Martin, who has 45 career Sprint Cup pole positions, has not earned the pole for a Cup race at the speedway. Martin has led a total of 883 laps at MIS.

FOUR WINS: Martin's four wins are the most for any Cup driver thus far in the 2009 season. This Sunday's race at Michigan marks the first track Martin will return to where he has won previously this year.

THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST team has competed in seven races at Michigan International Speedway, earning its first win at the track in June. The team has earned one top-five finish and three top-10s at the speedway with Gustafson at the helm.

CHASE RACE: With four races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, Martin and the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team are 11th in the Sprint Cup standings, 89 points ahead of 13th.

MICHIGAN CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-550 for Sunday's race at Michigan. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a runner-up finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month. HENDRICK AT MICHIGAN: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has scored five wins, 35 top-five finishes, 66 top-10s and has led 1,710 laps at Michigan. Martin drove the No. 5 Chevrolet to score Hendrick Motorsports' fifth win at the two-mile oval on June 14.

APPROACHING MILESTONE: On Aug. 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Martin will make his 1,000th career NASCAR start. That date will mark his 746th Sprint Cup race. Martin also has competed in 231 Nationwide and 23 Camping World Truck series events. He is the third driver to achieve this mark, behind only Richard Petty and Michael Waltrip. Across all three series, Martin has won 93 points-paying events.

AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING: At Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sept. 27, Martin will make his 750th career Sprint Cup start. Martin will become only the ninth driver to reach this mark in NASCAR's 61-year history. In his 743 Cup starts, he has earned 39 victories, 249 top-five finishes and 407 top-10s (almost 55 percent). He has driven 272,794.4 miles during his 27-year career.

WIND TUNNEL: Martin will be a guest on "Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain," which will air Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on SPEED.

QUOTES:

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON HIS JUNE WIN AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.): "The win at Michigan was like, 'Wow! Did we really win this?' It all happened really fast and normally fuel mileage just doesn't work out for me. We had qualified pretty bad that weekend, and I was worried how it was all going to go. But the guys dug deep on Saturday, and I knew we had a fast race car. Not racing the (Nos.) 48 and the 16 there at the end was tough. I knew our car was good enough, but Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) kept the big picture in mind, and it was exactly the right call."

MARTIN (ON THE TIGHT POINTS BATTLE.): "In my head, I'm always 13th. I'm always on the outside looking in. I don't ever want to get comfortable or think we're safe. You can't count on that until the end of the race at Richmond (Va.). We had a rough weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.). We didn't expect that, and that's why you can't get comfortable. One race and you're right back there fighting to stay in. These guys deserve to be in the Chase. This is a team capable of really big things, and I know they'll feel like they didn't get that shot if we don't make it. So I'm going to do everything that I can to get in there. And I know they're doing everything they can, too."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON THE LAST MICHIGAN RACE): "The biggest thing that stands out in my mind about the last race is we didn't qualify very well at all, and it was the track that we had high hopes going in to. We struggled on Friday and qualified 32nd. So we went back and worked really hard Friday night and Saturday morning and got the car in race trim. It was really good from then on. We had a really fast car in practice and a really fast car in the race. Mark was able to drive up to the front. After the last pit stop we started third or fourth, and we really never got a chance to go, we just had to save gas and go as fast as we could and still save enough fuel to make it to the end. The last lap was really exciting, and we hated to see Jimmie (Johnson) have those problems and run out of fuel, but (Greg) Biffle ran out, too, and we won. So it was a real whirlwind, and it was an exciting day. Winning is awesome, and the thing that makes me feel good about going back is just that the car was really good throughout the race."

GUSTAFSON (ON LAST-LAP WINS OR DOMINATING WINS BEING MORE EXCITING.): "I think Michigan was more exciting, but I don't know that it was more rewarding or more special. I think it's exciting because you're just like, 'Man, it happens all at once.' But with Chicago you prepare yourself or you realize early on in the race, 'Man, we can really win this race.' Where Michigan, I knew we could win it, but we didn't know how realistic that was. So it happens a lot quicker and a lot more suddenly. They are all very rewarding to win. They're so hard to win. Even at Chicago, we had such a good car, you go through so much to win, and you really appreciate it when you can. It's really special."

GUSTAFSON (ON HOW THE NO. 5 TEAM OUTLASTED THE NOS. 48 AND 16 ON FUEL LAST TIME.): "We knew we couldn't go wide-open, full speed, and make it on gas. So then you say to yourself, 'OK, do you feel like you are going to get some cautions? Do you prepare to go the whole way if it goes green?' And that's what we chose to do. We chose to be conservative from the get-go, get clear of traffic, and then run only as fast as we had to in order to keep the leaders in sight and to keep the drivers behind us, behind us. And Mark did a great job over that run to do it and did it perfectly. We ran out off of (Turn) 4. You couldn't have timed that any better. He got as much speed out of it with using the exact right amount of fuel. And the (No.) 48 was in a position where they didn't really have to be as conservative as we did because we were more concerned about points than they were. So they were going hard for the win. If they wouldn't have done that, than they wouldn't have pushed the (No.) 16 so hard, too. And I know the (No.) 16 had to use more gas than he wanted to use, too. So, that worked out for us."

GUSTAFSON (ON IF HE PREPARES FOR A FUEL-MILEAGE EVENT AT MICHIGAN.): "You prepare for it everywhere. Some places you put more effort into it than others. Michigan is a track that you would consider definitely putting fuel mileage at the top of your list. Michigan, Pocono, road courses, Indy, Loudon -- those are tracks that come to mind right away. You just make sure you've got the fuel system to max capacity and your mileage is as good as possible."

Mark finishes 23rd at the Heluva Good! At The Glen.

Mark Martin Media Visit – Watkins Glen
August 7, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGGS’ IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Watkins Glen International and discussed racing at The Glen, Jimmie Johnson, having a road course in the Chase and other topics.

WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK THIS WEEKEND?

It’s good to be back to the Glen. It’s been about three years, so I’m pretty excited about it. To me this is the superspeedway of road course racing so it should be fun. I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to get out on the race track and get started."

YOU WERE A PROMINENT ROAD RACER AT ONE TIME, AS WAS JEFF GORDON. WHY IS IT THAT GUYS HAVE DOMINANCE ON ROAD COURSES AND THEN LOSE DOMINANCE ON ROAD COURSES? AND DOES YOUR TEAMMATE JIMMIE JOHNSON NEED A ROAD COURSE WIN TO SORT OF COMPLETE HIS RESUME AND WHAT DO YOU SEE OF HIM AS A ROAD COURSE RACER WHEN YOU SEE HIM OUT THERE?

"Let’s start with Jimmie Johnson. You know hey he’s the guy that I call Superman and I don’t think Superman needs a road course win to complete that. He doesn’t have to win a road course to continue to be Superman in my book. He’s fast. He’s fast on a road course. But that’s okay and we’ll push him any way. We’ll push him to do that and he is very competitive and I think it’s one of those matter-of-time-deals when everything has to line up just right.

"You know, to answer your question about why you get hot for a while and then not so hot, you know, I don’t know. We just hit on something back there in the 90’s and I always ran well on all the road courses but man we really hit on something that really hauled around this place and was really good and it seemed to continue to just need little tweaks here or there. Not only did we win three in a row, but we ran second maybe the year before to Ernie Irvin and then, you know, things just changed. And you could use the same car and the same stuff and it just wasn’t quite as sharp as it was for a while. So then you built new cars and you tried new stuff and that didn’t seem quite as sharp on the race tracks either.

"So sometimes it’s just hard to explain. The difference between being good and superior is obviously hard to find (laughs) or everybody would be superior and no one would be able to dominate again. So it’s just a matter of hitting something that seems to really work and will work for a while and then the evolution of the car, the tracks, the paving and all that stuff will kind of diminish that and you have to find something else that works."

ON HOW TOP-OF-THE LINE BRAKES PLAY A BIG PART IN THE NEW CARS AT THE ROAD COURSES.

"You know back in the day I think there was more room for improvement in the brake packages and therefore you could move forward on the competition sometimes. But I think right now it’s come to the level where it’s hard to have a lot more significant package than another team.

"But they work as where you can take this package sometimes and put on this car and they work so much better than if you take that package and put on another car. And obviously if we had that figured out it would be the same every time too but we don’t have that figured out and so it’s a moving target as well.

You put the best products on the car that you are aware of and you adjust your car the best that you can to do all the things, turn the corners and stop and you do the best you can and place it in competition and you drive it to the best of your ability and when it’s all over with, you think about next time and what will I do next time to try to improve on some of these areas that we need to improve on. And that is just the only way that I know how to address it."

ON THOUGHTS ABOUT GOING TO MICHIGAN NEXT WEEK AND DOUBLE-FILE RESTARTS AT A WIDE TRACK.

"I think about Michigan and I think, ahhhhh that will be fun. It’s always been a great race track and our car ran really well up there the first race. It’s a comfortable race track and it will be much more comfortable on the restarts than last week was or than this week will be.

"That’s the biggest thing that you want to do is to sort of control the circumstances around you and that race track puts you in a position to do that very well. And so to me that will be pure racing with more pure predictable outcomes on what happens on restarts and all those kinds of things. This one......(Watkins Glen) not so predictable."

ON HOW MUCH BETTER THE RANK AND FILE SPRINT CUP SERIES DRIVERS ARE ON ROAD COURSES NOW THAN THEY WERE SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

"Significantly. You know, I took to road course racing very quickly and Jack Roush asked all the right questions of me. Instead of trying to tell me what to do, he would just casually ask me about this, and ask me about that and it made me think about the things that I needed to be thinking about in road course racing. So he was a big help in that respect.

"My point is that it was much easier to put a whipping on two-thirds of the field then than it is today. That’s because the whole field has pretty much the same access to all the knowledge that I do or that we do and the drivers have all really stepped up to the plate.

"So what that means is that there is more movement on the race track. Its more competitive but you see less passing because everybody is closer to the same speed than they used to be so you actually see probably less passing because the cars are so good and the drivers are all so good at it today."

ON HOW MUCH YOU HAVE ENJOYED THE SUCCESS IN YOUR FIRST YEAR BACK IN FULL TIME SPRINT CUP SERIES COMPETITION AND WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO GET TO VICTORY LANE AT WATKINS GLEN.

"Man it would just be so incredible to win here, but it’s just beyond my dreams. This year has been beyond my dreams. It’s so incredibly grateful to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and to Rick Hendrick, and to all our sponsors and especially my race team, and to all the fans for their support and this year has just exceeded my wildest dreams."

ON HOW CLOSE THE POINTS ARE AND HOW YOU CAN HAVE A TOP TEN RUN AND STILL LOSE POSITIONS.

"Well, that’s true, but if we can continue to finish where we run we will be fine. It’s those uncontrolled things that can get you and our performance is really good right now and we feel really good about that right now, but we can’t control if we get a punctured tire, or a broken part but even more than that is if you look at Jeff Burton I think five out of the last six races he has been in accidents and that is Jeff Burton – a guy that doesn’t get in wrecks. So anything can happen and it is really really close, and it is going to be very interesting. And the race to make the Chase is definitely more stressful when you are in that position than the race for the championship. The race for the championship means you are in it, and the race for the Chase, you aren’t in it and you are fighting and scratching to even have a chance. And once you get the chance you place your stuff in competition and you do the very best and that’s that. But you don’t want to be excluded especially when you feel like that your team has performed on a level where you feel they should be in there so for about six to eight teams out there it’s going to be sort of a tense time the next five races especially about the conditions that you can’t control.

"I think most of the guys feel pretty good about their performance. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know we do."

ON THE 2010 SCHEDULE AND ANY CHANGES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON IT.

"I really don’t care what they do with the Chase schedule. I really should keep my mouth shut about what my preferences are about races because first of all they are skewed because of being a competitor so I have got blinders on because what I might like to see might not be the best thing for the sport or for the fans so I probably should just keep my mouth shut.

"There are certainly race tracks that aren’t my favorite or whatever but you go to a race track that wasn’t one of your favorites and you have a great run and you leave there and say, ‘gosh that wasn’t so bad after all was it?’ Or you go there and you have a bad run and you say, ‘gosh I hate this place.’

"I pretty much just leave it to NASCAR because they are the ones that had the vision to bring us to where we are today and if I had been in charge I would have messed it up for sure."

DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD MOVE TO ADD A THIRD ROAD RACE TO THE NSCS CALENDAR LIKE THE NATIONWIDE SERIES?

"I just think then you would add even more extensive expenses to the race teams because then they would add expenditures to make sure they were even better at road racing. I really feel like the oval track racing is our forte and I have always been a supporter of having road course racing on the schedule but I would not necessarily be a supporter of the expansion of that.

I think that our specialty is oval track racing is working and we should stick with what is working well."

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview – Heluva Good! At The Glen
Watkins Glen International
August 4, 2009

GOING FOR FOUR: Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, is a three-time winner at Watkins Glen International. The 50-year-old driver started from the pole position and won the road course event three years in a row (1993-95). He led a combined 183 laps during his wins.

MARTIN AT THE GLEN: In 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen, Martin has earned three victories, three poles, 12 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s. He has led 204 laps and has completed all but four laps attempted. He holds an average start of 8.1 and average finish of 6.9 at the upstate New York road course.

ROAD COURSE RETURN: Martin has not competed at Watkins Glen since 2006 when he started and finished 20th. Martin drove a part-time schedule in 2007 and 2008, and the Glen was not on his docket either year.

TOTAL ROAD COURSE EXPERIENCE: In his 27-year Sprint Cup career, Martin has competed in a total of 42 road course events: 19 at Infineon Raceway, 19 at Watkins Glen and four at now-defunct Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. In those 42 starts, he has earned four victories, scoring each one from the pole position. He also has recorded a combined 20 top-five finishes and 32 top-10s, while leading 365 laps.

THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST team has earned two top-10 finishes in four Cup events at Watkins Glen. The team earned its best finish -- seventh -- at the road course with Gustafson in 2007.

CHASE RACE: With his seventh-place finish at Pocono Raceway, Martin ranks 10th in the Sprint Cup standings. He trails fifth place by just 91 points.

ROAD COURSE CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-550 for Sunday's race at the Glen. This is the same chassis that Martin raced at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., in June. It also was tested at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., in June.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Gustafson will be 34 years old on Wednesday. He shares a birthday with fellow Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus. Gustafson and Knaus have combined to earn seven of Hendrick Motorsports' eight wins this season. According to the science of numerology, people born on the 5th "perform best under pressure." As Leos in the astrological horoscopes, both men are said to be "strong, intelligent and ambitious leaders."

HENDRICK AT THE GLEN: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, has scored six wins, 17 top-five finishes and 30 top-10s in 24 Cup events at Watkins Glen. Tim Richmond forecast success for Hendrick Motorsports by winning the organization's first WGI event on Aug. 10, 1986.

APPROACHING MILESTONE: On Aug. 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Martin will make his 1,000th career NASCAR start. That date will mark his 746th Sprint Cup race. Martin also has competed in 231 Nationwide Series and 23 Camping World Truck Series events. He is the third driver to achieve this mark, behind only Richard Petty and Michael Waltrip. Across all three series, Martin has won 93 points-paying events.

QUOTES

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET (ON WHY HE HAS HAD MORE SUCCESS AT WATKINS GLEN THAN AT SONOMA.): "It is the superspeedway of road courses, and Sonoma is the Martinsville (Va.) of road courses, so to speak. Let's say it like this: I think that 1.5-mile racetracks are my strong suit, and the Glen is an intermediate, bigger track. It's like a superspeedway road course. I like the higher speeds. I feel a lot more comfortable going back to the Glen than I did going to Sonoma earlier this year."

MARTIN (ON HIS EXPECTATIONS FOR THE RACE WEEKEND AT WATKINS GLEN.): "I'm a little bit concerned because we didn't handle well in Sonoma. So I'm a little concerned, but I think we'll do better this time. They're not the same racetracks. I can't imagine going to the Glen and struggling with handling like we did at Sonoma."

Martin's renaissance comes to The Glen
By Chris Gill
The Corning Leader
August 6, 2009

Watkins Glen, N.Y. - Mark Martin is 59 points away from getting knocked out of the Chase for the Championship with only five races left before the playoffs start. While most of the Chase contenders are pulling their hair out of their heads trying to make in or stay in the playoff hunt, Martin is all smiles.

That’s what perspective does for a person.

At age 50, Martin has a Sprint Cup Series-leading four race victories after three winless seasons, four pole positions (more than he’s had in one season since 1996) and 11 top-10 finishes after coming out of semi-retirement.

“You have to understand, I can't relive 1998 or 1990 or any of those. Those are sort of distant memories. This is the best to me, the best ever,” Martin said last weekend at Pocono Raceway. “I'm living the moment, too, I'm living it every day. I never imagined that I could be having this much fun or having this much success or be this happy out here racing every week.”

Certainly a change of scenery has something do with Martin’s outlook.

This season Martin rounded Rick Hendrick’s all-star lineup of drivers, replacing Casey Mears in the No. 5 Impala SS. Joining crew chief Alan Gustafson, who launched Kyle Busch’s career, revived the career of one of NASCAR’s most respected drivers – in the garage and in the grandstands. Having fast cars certainly helps, but so does two years of rest and a little reflection.

“When I was 30 years old, or 35 years old, I thought this would never end. In 1990 when we turned up second in the points and missed the championship by 26 points and we had gotten a 46-point penalty, it was no big deal because I knew there going to be more. You understand now?” Martin said. “I could see no end to all this. At this stage in my career I understand that the opportunity for me to win four races in a half a season, there’s probably not 20 more years of that. I understand this won’t last forever and this is the best it’s ever been for me. I’m at the best place in my life mentally, physically, emotionally that I’ve ever been, and by the way, I’m having the most fun and getting as good of results as I ever have. I’m willing to work as hard as it takes to continue that and to stay at the level I’m at.”

The rookie from the American Speed Association put the then-Winston Cup Series on notice in his first few outings, taking two pole positions in five attempts with two top-10 finishes with a shade tree operation. In 1982 he raced the full season before finances ran out, and a bout with alcoholism forced him to compete only 22 times over the next three years. Cleaned up in 1988, Jack Roush hired Martin to help transition from sports car racing to NASCAR.

Nineteen years later, Martin had 35 career victories, 39 pole positions and four agonizing second-place finishes in the championship – the cruelest in 1990 when his team was penalized 46 points for an illegal carburetor, losing the title to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points. By the end of his employ with Roush, Martin was 47 years old, burned out and ready to devote his attention to the racing career of his son, Matt.

“In 2005 and 2006, I was really, really burned out. I was in a position emotionally and physically where I was drained. Although I still had great passion for racing, it wasn’t like it is now,” Martin said. “I had a chance for two years, I took 24 weekends off and had a chance to do all the things I wanted to do, get rested and everything and now there’s no place in the world I’d rather be this weekend than Pocono. Whereas maybe two or three years ago, I might have been thinking, ‘Boy I wish I was on a beach somewhere.’ That’s pretty much where I’m at.”

He stayed sharp driving a part-time schedule for teams owned by Bobby Ginn and Teresa Earnhardt (the two merged operations between the 2007 and 2008 seasons) and enjoyed sporadic success before agreeing to drive for Gustafson’s No. 5 team this season. The No. 5 team, like Martin, enjoyed small victories, but hadn’t been relevant in a championship fight since Terry Labonte’s rebirth in the 1990s.

The Martin-Gustafson pairing has resulted in as many wins as the team enjoyed in three seasons, combined, and more than in any one season since Hendrick made his initial splash in stock car racing in 1984 with Geoff Bodine in the No. 5 car. Gustafson brings the mechanical know-how (he won the first-ever Car of Tomorrow race with Kyle Busch in 2007) and Martin brings the obvious talent and perspective.

“I'm exploiting every strength, all my strengths, to the max. I can't do a whole lot more with my shortcomings,” Martin said with a laugh. “Rather than focusing on my shortcomings right now, I’m focusing on my strengths. My training has been huge, nutrition, health and fitness have played a huge part in it, but that's not all of it. Somehow or another, I've managed to stay hungry and have that fire and desire that I had from the very start, if not more – fueled by knowing that I can see somewhere out there, the end of this. I want to make the most of it while I can. Having a blast.”

Following last weekend’s 11th top-10 finish of the season and third straight, Martin comes to Watkins Glen International, where his feat of three straight wins from pole position (from 1993-95) has never been duplicated at The Glen. In 19 starts at The Glen, Martin has an average finish of 6.9 with an amazing 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes with zero DNFs. Only Tony Stewart’s average finish of 5.7 is better at the 2.45-mile natural terrain road course.

That bodes well for Martin’s team, which has to stay in the top 12 of the driver standings for five more races until the Chase for Championship begins in September. All they have to do for Sunday’s Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at The Glen is avoid pitfalls like engine failures at California and Las Vegas or pack crashes like the one at Talladega at the 400-miler at Daytona.

The only thing you can’t call into question is Martin’s desire.

“What ever it takes, I’m willing to do. I’m not trying to skate along here and ride this thing out. I’m all in, everything I’ve got is in,” he said. “Your attitude has a lot to do with whether or not you’re having fun. You do the same thing with a good attitude and have a blast or you can have a bad attitude and do the same thing and be miserable. All those things are really working in my favor right now.”

Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
GM Racing
August 3, 2009

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CHEEZ-IT/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, FINISHED 7TH:

"Just a hard fought day for us. Our team dug in and we fought it. We had a good car. We could have finished worse, but could have done better with it. It was one of those days where we had a few breaks go against us and a few go for us."