M6M's web site dedicated to NASCAR Driver Mark Martin - #6 - AAA - Ford Fusion - Roush Racing

2006 Season Articles - July

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Martin has good idea about Cup Chase
By Harry King - Sports Columnist
Arkansas News Bureau
July 29, 2006

LITTLE ROCK - A NASCAR know-it-all, my source threw up a stop sign when he threw out the word mulligan.

The call was placed because Mark Martin had an idea for scoring the Chase for the Nextel Cup. For a guy in his late 40s who should be dizzy from driving in circles, the Batesville driver made a lot of sense. Points are structured in such a way, Martin said, that a driver who has one way-back finish is in an impossibly deep hole.

A fan for 25 years, my man said almost every one of the drivers who qualifies for the Cup Chase has a mulligan during the final 10 races. In golf, that's a do-over. In a friendly game, they're often free on the first tee. A former president has even more latitude. In some tournaments, you can buy one for a couple of bucks.

In NASCAR, it's something far different and very penal. Last year, in the second of the 10 races, Martin was in an accident on lap 20 and finished 41st in the 43-car field at Talladega. "I didn't even get a sweat worked up," he said.

Martin earned 40 points and eventual Cup winner Tony Stewart picked up 190 for his second-place finish. Trailing by 138 points, Martin couldn't catch up despite a first, two seconds, and a third in the final seven races. He also was hurt by a 34th, worth 61 points, in late October. That same day, Stewart racked up another 190 points. Stewart's "mulligan" was a 25th worth 93 points.

By the time of the 2005 finale in Miami in late November, Stewart was a near lock. Mathematically, only three drivers could catch him and such a result required a huge boo-boo by Stewart. Essentially, all he had to do was to steer clear of the wall and other cars. So, he ran a safe 15th, picked up 118 points and won the big prize.

When it was over, Martin was fourth, 105 points shy of Stewart.

Now, along comes Martin, sixth in current standings, with a suggestion that has moxie and merit. How about a separate points system for the championship-eligible drivers in the final 10 races? In other words, if Stewart finishes third and he's the best of the 10, he gets 10 points. If Martin finishes sixth and he's second-best of the 10, he gets nine points. If Jimmie Johnson is last, he still gets one point.

"If it's about entertainment, that would make entertainment," Martin told The Associated Press. "That way you couldn't get buried because you finished 43rd in a race."

Piqued by his suggestion, I figured it was worth a review of the final 10 races of 2005.

In NASCAR, a race winner gets 180 points, plus at least five for leading a lap, and the second-place finisher gets 170 points, more if he was a lap leader. Five points separate second through sixth and four points separate seven through 11. After that, the breakdown is three points per spot.

When the drivers crank up for the final 10 races, the scoring remains the same. For the Cup competition, the 26-race points leader begins with 5050, the next driver with 5045, and on and on.

In Martin's world, if the eligible drivers began the championship races even, it would be a pedal-to-the-metal finish.

In fact, they would have started their engines in Miami with Stewart at 62, Johnson at 59, Carl Edwards at 58, Greg Biffle at 56, and Martin at 54. With such standings, Stewart would have to be very aware of his competition.

As it turned out, Biffle won the final event, Martin was second, Edwards was fourth, Stewart was 15th, and Johnson was 40th. Under the 10-9-8-7 scoring system, Biffle would have finished with 66 points, one better than Stewart and Edwards, two better than Martin and five ahead of Johnson.

My man works Sunday and his wife faithfully records the NASCAR race for his viewing pleasure. If Martin's scoring system had been in place, there would have been a free-for-all on that final Sunday, and he might have called in sick.

Martin Runs to 19th-Place Finish at Pocono
Mark Martin and the #6 AAA Racing Team
Pocono Raceway/July 23, 2006

LONG POND, P.A. – Mark Martin and the No. 6 AAA Race Team fought an uphill battle for most of the weekend at Pocono Raceway. Martin and the team struggled with their No. 6 Ford Fusion on Friday and driving rains forced the cancellation of both of Saturday’s practice sessions, forcing the team to run an untested setup during Sunday’s race. The setup, combined with a solid pit strategy steadily moved Martin through the field, and he found himself moving in on a top-10 finish as the race wound down. However, Martin and the team did not pit after the race's eighth caution. The move backfired with all but one of the cars behind Martin coming in for fresh tires. On the older tires, Martin had his hands full, but he was able to hang on to the top-20 finish.

“That was a tough finish to a pretty good day,” said Martin. “I’m proud of the guys. We had a really bad car on Friday, and we were not able to practice on Saturday, but everyone pulled together and worked really hard and we were able to actually change everything and then work with the car today to get okay.

“The pit strategy really worked for us as well, and Pat (Tryson) did a great job of helping me get track position and putting us in a much better position to get a decent finish. Unfortunately, that last caution kind of fell at a bad time and we didn’t get in the pits and the cars behind us on fresh tires were just too much. Still, I’m really proud of this AAA team and the effort and we’ll look forward to the off weekend and we are really excited about going to Indy.”

Martin started the race 30th after struggling in Friday’s qualifying session. The team made wholesale changes to the car’s setup on Saturday, but were unable to test the changes when both of Saturday’s practice sessions were cancelled due to heavy rainfall. How the car would react to the changes was still a mystery when the green flag fell for Sunday’s race. The car started off tight and pushing in the corners, and Martin fell back to 33rd by the third lap of the race. As the race progressed the car became loose on entry into the corners and tight on the exit.

Running 28th, the team came down pit road to make massive adjustments to the car in hopes of improved handling. The team made its first big move after the race’s second caution on lap 30. With Martin running in the 25th position crew chief Pat Tryson opted to stay out while the majority of the field came down pit road. The strategy moved Martin up to the third position when the field went green on lap 37. While not able to run with the leaders, Martin patiently bode his time through the field, eventually settling in at 15th position. The strategy worked, with Martin eventually gaining 10 places on the move.

Running in 13th position, Martin pitted under green on lap 64 for four tires and fuel. Moments later, the third caution of the day was called on lap 66. Martin again stayed out and restarted in third position. He settled back into 10th place, but this time noticed marked improvement to the car’s handling. Martin and the team then caught a big break on lap 88 when the fifth caution was issued after Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit the wall on the backstretch. All but a handful of cars pitted, putting Martin back on the same sequence as the majority of the field and in solid position at 15th.

The team over-adjusted on the stop however, and Martin’s car became tight on the ensuing run. Running in 13th the team pitted under green on lap 127, taking wedge out of the left rear in hopes of loosening the car’s handling. The adjustment worked and Martin was able to drive all the way to 11th place on the next run. Running in 11th position the team pitted for the fifth time of the day, under caution on lap 151. This time Martin requested no changes and after a 14.26-second stop Martin restarted in 11th. He was able to drive his way into the top 10 and was running in ninth-place when the team pitted for the final time of the day on lap 171; under green. Taking on two tires and fuel, Martin came back out in 15th position, as all the cars in the field had yet to pit.

A caution only eight laps later would prove costly for Martin and the team. Martin was running just on the cusp of the cars that would pit or stay out and after a communication issue in the pits, Martin was forced to stay out. Tryson made a late call to pit, but Martin was past the commitment cone. The majority of the cars behind Martin took four tires and he would have to fight off several cars with fresh tires over the final 17 laps of the race. Martin restarted in 11th position on lap 183, but with the situation, he would be forced to fight tooth and nail for a position in the top 20, eventually holding on to 19th position when the checkered flag fell.

With the finish, Martin dropped one place to sixth in the points. Martin is currently 42 points ahead of seventh place and 95 points ahead of 11th. He trails fifth position by 47 points. The Nextel Cup circuit will take a much deserved week off next weekend, before returning to action in two weeks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400.

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Enterprises which operates 14 motorsports teams; five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, six in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Todd Kluever and Danny O'Quinn, Jr., and two in the Craftsman Truck Series with Martin, David Ragan, Michel Jourdain, Jr. and Erik Darnell.

M6M: Thought I would place this AP article regarding Tony on this page. It needs to be seen by Roush fans, or any NASCAR fan for that matter.

Column: Stewart not following his own advice
By Jenna Fryer
AP Auto Racing Writer
July 24, 2006

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) -- Tony Stewart is many things, but the Emily Post of NASCAR etiquette is most certainly not one of them.

Stewart wants to preach a give-and-take attitude on the race track. Yet when it comes time to practice it, NASCAR's champion only wants to take as much as he can get.

He longs for a garage leader like the late Dale Earnhardt, who made it his job to teach cocky, young drivers a thing or two about respect. But instead of stepping up and adopting Earnhardt's approach, the two-time champion wants to be the judge, jury and executioner on the race track.

That's what he was at Pocono Raceway after rookie Clint Bowyer pinched him into the wall very early into Sunday's race. After waving a menacing fist out his window, Stewart slid back into Bowyer to start a chain-reaction crash that collected Carl Edwards.

After speaking with Bowyer on Monday, Stewart issued an apology.

"I'm taking 100 percent responsibility for the final incident that occurred on lap 32 between myself, (Bowyer) and (Edwards). It was totally my fault," Stewart said in a statement.

"At the same time, there were circumstances that led up to that wreck, and after talking with Clint this morning, we both have a better understanding as to what happened. I reacted, causing the wreck that I take responsibility for and regret."

Stewart's action earned him a one-lap aggressive driving penalty, and it almost certainly eliminated Bowyer and Edwards from championship contention. Both drivers were fighting mad after the race, but Bowyer couldn't get close enough to Stewart to do anything and - much to the dismay of garage insiders - Edwards thought better of it.

"If it weren't for the respect of the sport and the people watching and his team, he'd be out there bleeding right now," fumed Edwards, who was also penalized one lap for his retaliatory spin of Stewart.

If there's one thing that's certain, it's that the portly Stewart doesn't want any part of Edwards and the six-pack abs that landed him on the cover of several magazines.

What's not so clear is who and what Stewart is thinking these days.

As the defending Nextel Cup champion, the platform is Stewart's to do and say what he wants and he's repeatedly used it this season. But his messages are so mixed that he's struggling to keep his audience.

His dire warning at Daytona that someone was going to be killed if NASCAR didn't curb aggressive driving certainly caught everyone's attention, including the sanctioning body, which implemented a policing system.

But Stewart was the very first violator of the new guidelines, intentionally crashing into Matt Kenseth during the season-opening race.

He then spent the first quarter of the season feuding with Kyle Busch, whom he accused of being too wild on the race track and tuning out Stewart's veteran's advice.

And just last week, the driver who wants everyone to give-and-take on the race track refused to give Ryan Newman an inch of space to pass him.

So he says one thing, then stubbornly - and often out of anger - does the other.

"He's one of the best race car drivers I've ever raced against," four-time champion Jeff Gordon said. "The only thing Tony has going against him is he's got a little bit of a temper and sometimes that gets the best of him."

In fairness to Stewart, everything he's angry about is true.

There is little give-and-take on the race track, with drivers fighting fender-to-fender for every position. And NASCAR has shifted its focus toward younger drivers who lack the Cup experience, etiquette and respect for the veterans still out on the track.

Add in the pressure to make the Chase for the championship - the spotlighted 10-race postseason where only the participants matter and everyone else is a nobody - and NASCAR has created a template for aggressive, angry and sometimes desperate driving.

"Right now the pressure is on everybody, and everybody is racing hard," competition director Robin Pemberton said. "We're getting down to a handful of races to make it to the Chase, and the tension level, unfortunately, is high at this point."

So what should Stewart do?

He wants another Earnhardt around, but he's the logical choice to fill that void. He's a winner on and off the track (remember, Stewart gives millions to charity and is revered for his generosity), he's outspoken and has earned the right to be heard.

But he's grown increasingly frustrated of talking all the time and not getting any results.

"I sit down and talk with them all week long, but the thing is they look at you like you got three heads," he said. "They don't pay attention and they don't care."

So he gets angry and does his talking on the race track - and that's not unlike Earnhardt, either. But if Stewart could just stick with one message, and find a consistent way to deliver it, he someday might be able to get his point across.

Until then, he's just a hypocrite.

M6M comments: Way to go Carl Edwards! I'm putting his post race comments here.

Carl Edwards Post Race Notes and Quotes - Pennsylvania 500
Ford Racing: News
July 23, 2006

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion (Finished 39th)

“Man, I’ve got to choose my words carefully. Let me just say this, if it weren’t for respect of the sport and the people watching and his team and everything, he’d be out there bleeding right now. That’s so frustrating. How can a person make it this far in life being that much of a jerk. He ran into Clint (Bowyer). I saw it on the big screen. He turned into Clint and took both him and I out and probably made it just about impossible for us to make the chase, and then when I pull up beside him and wave my hand like, ‘What was that about?’ He gives me the finger. I mean, what a jerk. I don’t even know what to say. It’s amazing to me that someone can be that special.”

HOW FRUSTRATING IS IT BECAUSE YOU LOOKED LIKE A STRONG CONTENDER AT THE START OF THE YEAR.

“There are a lot of things you can’t control and I guess we just have to chalk the driver of that 20 car up as one of them.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT NASCAR PUTTING YOU IN THE PENALTY BOX?

“That was the right thing to do to give us the one lap penalty. What I did wrong there was I put those guys on pit road at risk. I made sure to spin him out so he went to the right, but, still, I shouldn’t have done that on pit road. That was a justified penalty and for that I apologize.”

YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO KICK HIS BUTT ON THE RADIO.

“Yeah. It’s just too bad. There are penalties for everything I guess.”

YOU SEEM TO BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS TYPE OF THING.

“I don’t know. I want to like Tony. He’s a hard racer and all that, but how can you like somebody like that. It’s just amazing. If you hold that guy up, like if he thinks you held him up, he gets so upset and then he can wreck two guys and give you the finger. That’s spectacularly self-centered. I can’t imagine being like that.”

Martin won't speculate on plans for 2007
By Bob Pockrass
scenedaily.com
July 21, 2006

LONG POND, Pa. - Mark Martin refuses to answer any questions about where, if anywhere, he could be running a partial Nextel Cup schedule next year.

He's a longtime Ford driver. Robert Yates Racing is a longtime Ford team. Yates and Roush Racing, which Martin has driven for in his entire Cup career, work together on motors. Yates needs drivers for next season.

So ... could one of those Yates drivers be Martin? Martin said he didn't think so.

"A bunch of people need drivers right now, not just Yates," Martin said. "We'll have to see what happens. We probably won't get into that until October or November, probably November most likely.

"I'm not going to answer any questions. I'm not going to go there. It's not something on my radar screen. I've got more important things to think about than what I am going to do next year right now."

Martin could not drive for Roush next year unless he splits the season with one of the current drivers or Todd Kluever, who is scheduled to replace Martin in the No. 6 car since Roush is not allowed to add any teams.

While Martin is penciled in to run an entire NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule for Roush next year, he was not going to jump into the middle of the silly season media barrage and get caught up into talking about what teams he would consider for 2007.

2006 Mark Martin Track Notes - Sunday, July 23, 2006
Pennsylvania 500 / Pocono Raceway
No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion
July 14, 2006

DRIVER: Mark Martin

TEAM: No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion

OWNER: Jack Roush

CREW CHIEF: Pat Tryson

THE CAR

Chassis: RK-231Last ran at the All-Star race where it posted a strong showing before getting caught up in an accident while leading. Nicknamed "Batmobile," after running special Batman paint schemes at Michigan in '04 and '05.

MARK MARTIN - FAST FACTS - POCONO

QUOTING MARK MARTIN AND CREW CHIEF PAT TRYSON ON POCONO

Mark Martin:

"I really love racing at Pocono. It's one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. We've actually had a lot of success there over the years, despite the fact that we have never been able to get a win there. We've finished second five or six times there over the years, but we just haven't been able to finish the deal. Still, it's one of my favorite places. It's kind of funny, because I hate Martinsville with a passion and yet we've won there a couple of times, so I guess what you like really doesn't matter that much. We were off last month at Pocono, so it will be up to us to make sure we get back on track and get back to what worked so well there last year. We'll be looking forward to going back and seeing what we can do.

"The team pulled together a great run last week in Loudon. That was just what we have been needing. We didn't have the fastest car, but it handled great and we had a really good pit strategy and it all payed off in the end with a good solid finish after a good run. Hopefully we can put a couple of more runs like that together and get ourselves in better position as we move towards that cutoff point. It would be good to get started on that with another strong run this weekend at Pocono."

Pat Tryson:

"We had a good run last week at New Hampshire and we are excited about going back to Pocono. We had a tough race there last time, with some things not falling not falling our way at the end and we lost a lot of position, but it's one of Mark's best tracks and we've actually been really good there the last few years. It's a place that we know Mark is very capable of running well, and we'd like nothing more than to help him get his first win there this weekend."

Martin Still Looking for Elusive Pocono Win
Martin's long history at Pocono includes just about everything but a victory

CONCORD, N.C. (July 18, 2006) - Mark Martin will make his 40th career Cup start this weekend at Pocono Raceway, where he holds the records for most top-five finishes (19) and most top 10's (27). Martin has finished inside the top 10 in almost 70 percent of his starts at the 2.5-mile tri-oval, and he has finished in the runner up spot on six different occasions. However, despite a half a dozen second-place runs, Martin is still looking for his first victory at a track he considers one of his favorites.

"Man I love racing a Pocono," said Martin. "It's a lot of fun and it's one of my favorite tracks that we go to. It is kind of ironic that we've never won there as much success as we've had and as much as I enjoy it. I always say that I love Pocono and haven't won there and I hate Martinsville with a passion and have a couple of wins there, so I guess you can't really go much off of that.

"We've been really good at Pocono over the years and we've finished second a bunch. We were a little off there last month, so we have our work cut out for us getting back like we were a year ago, but we'd love to get over the hump and get our first win there this weekend.

"The team is really starting to come together and the work in the pits has really improved, as we are looking forward to going there this weekend and seeing what we can do at one of our best tracks historically."

In addition to his six second-place finishes, Martin has finished third at Pocono on four more occasions, giving him a top-three finish in 26 percent of his races there. Furthermore, Martin has 18 top-10 and 14 top-five finishes in his last 24 races at Pocono, including second-place runs in 2003 and 2004. He finished third in this race last year, but did struggle to a 17th-place-finish at Pocono last month. The finish was Martin's first outside of the top-10 at Martinsville (while running at the end of the race) since 1993.

In addition to his strong finishes at Pocono, Martin also boasts a solid qualifying record, having won three poles there. In addition, Martin has started inside the top 10 at Pocono 27 times (69 percent), including a third-place starting position in this race last year.

Martin will move into the weekend looking for another strong run, in hopes of putting additional distance between himself and the final cutoff spot for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. With seven races remaining, Martin is currently 109 points ahead of 10th and 120 points ahead of the 11th position and the final team fighting for a top-10 spot.

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Enterprises that operates 14 motorsports teams; five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, six in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Todd Kluever and Danny O'Quinn, Jr., and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Martin, David Ragan, Erik Darnell and Michel Jourdain, Jr.

Veteran driver eyes NASCAR title after shunning retirement
By Andrew - Kroeckel - Record Sports Writer
Pocono Record
July 19, 2006

A year ago, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace, venerable veterans of NASCAR, were on their respective goodbye tours, a "Salute to You" from Martin and one "Last Call" from Wallace.

Wallace was moving on to broadcast work, Martin the Craftsman Truck Series.

And both have done just that. Wallace is the lead auto racing analyst for ESPN and ABC Sports and writes a column for ESPN.com, while Martin has run in seven of 14 truck races, winning the first two of the season and three overall.

There's a difference between the two, though. Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR Cup champion, has been able to keep his Nextel Cup firesuit in the closet. Martin has not.

Persuaded by Roush Racing team owner Jack Roush to come back for his 20th full season, Martin has been more than competitive in his return, racking up three top five finishes and nine top 10s. And he just might be back for more in 2007.

"You know, I would consider doing a limited Cup schedule if it was with the right team," said Martin, who is currently fifth in the Nextel Cup standings after finishing fourth at New Hampshire. "The Brickyard would be on that, the Daytona 500 would be on that. Races like Michigan, Dover, some of those races, races that might be in conjunction with the truck racing or whatever.

"But, you know, that's why last year I said, I learned never to say never. I'm not saying this is my last year on Cup. I'm not saying anything, if you get my drift. I'm waiting."

Waiting, perhaps, for the right kind of contract from Roush Racing that would allow him to compete in a greater number of truck races while remaining competitive at NASCAR's highest level.

"I haven't made the final determination on what the 2007 race schedule is going to look like for me," Martin said. "Roush Racing hasn't presented me with the truck contract yet, although if they would have, I would have signed it and that would be done. I know what they're doing."

With no truck race scheduled, Martin's full attention will be on Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Martin has enjoyed considerable success on the 2.5-mile tri-oval, finishing in the top 10 26 times, including six second-place runs, but the 47-year-old has never won here. He finished 17th in June, and noted recently how difficult it is becoming to run at Pocono and then move on to Indianapolis, despite the similarities between the two tracks.

"For me, you know, there a lot of similarities because the corners are fairly flat and it's big," Martin said. "They're both big racetracks. As of late, it has got to be more and more different because Pocono is so bumpy and Indy is not. The bumps really create more of a challenge, at least for us at Pocono. It makes them quite different in that respect."

Martin Fights to Fourth-Place Finish in 600th Consecutive Cup Start
Martin hangs tough for third top-five finish of the season; moves to fifth in Nextel Cup point standings
Mark Martin and the #6 AAA Racing Team
New Hampshire International Speedway/July 16, 2006

LOUDON, N.H. (July 16, 2006) – Mark Martin picked up two positions during a green-white-checkered finale to earn a fourth-place finish in Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Making his 600th consecutive Cup start, Martin and the No. 6 AAA Race team used the combination of a good handling race car and sound pit strategy to earn their third top-five finish and their ninth top-10 of the season.

The team had to overcome a stroke of bad luck in the pits midway through the race, and battle back from the tail end of the lead lap. Martin restarted in sixth position when the field went green for the final time on lap 307. He moved into the top-five just one lap later and picked up one more spot just before the finish line, overtaking the No. 11 car which was running out of fuel.

“We had a really good-handling car,” said Martin. “It wasn’t the fastest out there but it was good enough that we could skip tires. Sometimes you can’t have it all, but if you can just have the handling you can do a lot. We took gas only the last two times in, so we were disadvantaged on tires, but in the end that didn’t hurt because the car would work on them. We were able to hold our track position with good strategy and we were able to turn in a good run.”

Martin started the race 14th and quickly fell back to 16th by lap six as he patiently waited for the car’s handling to come around. The car eventually tightened up and Martin had moved back to 14th by the time the race’s first caution was issued on lap 19. Crew chief Pat Tryson opted to bring Martin down pit road for right-side tires and fuel and Martin returned in 14th place when the field went green on lap 26. Martin had moved all the way to 11th by lap 28. However the car’s handling loosened over the long run, with Martin dropping back to 16th by lap 68. Martin again was able to regroup and mount a move through the field, breaking into the top 10 just before caution number two was called on lap 91.

This time the team opted for four tires and fuel and Martin returned to the field in 11th when green flag racing resumed on lap 95. After another quick caution, Martin moved to ninth on lap 99. By lap 121 he had driven his AAA Ford Fusion to sixth place and he was running fourth when the team came in to pit for four tires and fuel on lap 184. It would prove to be Martin’s final tire stop of the race. However, the team caught a stroke of bad luck when caution was called after just one lap, trapping them one lap down and in 20th position. Martin stayed out under the caution and restarted on the tail end of the lead lap on lap 194. Martin was able to stay in front of the leader and rejoined the lead lap when caution was called for the seventh time on lap 199.

The team would take fuel only during cautions on laps 201 and 211, moving Martin up to 11th position when the field went green on lap 214. Two laps later, Martin broke back into the top 10, where he would run for the remainder of the race. Martin opted not to pit under cautions nine and 10 and he restarted in sixth place on lap 271. The strategy proved sound, with Martin remaining in the top 10 for the remainder of the race. He was running in seventh position when the race’s final caution was called on lap 298, setting up the green-white-checkered finish. Martin restarted in sixth and was able to pick up two more positions, en route to the fourth place finish.

The finish was Martin’s best at Loudon since July of 2000. With the run, Martin moved up to fifth in the Nextel Cup point standings, four points behind fourth and 120 out of 11th.

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Enterprises which operates 14 motorsports teams; five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, six in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Todd Kluever and Danny O'Quinn, Jr., and two in the Craftsman Truck Series with Martin, David Ragan, Michel Jourdain, Jr. and Erik Darnell.

Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Lenox Industrial Tools 300
Ford Racing: News
July 17, 2006

MARK MARTIN – No. 6 AAA Fusion (finished 4th)

“We had a really good-handling car, it wasn’t the fastest out there but it was good enough that we could skip tires. Sometimes you can’t have it all, but if you can just have the handling – we took gas only the last two times in, you know, so we were disadvantaged on tires, but in the end that didn’t hurt because the car would work on them, we were able to hold our track position, good strategy and good run.”

HOW WAS THE TRACK?

“The track was the best it’s ever been. I’m not saying it’s great but it’s the best I’ve ever seen it.”

THE STREAK - WINSTON CUP & NEXTEL CUP

RACE NUMBER
DATE
TRACK
START
FINISH
PRESIDENT
1st
February 14, 1988
Daytona
38
41
Ronald Reagan
56th
October 22, 1989
Rockingham (first win)
7
1
George H. W. Bush
100th
June 16, 1991
Pocono
1
3
George H. W. Bush
200th
September 18, 1994
Dover
4
19
Bill Clinton
300th
November 16, 1997
Atlanta
9
3
Bill Clinton
400th
November 12, 2000
Homestead
11
3
George W. Bush
500th
September 14, 2003
New Hampshire
33
28
George W. Bush
600th
July 16, 2006
New Hampshire
13
4
George W. Bush

2006 Mark Martin Track Notes - Sunday, July 16, 2006
Lenox Industrial Tools 300 / New Hampshire International Speedway
No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion
July 14, 2006

DRIVER: Mark Martin

TEAM: No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion

OWNER: Jack Roush

CREW CHIEF: Pat Tryson

THE CAR

Chassis: RK-221 Last ran at Richmond, May '06 and finished 11th. It is the same car that Martin led 111 laps with at Phoenix earlier this year. It is also the car that Martin used in his 2005 win in the All-Star race.

MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS - NHIS

QUOTING MARK MARTIN AND CREW CHIEF PAT TRYSON ON NHIS

Mark Martin:

"Loudon can be a really tough race track. It can be really hard to pass there and if you don't handle well, then you are in for a long day, but we are optimistic about this weekend. We are taking the same car and set up that we used at Phoenix, where we had what was probably the fastest car in the field and what was one of the fastest cars I've had in a long time."

"We have been able to solve our issues on pit road, now we just have to work on getting the cars to run better during the races. I know that we have a good, solid team here it's just time for us to put it all together and see what we have down the stretch. I think that we can get back on track and hopefully that will start this weekend at Loudon."

Mark Martin on 600 consecutive starts in NEXTEL Cup:

"I think it really says a lot about the people that have been around me all of these years and how they worked to make it all happen. I've had the chance to work with a lot of great people and I've been really lucky to have never haven to take a sick day. We've had some tough times, but I've always been able to go do my job on Sunday. We've had a lot of success and I'm really thankful to Jack Roush and for everything that we have been able to do."

Pat Tryson:

"I think it really says a lot about the people that have been around me all of these years and how they worked to make it all happen. I've had the chance to work with a lot of great people and I've been really lucky to have never haven to take a sick day. We've had some tough times, but I've always been able to go do my job on Sunday. We've had a lot of success and I'm really thankful to Jack Roush and for everything that we have been able to do."

Roush Reflects on 600th Consecutive Start, Journey with Martin
By Kevin Woods, Roush Racing

CONCORD, N.C. -- Nineteen years ago when Jack Roush put together his first run at the Nextel Cup circuit, he put his faith in the hands of young driver Mark Martin.

Almost 20 years later, Roush and Martin will make their 600th consecutive Cup start together this weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway. Along the way the two have forged the way for one of the most successful teams in motor sports history. Together they have run up 35 Nextel Cup wins, 41 poles, 366 top-10 and 229 top-five finishes. Martin and Roush have finished second in the Championship standings four times, in stints ranging from 1990 to 2002 and Martin has become a regular in the year end top-10 standings. In addition the bulk of Martin’s Busch record 45 wins came with Roush by his side.

“Well it’s been a great ride with Mark Martin for 600 starts now,” said Roush on Wednesday. “He’s brought intensity, enthusiasm, great driving ability and integrity to the driver’s seat, unlike no other driver that I can recall.”

Roush also stated his admiration for the drive Martin still maintains today.

“He is still the man to charge the superspeedways, the restrictor plate tracks and he’s got great enthusiasm and passion for everything he does. Every racetrack that he goes to he still expects to win and he expects his people to prepare to win. His drive and determination haven’t slowed one bit and his ability is still at the top of the echelon. It’s just a pleasure to be with him.”

Going into the race Martin is currently sixth in the point standings, trailing a position in the top five by just a few points, as he makes his bid for a third-consecutive birth in the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. Martin will look to more than likely close out his full-time Nextel Cup career with his 17th career top-10 finish.

“As I started with this journey with Mark 19 years ago I certainly didn’t see the success and the number of wins that we’ve had together,” added Roush. “I also didn’t see this term being as long as it has, nor did I ever consider that it would ever end.

“Now as we look down the road the number of races left are definitely finite and it brings great sadness that we haven’t won a championship and the amount of time left to close the deal is quickly winding down. However we do still have an opportunity and we have to make the most of that. I know that once we get him into the Chase, Mark will be there to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

Roush also said he looks forward to moving down the road with Martin as he moves into the Craftsman Truck Series.

“We do certainly still look forward to a lot of success and championships in front of us in the truck series as he moves off to that, and I will look forward to moving down the road with him as we continue on this journey that has brought us both so much fulfillment.”

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Enterprises that operates 14 motorsports teams; five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, six in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Todd Kluever and Danny O'Quinn, Jr., and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Martin, David Ragan, Erik Darnell and Michel Jourdain, Jr.

Roush Driver Diary: Mark Martin
Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Hello everyone,

Well, they tell me that I'm making my 600 straight start this year and a few people have asked what all that means to me, and I tell them all that the first thing it tells you is I've been around a while and that I must be pretty old, I guess. Actually, the one thing that does stand out is that I have to be thankful for the fact that I've been healthy enough to never have to take a sick day in almost 20 years! I've been able to do my job every week and I'm thankful for that.

The other thing that stands out is all of the people around me over the years that have worked so hard for us to be able to do what we have done. We've had a lot of success. We've won a lot of races and there are a lot of people to thank for that and, at the top of that list, is Jack Roush, the man who helped make all of my dreams come true.

However, the important thing on our plate this weekend is the race and we are actually pretty excited about going to Loudon, believe it or not. We are taking the same car that we had at Phoenix and, I think you might remember, it was pretty fast there. Actually, it was one of the fastest cars that I've had in a long time and we are hoping to have that happen again this weekend in New Hampshire.

I'm also really happy with how our over-the-wall crew has really gotten it together. They have really put together a couple of solid races, with really good work in the pits. Now we just have to get the cars running better - like they were the first 10 races of the year - and we'll be back on track.

The other thing I want to say about this weekend is that I want to thank each of you fans out there for all the support. You are as much an important factor in our 600 consecutive starts as anyone and you guys have been there through the hard times and the good times. Hopefully we'll be able to give you guys a lot more to cheer about, not only this year, but for many years to come.

Thanks and Salute to You,

Mark

Martin may keep on driving all the way into retirement
By Michael Rothstein
The Journal Gazette
July 13, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS – Mark Martin is angling for his vacation. The week is set – rare as those dates may be in the Nextel Cup series – for the last week in July.

All drivers are off then, but for Martin, he knows his plans.

He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t gamble. Yet the 47-year-old will head to the taboo capital, Las Vegas, for his break.

He’ll pilot the plane himself, pile in friends who helped him get started along with some family and take off.

“It’s an odd place to go,” Martin said. “But I love it there, and so does Matt, my son. We just tear those arcades up, boy. We’re going to go out there and play some video games, have some fun, eat some good food.

“I’m so excited. I’m really excited. I’m as excited about that as I have been anything outside of racing in quite some time.”

Soon enough, he’ll have to find other opportunities for fun outside racing. Martin, who lives in Daytona Beach, Fla., said this year that this would be his last season running a full Nextel Cup schedule.

So this is like the farewell tour of sorts for the four-time Cup runner-up, minus the rocking chair presentations and gifts given at every track.

The only gift he wants is to start winning, which he hasn’t done since Kansas last year.

But in classic form befitting anyone who can’t quite step away, Martin backed off his earlier determinations.

“I would consider doing a limited Cup schedule if it was with the right team,” Martin said. “If I did so, the Brickyard would be on that, the Daytona 500 would be on that, races like Michigan, Dover, some of those races, races that might be in conjunction with the truck racing or whatever.

“But, you know, that’s why last year I said, I learned never to say ‘never.’ I’m not saying this is my last year on Cup. I’m not saying anything, if you get my drift.”

So his future remains murky and it’s partly because of his team owners at Roush Racing. He said if they had already given him the truck contract, he’d have signed it and said adios to most Cup races.

Instead, team owner Jack Roush might try to wait him out and hope Martin, who will start his 600th consecutive race Sunday in Loudon, N.H., will change his mind and return to the Cup next season.

Martin is within striking distance of Ricky Rudd’s record of 788 straight starts. Should Martin become ambitious, he would pass Rudd during the 2011 season, although if the guy is talking about retirement or limited schedules now, chances are he won’t be racing then.

Right now, he’s focused on the end of this year. He’s currently sixth in points, which puts him in the middle of the standings and in a somewhat comfortable position to try and qualify for the season-ending Chase for the Championship.

Any talk of the future, he said, can wait for now.

“We were in championship form the first 10 races of the year,” Martin said. “It is important to get back to that or else. I mean, it’s real important.”

Martin to make milestone 600th consecutive Cup start this weekend
Martin holds current longest active steak in NASCAR Nextel Cup, fifth all-time longest streak.
Roush Racing
July 10, 2006

CONCORD, N.C. (July 10, 2006) - Mark Martin will make his 600th consecutive Cup start this weekend when the green flag drops on Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway. The run is currently the longest running streak in NASCAR and the fifth longest of all-time. Ironically, Martin made his 500th consecutive start in 2003 at New Hampshire in September.

Martin's streak dates back to Feb. 14, 1988 when he first teamed with Jack Roush in the Daytona 500. Martin finished 41st that day; humble beginnings for what would become one of the most successful partnerships in NASCAR history. Nineteen years, 35 wins, 41 poles and 366 top-10 finishes later, Martin is scheduled to make his 600th consecutive start this Sunday.

Martin ran his first Cup race in 1981, running a total of five races, while winning two poles and earning a pair of top-10 finishes. The following year he ran a full season. Martin was unable to find adequate sponsorship and ran only a handful of Cup races from 1983-87, before hooking up with Roush in 1988.

"The first thing that comes to mind is that I've been around for a long time," laughed Martin. "But really, I've been fortunate in a lot of ways. I've never had a sick day. I've never had big enough tragedy to keep out of the seat and I've been able to go to work and do my job for a long time.

"It says a lot for those around me over the years that have also worked really hard to make that be able to happen. It says a great deal about Jack Roush, who basically gave me a second chance and a great opportunity to pursue my dreams and fortunately for us, we've been doing that ever since."

During that span Martin and Roush have finished inside the top-10 of the final point standings 15 times, including four runner-up finishes and 12 top-five finishes.

"My relationship with Jack is what stands out the most," added Martin. "How it has grown and changed over that period. Jack and I have been doing this for a long time and we've been through it all. We've been through some agonizing disappointments and we've experienced the highest of highs. We have been though it all together and we have a lot to show for it.

"As for the streak itself, I really don't read that much into streaks and stuff like that, it just doesn't mean that much, other than the fact that I've been in good health, had good cars and was always able to make the race. Still, it is good knowing that I never had to call in sick. We've had hard times, and we've had times of great sadness, but we've been fortunate to make them all and I am thankful for that.

"I'm actually very thankful for everything that I have been fortunate to accomplish," added Martin. "I'm thankful to everyone around me over the years that worked so hard for it and I'm thankful to all of the fans out there who have stood by me for all of these years. Heck, I wish I was 25 and had that many ahead of me, but I'm still very thankful for everything that I have been able to do in my career. It really is a dream come true."

Mark Martin & Matt Kenseth IMS Teleconference
Ford Racing: News
July 10, 2006

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion, and Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion, were part of many drivers taking part in testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. Both drivers participated in a Q&A session during the lunch hour Monday afternoon.

MARK MARTIN -- No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion

HOW HAS YOUR TEST BEEN SO FAR?

"My cars were tight. The tires are limited and they're wearing too fast, so we're not gonna be allowed enough tires to do as thorough a test as we would like to, so those are the two things. We're having to conserve our laps and conserve our tires. We only get 12 sets and we'd probably like to do more like 16 or 18 sets with the way they're wearing. You wouldn't need that many, but we're only getting about 10 laps. It'll get better, but right now we're only getting about 10 laps -- 10 or 12 really -- out of the right sides and then after that you're taking a risk."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON JUAN MONTOYA COMING TO RACE NASCAR NEXT YEAR?

"He's a world-class driver. From F-1 to come to NASCAR is a real compliment to all of us, everyone in NASCAR and where they have come and certainly have arrived. I think he should be great for everyone. It's really neat."

DID YOU EVER THINK YOU'D SEE SOMEONE FROM FORMULA ONE COME TO NASCAR?

"I don't know. Times were different. We did have Mario (Andretti) run some races and some things like that. To come full time, maybe not. Maybe it wasn't strong enough and powerful enough and lucrative enough to draw a guy like Mario full time, but it definitely drew even back then. This is a major thing. It's quite an accomplishment for Chip Ganassi and I think it's really cool. He's at the age where he can come and do this. It's not getting late in his career like some other open wheel drivers that probably would like to make this switch now. It's getting more late in their careers, so it's good timing. I think I'm gonna watch with great enthusiasm from the couch with the remote control."

DANICA PATRICK MIGHT BE EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?

"Wow, that would be another huge one for sure. I think it would be great and absolutely fantastic. She is definitely a major, major, major draw. It would be fantastic to see her getting involved at this stage of her career, which is in the early stages. It would give her enough time to really adapt to the cars and make a go of it."

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO NOT BE VIEWED AS WEAK ON THE TRACK AND ARE WE MORE LIKELY TO SEE CONFLICT AT THE END OF RACES LIKE YESTERDAY?

"I think that's looking awfully deep to try and pick that. I don't know anyone that I currently race with that is weak, and I'm talking about if we want to reach on back into the guys that run from 30th to 40th on a weekly basis, I still can't think of a guy that's weak -- that if you mistreat him or push their buttons that you won't have your hands full. I don't see that part of it. As far as aggressiveness goes, it's been escalating to some degree for several years now, but you don't see as much of that from the veterans as you do the newer guys that are new to it. So if you're referring to yesterday, yesterday was more of an abnormal situation. I don't believe that Jeff intended for Matt to spin out, although I am pretty sure he knew he was gonna hit him before he did."

IS IT A CONCERN TO SEE THAT ON A MILE-AND-A-HALF OPPOSED TO A SHORT TRACK?

"All I can tell you is that we race out there under more difficult conditions than I'm able to describe to you. It's slippery, it's competitive and you're trying to do more with your equipment than your equipment will give you. I think that what happened yesterday was a slip. It was a slip that, like I said, I'm sure that Jeff didn't intend for Matt to spin out and that's as far as I want to go on it. I don't think that it's commonplace for people to spin one another out on a mile-and-a-half race track, but it has happened hasn't it. I think at Chicago a couple years ago Kasey (Kahne) got spun out at the end of the front straightaway, so it does happen. I put that in the category of a slip."

WHAT TRANSLATES FROM POCONO TO INDY AND HOW MUCH DOES POCONO CHANGE BETWEEN RACES?

"For me, there are a lot of similarities because the corners are fairly flat and it's big. They're both big race tracks, but as of late it has gotten to be more and more different because Pocono is so bumpy and Indy is not that the bumps really create more of a challenge at least for us at Pocono, so it makes them quite different in that respect."

YOU SPENT SOME TIME LIVING IN INDIANA. WHAT DOES THIS PLACE MEAN TO YOU WHEN YOU STRAP IN FOR THE BRICKYARD?

"I spent '79, '80 and '81 up in North Liberty, which is, I don't know, 100 miles north of here or something. I traveled a lot of trips down 31 or whatever that highway is through here, to go racing. But to be real honest with you, I was always focused on stock cars and growing up in Arkansas I always identified the biggest race in the world as being the Indy 500, but I never associated what I did with the Indy 500. It wasn't something that I saw stars in my eyes. I dreamed that I would drive NASCAR, but it never occurred to me that I would ever be racing here. It just never really crossed my mind."

THE STATURE OF THIS RACE HAS GROWN. IS IT AS BIG OR BIGGER THAN THE DAYTONA 500?

"For me, it's not gonna be a major feather in my cap that I competed at Indianapolis, but for the guys who win this race, it is. I'm still not sure that it's acknowledged as much as the Indy 500 because of the history and everything, but it certainly is a big, important race. I always say the size of the trophy and the size of the check usually pretty much indicate whether or not the race is a big deal and they're pretty big here for this one. Me, I like to simplify things."

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE OFF WEEKEND AT THE END OF JULY?

"I'm ready for that off weekend. I'm gonna take my partner in our Ford store at Arkansas and Larry Shaw, who helped get me started in racing back in 1974, and their families and my family. We're all gonna pile in my airplane and I'm gonna leave the pilot home and we're going out to Vegas. I don't gamble and I don't drink, so it's an odd place to go but I love it there and so does Matt, my son. We just tear those arcades up, so we're gonna go out there and play some video games and have some fun and eat some good food. I'm so excited. I'm really excited and as excited about that as I have been anything outside of racing in quite some time. Matt's excited about going as well."

LOUDON HAS BEEN A KEY TO THE CHASE AND WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO WIN THIS RACE OR GET A GOOD FINISH?

"For us it's huge. We have had three races in a row that have just been incredibly disappointing to us. We were in championship form the first 10 races of the year and it is important for us to get back on that or else. It's real important. We expect to run well. It's not my strongest race track, but we think it will be one of our strongest race tracks. We really feel good about our car and what we're gonna do up there."

IS THERE A CERTAIN RACE YOU'D LIKE TO WIN THIS YEAR OR ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH BEFORE YOUR CAREER ENDS?

"I haven't made the final determination on what the 2007 race schedule is gonna look like for me. Roush Racing hasn't presented me with the truck contract yet, although if they would have, I would have signed it and that would be done, but I know what they're doing. So I would consider doing a limited Cup schedule if it was with the right team, and if I did so the Brickyard would be on that. The Daytona 500 would be on that. Races like Michigan and Dover and some of those races that might be in conjunction with the truck races, but that's why last year I said that I learned never to say never. I'm not saying that this is my last year on Cup. I'm not saying anything if you get my drift. Right now I'm focused on trying to make the chase, so that if we do that, maybe we can have another chance to contend for a championship and somewhere along that line things will really fall into place. But silly season in 2006 is gonna be the craziest in NASCAR history. I think we already see that. We've got Juan Montoya coming. That's just the start. It is gonna be the craziest silly season I think you've ever seen. Experienced drivers are really hot commodities right now -- guys that can get it done. It's gonna be a really interesting fall."

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE A GOOD TEST HERE?

"I've seen guys come here and have a bad test and then come back and run good, but we sure don't want to do that. We don't want to hope for that. I think we're off to a good start. We seem to have respectable speed, much better than we've had in these three disappointing races, and if we've got speed, my team and I can easily adjust our race car to suit my liking. But when you don't have speed, you can adjust it to your liking, but you're still gonna take a whipping on the race track. For some reason we seemed to hit the track running today and I feel good about it. I think it'll be a good time for us to test after taking a whooping the last three races."

IS THE SILLY SEASON ASPECT JUST A REFLECTION OF THE GROWTH OF THIS SPORT?

"There's a great demand for drivers that can get it done and right now, when you look around, the litter is picked over pretty well. We're gonna have at least six or eight really strong financially backed new race teams next year and those kind of race teams that are coming in, that are high-profile, can't bring a guy in that they're taking a chance on that you haven't seen get it done yet. Right now there are some drivers that are coming along, but there are very few Carl Edwards' and Denny Hamlins around that can just take them, plug them in and they'll go. That's a tall order. It typically takes much more time than that, so that's what it is. I certainly would expect to see some retired Cup drivers back in the seat next year. It's gonna be crazy. There are a lot of teams that are gonna come forth that are gonna need drivers and they're gonna want drivers that have gotten it done before."

MATT KENSETH -- No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion

HOW HAS YOUR TEST BEEN SO FAR?

"We didn't really get too much accomplished. On the way to the race track I got ran into by a student driver. That was the start of my morning. I was at a stop light and Biffle was following me from the airport and he always runs into me, so I thought it was him joking and it wasn't, it was a student driver and instructor who just pile drove into the back of me, so that was exciting. I didn't even stop. They wanted to stop and fix it, but I didn't care if the bumper was laying on the ground or not. It was a rental. I would rather pay for it than mess with that, so, anyway, we got here and ran a couple laps and didn't run too good. Then we took the second car out and I wrecked that right away, so it's been an eventful 24 hours. The beginning of our test hasn't been very good to answer your question."

MARK SAID HE DIDN'T THINK JEFF INTENDED TO SPIN YOU OUT, BUT HE CERTAINLY INTENDED TO HIT YOU. WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO THAT?

"I think Mark was being nice. I think that anybody, honestly, that's watched more than two or three races in their lives and watched the replay knows that he meant to spin you out. My car was pushing so bad that you had to hit it pretty hard to spin it out. The weird thing is that he would have passed me the next lap anyway he was catching me so fast. You can clearly see when I got in the corner we both got out of the gas and he just picked up the gas a car length or so earlier and drove me over. I think it was intentional but it doesn't really matter what I think."

MIKE HELTON SAID AFTERWARDS IT WAS A RACING DEAL AND THERE WASN'T ANYTHING TO DO TO FOLLOW UP ON IT.

"Yeah, it usually is."

DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT WAS?

"Yeah."

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO JUAN MONTOYA'S ANNOUNCEMENT?

"I think that was really cool. I've never been a huge follower of open wheel and haven't really watched a lot of it. We're pretty busy doing our own stuff and paying attention to all that, so I haven't probably paid that much attention to it, but obviously everybody knows who he is and how talented he is, so I think that will be really great for the sport. Everybody's reaction, from who I've talked to, has been really excited about it and think it's really cool. It was kind of a surprise to me when I heard it. I've never met him and I don't know him, but I think it's really cool he's gonna show up here and race."

DO YOU THINK THE PRESSURE OF NOT WINNING AS MUCH WAS GETTING TO JEFF WHAT WAS THE REASONING BEHIND SPINNING YOU OUT?

"There were a few things. I was in his way. I was getting really slow. There's probably a couple things that went into that. When I got into him at Bristol, which, honestly, was an accident. If it wasn't, I would have told him it wasn't. So I'm sure that probably had something to do with it, even though he knocked me out of the way first at Bristol and I did get into him. That was an accident, but, whatever, that was in the past, so I think that was probably in his mind a little bit. There were only three laps to go when we were trapped with another lapped car and that was the cheap way and the easy way out to do it and Jeff is smart. Jeff is very smart and very calculating and knows what he's doing. He knew right where he did it there that it wasn't really gonna probably wreck me and he knew for sure it wasn't gonna wreck himself and he was gonna be the leaders, so I think that probably about sums it up."

IF THE TEST DOESN'T GET BETTER WILL THAT BE A PROBLEM WHEN YOU COME BACK FOR THE RACE?

"We have a lot of time left to practice and it doesn't always matter that much. Sometimes it does, but for our test here we took two cars that we really haven't had any success with. We took one new car and then we took a car that we ran at Pocono, which we finished OK but didn't run very good. At least we did have a couple of better cars that we could always bring back if our test wasn't good. We had the one car that was our baseline car, which I managed to wreck yesterday for 20th, and we have the other car that we ran at Dover and Atlanta and Charlotte or somewhere that has run real good for us. We've got two cars that are kind of our baseline cars that we know we can go back to that will run OK for us, so we've always done OK here in the past. I think if you get here and your stuff is right and you're OK at the mile-and-a-halves, you'll probably be OK here. And like I said, if we can't get these cars to run, we'll just bring back something we know a little bit more about."

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE OFF WEEKEND AND IS IT A GOOD TIME FOR ONE?

"Yeah, it's nice to have the off weekend move to the end of July, instead of whenever it used to be -- the second week of July. It would be nice to have one more, instead of whatever it is -- three off weekends in the first six weeks or eight weeks. It would be nice to move one of them to, I think, right before the chase. I think that would be a great time to let everybody regroup a little bit. All of the excitement would be there and everybody would be ready to start. The fans, I don't think they'd miss anything. It would just be one week off and everybody would be looking forward to the chase starting, so that would be cool. On the off weekend, I'm racing that Saturday up in Elko, Minnesota -- a short track race. A couple friends of mine have been building cars and I've been running their short track cars just a little bit trying to help them a little bit, so I'm gonna do that. Other than that, I'm not real sure. I've got a couple of appearances during the week. I was gonna go up to the flying in Oshkosh and maybe check that out a little bit. That's really all I've got planned right now."

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE ETIQUETTE OF BLOCKING?

"I did block down in front of him on that restart because on a restart if you hang back behind a guy anticipating when he's gonna start, a lot of times you can get a run on him and pass him. NASCAR has a rule, which, to my knowledge, has never been enforced or done anything about it. You're not supposed to lay back more than a car length, well he was laying back a couple car lengths and trying to get a run and pass me, and I knew that once we got down in the corner I could drive away from him and we had a better car. I don't know, you've got to pass people however you can do it, but we're not even racing yet. It's kind of hang back and try to get a run, so he did that several times. On that one restart he got a run. If somebody is underneath you and you cut him off and run him off the track, I think that's different than pulling down in front of him, so I knew he was gonna try to get to the bottom, and I just pulled down to the bottom. As far as the lap he spun me out, I didn't think I blocked him. I was still ahead of him and I didn't think he was under me at all. Until somebody has got some room underneath you, it's still your spot. It's your groove until somebody else has it. If somebody gets under you, whether it's a half-inch or a foot or 10 feet or whatever, then it's his groove, but if he's behind your bumper, then I think it's still the leader's groove. And the other thing about that restart is that it's nothing he wouldn't have done or I haven't seen him do several, several times. I was at California a couple years ago and had a run on him and it was early in a restart where everybody was bunched up and he ran me all the way down across the infield down the backstretch, so he's one of the guys that probably does it more than most."

HOW IMPORTANT IS NEW HAMPSHIRE? KURT AND TONY BOTH WON RACES THERE AND THEN WON THE TITLE.

"I don't think it's really that much more less important than any other race. It's one of the races in the chase, if you make the chase, so that part is kind of important to try to learn something there in July. I think the winner of the championship winning the July race is a total coincidence. I don't think it means anything, but you certainly want to run good at all 10 tracks in the chase and that's one of them."

WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS LIKE IT DID TO YOU YESTERDAY, IS THERE SOMETHING INHERENT IN A DRIVER THAT YOU HAVE TO GET SOME TYPE OF REVENGE?

"No."

WHEN HE SAID HE WAS SORRY AFTER THE RACE DO YOU THINK IT WAS A SINCERE APOLOGY?

"Yeah. He looked real sorry when he was out there doing those donuts (laughing). He looked real sorry."

WHAT DIFFERENCES ARE THERE FROM THE TWO POCONO RACES AND HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE SECOND IN POINTS? CAN YOU EXPERIMENT WITH SOME THINGS PRIOR TO THE CHASE?

"I don't know about Pocono changing that much. I'm a bad guy to ask that. I don't feel I do a very good job when I go there. The only thing I notice when I go back there is there's a different rut or there's a different bump or hole in the asphalt. It seems like the place gets real bumpy real fast. That's about the only thing I maybe notice that's different. They re-did the curve in the tunnel turn the last few races, but I don't know if the track really changes that much. As far as where we are in the points, it's good to be where we are in the points, but I don't think I would approach it any different than what we did last year. I think you approach every race to try to lead laps and try to put yourself in position to win. I think you want to run at a championship level; I think you want to keep your team running at a championship level; I think you want to have championship level pit stops every single week. I think that's a big mistake that some people have made, including myself, maybe being comfortable and say, 'Oh yeah, you're in the chase and we'll run good those last 10.' And maybe not put emphasis on racing in the middle of the year or two-thirds through the year before the chase starts, so I feel like it's very important to keep the momentum and keep running good and not break it -- to keep it going. I think you take your best stuff every week and keep looking for new stuff and trying new stuff and try to make yourself better, but I think you need to take your best stuff every week and put forth your best effort every week."

YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN SOME HIGH-PROFILE INCIDENTS THIS YEAR. IS THIS MORE THAN USUAL AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE GOT A TARGET?

"Some of it this year I've been into has obviously been my own fault and my own doing. Other things, maybe you feel like you're a victim, but usually you have something to do with it. I don't like to be involved in conflicts. I don't like to be in controversy at all. I'd rather just keep to myself and go out and do my job and not have any of that, but if you're gonna be competitive and you're gonna try as hard as you can every week and try to run up front and do all that, it's pretty hard not to ever get in a conflict with anybody. It's just part of the business."

IS IT A CONCERN TO SEE GUYS GET SPUN OUT ON MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS? WE'VE GROWN USED TO SEEING IT AT SHORT TRACKS.

"Yeah, I think so. I think that's one thing that maybe surprised me or disappointed me a little bit with what happened and maybe some of the reaction to it. Just because you spun through the infield and saved it and everything was OK doesn't mean that everything was gonna be OK. We're running 100 miles an hour at Martinsville, or 90, and we're running 190 at Chicago. Just because the sport has had a pretty good safety record the last few years, I don't think we should take that for granted and try to put anybody in harm's way on purpose that's for sure."

Martin Finishes 18th During Tough Day at Chicagoland
Martin hangs on to sixth in Nextel Cup point standings
Mark Martin and the #6 AAA Racing Team
Chicagoland Speedway/July 9, 2006

JOLIET, ILL. (July 9, 2006) -- Mark Martin and the No. 6 AAA Race team weathered a tough day at Chicagoland Speedway in the USG Sheetrock 400 to finish 18th and hold on to the sixth place in the Nextel Cup point standings. Martin started ninth but struggled early on, falling back to 28th before rebounding for the top-20 finish. Martin and crew chief Pat Tryson used a blend of pit strategy and gritty racing to put Martin at 18th when the checkered flag fell.

“It was a great effort by the team on pit road today,” said Martin. “And we hung in there and fought it out the best we could. We just didn’t have a car that was good enough today and we did what we could to get the best finish that we could. We’ll just have to put this behind us and look to move forward next week.”

After running in the low 20’s for much of the day, Martin stayed out under three consecutive cautions late in the race. Martin restarted in 12th position on lap 237 after the day’s seventh caution, but the car just did not have the correct blend of handling and speed today. The veteran was able to keep the car inside the top 15 for the next 16 laps, but Martin finally fell to 18 on lap 152, just moments before Jeff Gordon wrecked Matt Kenseth to take lead and bring out the last caution with only four laps remaining. Martin was able to weather the onslaught of cars for the green-white-checkered finish to hang on to the 18th-place spot.

For the second week in a row the highlight of the race was the quick work of the No. 6 AAA Team in the pits. The AAA team had a near flawless day, turning in several fast stops, including a 12.92-second effort midway through the race.

Martin started the race ninth but dropped all the way to 18th by just the 10th lap, as he fought furiously with a really loose race car. Things failed to improve as the car’s handling tightened up over the long run, with Martin dropping all the way back to 22nd by lap 50. The team made air pressure and wedge adjustments during its first three pit stops to try to improve the car, but the effort was to little avail with Martin falling all the way back to 28th by lap 77.

Martin was running in 25th position after the team’s third stop under green on lap 128. With the race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. breathing down his neck, Martin was able to dig down and fight off the No. 8 car’s attempt to put the No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion a lap down. Martin eventually drove away from the leader, until caution was called on lap 138 with Martin running in the 20th position.

Martin stayed out to lead a lap after the day’s third caution on lap 171, thus earning five bonus points in the rankings. The team then came down pit road to take four tires and make an adjustment to the right-front shock in hopes of improving the car’s ability to drive in the corner. Martin restarted in 21st position when the field went green on lap 175.

Once again the adjustments did little to curve the car’s problems as Martin continued to battle with the car in the corners. The team stopped for the sixth time of the day on lap 199 to take on four tires, fuel and make yet another wedge adjustment. Four laps later, still under caution, they topped off with fuel, stopping for the final time with 63 scheduled laps remaining. Martin returned in 21st place when the field went green on lap 204.

Martin was able to stay out under the remaining four cautions for track position, a move that secured the top-20 finish and ultimately his sixth-place position in the point standings.

We got our pit-road problems fixed,” said Martin. “Now we just got to get our cars better down the stretch. The cars were strong early on in the season, so the potential is there. It’s just up to us to find what we need and put it all together as we move into the next few races.”

Martin is currently 119 points ahead of 11th place with eight races remaining before the 26-race cutoff for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Martin currently trails fifth by only 12 points and leads seventh by 17 points. The team will return to action next weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway where Martin finished eighth last fall.

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Enterprises which operates 14 motorsports teams; five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, six in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Todd Kluever and Danny O'Quinn, Jr., and two in the Craftsman Truck Series with Martin, David Ragan, Michel Jourdain, Jr. and Erik Darnell.

2006 Mark Martin Track Notes - Sunday, July 9, 2006
USG Sheetrock 400 / Chicagoland Speedway
No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion
July 6, 2006

DRIVER: Mark Martin

TEAM: No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion

OWNER: Jack Roush

CREW CHIEF: Pat Tryson

THE CAR

RK-315 last ran at Michigan and finished 27th. The car finished ninth earlier this year at Dover, eighth at Darlington, ninth at Fontana and sixth at Las Vegas. Martin used the car in his win at Kansas last season.

MARK MARTIN - FAST FACTS - CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

MARK MARTIN AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

Starts - 5
Starts Wins - 0
Top-5’s - 0
Top-10’s - 3
Poles - 0

QUOTING MARK MARTIN AND CREW CHIEF PAT TRYSON ON CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

Mark Martin:

"It will be good to get back to a 1.5 again, especially after last week at Daytona. Chicagoland is a good track fur us and we are sure ready to get back up there. The racing there gets better every years, and as the different grooves start to develop the racing only continues to get better and better. This weekend we should see a lot of passing and some good solid racing. Hopefully we'll have a competitive car and we'll be able to go there and contend for the race.

"We actually had a good run going last weekend at Daytona. The car was good and the team had one of there best night in the pits this season. It's a shame that we had to get caught up in someone else's mess again, but that just seems to be what happens to us at those tracks. We might not have had a car to win that race, but we sure had a top-10 and the team sure gave a great effort. That's all you can really ask for, we'll just have to go back to work this weekend in Chicago and go after it."

Pat Tryson:

"Chicagoland is a good track for us. We've had really good runs there the last couple of years and we think that we should be able to go back this year and run competitively and hopefully compete for a win. The team did a great job last week on pit road as well. We still have room for improvement, but they are getting better and better each week. We know that this is Mark's type of track, so maybe this will be the weekend that it all comes together for the AAA Team."

Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Pespsi 400
Ford Racing: News
July 1, 2006

MARK MARTIN -- No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion (Finished 33rd)

IT LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE GOING TO GET THROUGH ONE OF THESE PLATE RACES UNSCATHED, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK OUT.

"I don't think I can. I think that's an impossibility. It's too bad. We didn't have a winner, but we had a top 10 car and a top 10 effort on pit road. I'm extremely proud of my pit stops and my pit crew. We weathered an awful lot of rough water, but someone messed it up for us again. That's how it is when you plate race. We needed that last caution like we needed a hole in the head. You knew they had to have at least one wreck."

Martin Gets Caught Up in Late Accident; Finishes 33rd at Daytona
Late accident spoils strong run for Martin, No. 6 AAA Race Team
Mark Martin and the #6 AAA Racing Team
Daytona International Speedway/July 1, 2006

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – The No. 6 AAA Pit crew turned in one of its strongest outings of the season as Mark Martin exhibited his mastery of the draft and the No. 6 team appeared to be closing in on a solid top-10 finish in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, when Martin’s AAA Ford Fusion was caught up in an accident with only six laps remaining in the race.

Martin was running just outside the top 10 and making a forward surge when Roush teammate Greg Biffle made contact with the No. 18 car, sending Biffle’s car down the track and into Martin, where the two made contact before each went spinning toward the inside barrier of the backstretch. The incident ended Martin’s chances at a top-10 finish and the team was forced to settle for 33rd in a race where they had run the majority of the night inside the top-15.

“That’s just a shame,” said Martin after the race. “We might not have had the winning car, but we had a top-10 car and we had a top-10 effort on pit road tonight. The guys did a great job and we were able to weather an awful lot of rough water, but in the end someone messed us up again.

“That’s how it is when you plate race,” added Martin. “There is just only so much you can control.”

The AAA over the wall crew was the highlight of the night, turning in six stops in 13.86 seconds or less and gaining Martin several positions in the pits. Martin started the race 24th and wasted little time moving forward. He gained six positions in just the first lap of the race and he needed only six laps to break into the top 10 for the first time of the evening.

Martin would spend the rest of the night working his way in and out of the draft while running the bulk of the laps inside the top-10. Martin’s Fusion handled tight for most of the race, and the team made several adjustments on pit road in an effort to loosen up the car’s handling.

The team reeled off a 13.86-second stop under green on lap 45 that helped Martin to second position – his highest place of the race - when the field cycled through on lap 52. Martin battled leader and race winner Tony Stewart for the next several laps, but he was unable to take the lead and was eventually shuffled back to sixth place.

He was running in eighth position when the race’s fourth caution was issued on lap 147 with only 13 laps remaining. Martin and crew chief Pat Tryson opted to come in for four fresh tires and fuel while several cars stayed out on the track. Martin returned in 12th position when the race went green with just 10 laps remaining. In most cases cautions breed cautions and this time would be no exception. Moments later, Biffle made the contact with the No. 18 car causing a chain reaction that would effectively end the evening for Martin, Biffle and teammate Carl Edwards.

“We needed that last caution like we needed a hole in our head,” said Martin. “We had a good run going, I just don’t think it’s possible for us to get through one of these things without getting into something. Pat Tryson and the team did a great job and they had a great night in the pits. We got through a few of the wrecks, but we just couldn’t get through that last one. We’ll just have to regroup and come back strong next week in Chicago.”

The finish dropped Martin to sixth in the Nextel Cup points race. He is currently 129 points ahead of 10th position and 324 behind the leader. Martin trails fifth place by 25 points and third by only 57. The team will return to action next week at Chicagoland Speedway.

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Enterprises which operates 14 motorsports teams; five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, six in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Todd Kluever and Danny O'Quinn, Jr., and two in the Craftsman Truck Series with Martin, David Ragan, Michel Jourdain, Jr. and Erik Darnell.

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