Mark Martin Race Report - Crown Royal
Martin Claims Third-Place Finish at Richmond
DEI

RICHMOND, Va. (May 3, 2008) -- Mark Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army Team turned in their second consecutive top-five performance with a third-place run in Saturday night's Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway. It was also the best finish of the season for Martin and the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team.

"We had a great car out there tonight," said Martin, who ran inside the top five for the entire event. "If we can keep running like this, we will see the U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala SS in Victory Lane. Tony Gibson (crew chief) and these guys just are doing a great job each and every week and it's an honor to drive this team's race cars. I just have to thank the Army, the fans and everyone at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

The race ended under a green-white-checkered finish after the 11th and final caution of the night came out with only two laps remaining. Martin restarted in third place and came just a few feet of overtaking Kyle Busch for second place on the final lap.

Martin started the race on the outside of the front row after turning in his best qualifying effort in more than two years. The veteran was strong from the start, running inside the third position for the majority of the first half of the 410-lap Sprint Cup race.

"We got off there just a little bit during the middle of the race," said Martin. "That got us a little behind. We got caught up with some lapped traffic and the No. 07 (race winner Clint Bowyer) got around us. We were really close tonight, but I know if we can keep this going, we'll reach our goal and win in the soldiers' car."

The finish is Martin's third top-10 in his last three starts, and his fourth top-10 in the last five races. It is his best finish since April of 2007 at Texas. It was also his record extending 14th top-five and 24th top-10 finish at Richmond.

With the third-place result, the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team moves to 14th in the Sprint Cup owner points, just 31 points outside the top 12 and the cutoff point for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Despite only running seven races, Martin has more top-10 finishes than 19 drivers who have competed in all 10 events.

Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army Team will return to action Saturday night at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where Martin won the famed Southern 500 in 1993 and boasts 16 top five and 25 top 10 finishes in 41 career starts.

Mark Martin Post Qualifying Notes and Quotes - Crown Royal
GM Racing

MARK MARTIN, NO. 8 U.S. ARMY IMPALA SS -- QUALIFIED 2ND

ON HIS QUALIFYING LAP

"My car was pretty good in practice. But that doesn't always translate out. It's so easy to make a little slip or a mistake or whatever. I was really proud of that. We were the third car out, so we felt like we got a disadvantage on the draw, but at the same time, I was really pumped because we really had a good race car. If you got a bad draw, and you have a bad car, you've really got your hands full. So at least we had a really awesome car. And to be real honest with you, I was really surprised that it could hold up and that the time held up as well as it did against the shade coming over Turns 3 and 4."

Mark Martin Friday Media Visit
GM Racing

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 8 U.S. Army Impala SS, met with media members at Richmond International Raceway and talked about his favorite All-Star moment, changes at Darlington, burnouts and much more.

ON THE RICHMOND RACE NOT BEING SOLD OUT

"That's the first I've heard of that. It's a real tough time economically, but that's the first I've heard of it so I haven't thought about it very much. Definitely I know that it's tough economic times, we feel it at our dealerships.. I see it when I roll up to any kind of fuel pump, gas or jet fuel or whatever you name it, it's putting a hurt on a lot of people."

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE ALL-STAR RACE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AWAY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FORMAT IS THIS YEAR?

"No. (laughs), not really. Excitement I'm sure. I think I saw something about that but I don't pay much attention to what it is. We'll figure out what the format is when that's at hand."

ON HIS FAVORITE ALL-STAR MOMENT

"I think both times we won were really great. The way we won the first one was such a huge surprise. We were coming off of turn four running second, coming for the white flag and Jeff Gordon pulled over to the inside and he was out of gas. It was a big surprise. Then winning in 2005 was pretty awesome. Things went pretty awesome that night for me. Every move I made just happened to be right. It felt really good because every move I made just really worked out to be like it was planned that way. It's not always planned that way. Sometimes the moves you make are right or wrong based on what other people do. You can't control those so it worked pretty slick that night, 2005."

YOU LIVE IN FLORIDA, HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR TWO WEEKS IN CHARLOTTE? DO YOU STAY IN CHARLOTTE?

"I'll go back. It's only an hour and a half to my house. For me it's just like someone else jumping in their car and driving up to Greensboro."

ARE YOU ENCOURAGED BY ALL THEIR SPENDING AT DARLINGTON NOW? A FEW YEARS BACK EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT CLOSING THE TRACK.

"I'm encouraged. I don't know, not a lot of things surprise me. You know that's real encouraging. I'd like to see them get their race back."

ON HIS THOUGHTS WHEN HE HEARD A FEW YEARS BACK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF LOSING A RACE AT DARLINGTON

"It was real sad. I'm a Johnny come lately, to be real honest with you. I don't even know what it meant to race there in '59 or whatever the first year was. I know I have a lot deeper roots than a lot of people in the garage, but I still don't have the kind of depth that that place had. To me it was sad and definitely I'm sure it was even more sad to the people who have even deeper roots than I do in NASCAR. That didn't seem like a race track that needed to lose a date. I think there are some, but I don't think Darlington is one of them."

ON DRIVERS ATTENDING DRIVING SCHOOLS TO HELP GET INTO THE SPORT

"There are a lot more opportunities to do that today then there were 30 years ago, but there were driving schools 30 years ago that a lot of us went to. Whether it was road racing, Bondurant, or the driving school that I went to when I was getting ready to start late model racing. There are a lot more to choose from today, but the whole world is quite a bit different than it was 30 years ago."

DO YOU THINK IT CAN BE BENEFICIAL TO SOME PEOPLE?

"The easiest way to become a NASCAR driver is to be better than everybody else. That you don't have to learn. That you have, I think you're born with that. That's the easiest way, just to have more ability and more talent than everyone else. For the rest of us, you got to work hard at it."

WHAT ABOUT MARKETABILITY? HOW MUCH HAS THAT RATIO SHIFTED BETWEEN DRIVING TALENT AND BEING ABLE TO SELL THAT PARTICULAR PERSON?

"I really don't think it shifted, I just think it's more important. It's selective. You still have to be incredible as a driver. Then when you line up five incredible drivers side-by-side, you know the first one's that are chosen, are chosen based on their marketability, but it still hasn't diminished the need for the incredible talent."

HOW EASY IS IT TO GET FRUSTRATED AT ONE OF YOUR TEAMMATES AT TALLADEGA? HAVE YOU CUSSED A TEAMMATE BEFORE?

"Yes, and they've cussed me. It's easy to actually have that anywhere, at Talladega it's even easier. Your expectations from your teammates are sometimes unrealistic and yet sometimes you fall short of what you might do for a teammate based on the things that are going on around you. Not that you plan it out and say I'm gonna do something bad to my teammate. It's just there's a lot going on out there. If you're as dull as I am, sometimes you don't get the chance to think everything through. It happens pretty quickly. You have to make decisions and sometimes in retrospect you might of could've done something differently but you have to make those kind of decisions. It's been going on for a long time. I've had teammates since about 1990 when Jack (Roush) started the second team and you do your best to get along but sometimes you're expectations are pretty high of your teammates and sometimes they just can't meet those expectations."

WHAT'S THE MADDEST A TEAMMATE HAS EVER BEEN AT YOU?

"Matt (Kenseth) probably made it clear that he was mad at me. I may have had other instances that were worse than that, but it wasn't as clear to me as Matt was with me at Chicago or Kansas quite a while back."

DID IT COME AS A SURPRISE THAT HE WAS THAT MAD OR A TEAMMATE COULD GET THAT UPSET WITH YOU?

"Well obviously you never think you did something that was that bad. I didn't think what I did was that bad, but that's how everyone is. We're all just a bunch of grown-up little kids, and you know how little kids, they think they never did anything wrong. We're just a bunch of grown-up little kids."

ON WHAT HE EXPECTS DARLINGTON TO BE LIKE NEXT WEEK

"I think it will be a great race, but it won't be quite the same old Darlington. It will have shades of the old Darlington. But with new pavement, we had new pavement I don't remember what year it was, mid 90's, 95, so it's different. It's better with the worn out pavement in a lot of ways. It's easier to pass I think and a lot of fun but it was ready for a new dress and it got it."

BEING ON THE TRACK IN A STREET CAR, I THOUGHT IT WAS RIDCULOUS GOING DOWN INTO WHAT IS NOW TURN THREE. YOU GUYS ADD ANTOHER 50 MILES PER HOUR IN SPEED, THAT'S GOT TO BE INSANE

"It is, but you add the grip to go with the speed, that's where the speed comes from. It's all relative. It's no more insane to go 15 miles an hour faster than it was to go 15 miles an hour slower on that pavement that wore the tires out as you were rolling across pit road. They were wore out before you got out of the garage, that was pretty insane too."

DID THE TRACK NARROW UP? YOU MAY HAVE MORE GRIP BUT DOESN'T IT GET EVEN MORE NARROW WHEN YOU HAVE HIGH SPEEDS?

"It may get a little bit more narrow with higher speeds, but it's pretty narrow at lower speeds when you don't have any control of your car. It's Darlington, new pavement, old pavement. Fast, when the speeds are slow it's still fast. It's really fast. It'll be interesting. I didn't do the tire test, so I don't know. I knew what it was like in '95. Like I say, I think every driver pretty much likes old pavement verses new pavement."

DID YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF AT DARLINGTON MAKING A MOVE AND IT WORKS AND YOU GET BY AND THINK I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO DO THAT, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? DID YOU EVER SURPRISE YOURSELF SQUEEZING THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE THERE?

"Yeah, and then I usually key up the mic and tell my spotter to tell what's his name, thank you. That's why I made it, because he let me make it."

WHEN DID BURNOUT'S BECOME POPULAR?

"They came apparent to me through (Alex) Zanardi. Zanardi is where I saw it start, that doesn't mean that's where it started. Zanardi did them big time. If he was winning every week and he was doing them like crazy and that's where it seemed to have started from."

WHEN DID IT COME HERE INTO CUP?

"Fairly soon after that. Pretty soon after that. I think they're real juvenile. It would embarrass me to do one because I would think that was either being a copycat or it was something to be expected. From these kids if they didn't do it, it would probably embarrass them so that's what you do today but I don't think I saw Jeff Burton do a burnout at Bristol. Thank goodness."

DOES IT TEAR UP THE EQUIPMENT?

"It's disrespectful to the equipment but it makes good T.V. That's what they show on television every time. If I did a burnout, I would wreck. So I'm not gonna do it."

DID YOU EVER PICTURE ANY CIRCUMSTANCE AT ALL THAT YOU WOULD DO IT?

"No. I slid a little bit in the grass at Charlotte in 2002 when we won the Coke 600 over the Coke logo that was in the grass. I don't see me doing a burnout ever of any kind or a snow angel."

SO YOU WERE BEING PRETTY WILD AND CRAZY GOING THROUGH THE GRASS?

"That was it, yeah. That was a stretch for me. I'll just collect the hardware. I'd rather take the checkered flag and hurry on in to Victory Lane and get there so I can start enjoying it."

Mark Martin Race Preview - Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400
Martin, No 8 Team Hungry For Victory Lane At Richmond
DEI

After their strongest run of the season three weeks ago at Phoenix, Mark Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army Race/Dale Earnhardt Inc. team head to Richmond International Raceway hungry for victory. Martin led 68 laps and was the strongest car down the stretch at Phoenix, but lost out on fuel mileage. The team will look to finish the job this weekend.

WORTHY NOTE

Martin won his second career Cup pole in his first Cup start at Richmond in 1981. He finished seventh in the race, his first career Cup top-10 finish.

MARK MARTIN AT RICHMOND

Starts: 44 (22)
Wins: 1 (-)
Top 5s: 13 (6)
Top 10s: 23 (11)
Poles: 3 (1)
Highest finish: 1 (2/25/90)
First time: 9/13/81 (7th)
Last spring: 5/7/07 (17th)
Last time: 9/8/07 (21st)

MARK MARTIN - FAST FACTS - RICHMOND

Martin has finished inside the top 10 in six of his last 12 races at Richmond.

Martin earned his first career Cup top-10 finish at Richmond on Sept. 13, 1981, finishing seventh.

Martin sat on the pole at his first career Cup race at Richmond in 1981.

Martin has one win, 23 top-10 and 13 top-five finishes in 44 races at Richmond.

Martin holds the Cup and Nationwide records for top fives and top 10s at Richmond.

Martin has a record five Nationwide wins at Richmond.

Martin earned his 41st career Cup pole at Richmond in May 2001.

MARK MARTIN - LAST YEAR AT RICHMOND

MAY 7, 2007
Richmond Int'l Raceway
Started 9th, Finished 17th

Martin battled with an ill handling car for the entire way, going a lap down half-way through the race, while falling back as far as 26th. Still, the team never gave up fighting its way back onto the lead lap with just 23 laps to go in the race and held on for the 17th-place finish.

Struggling early, Martin dropped a lap down after staying out on a longer pit sequence and pitting on lap 213. He later led a laps, as the team made massive adjustments to the car during a series of pit stops throughout the race.

Eventually, while running 23rd, they made wholesale changes with the track bar and wedge under caution on lap 318. The changes paid off with Martin fighting his way back onto the lead lap, eventually battling to the lucky dog position on back on the lead lap on lap 363.

With just 23 laps to go from the checkered flag, Martin was able to hang on for a top-20 finish.

RICHMOND DEEP IN HISTORY FOR MARTIN

This will be Martin's 45th start at Richmond, dating back to Sept. 13, 1981 when he earned his second career Cup pole in only his fourth career start. Martin rolled to a seventh-place finish, the first of his 23 career top-10 finishes at Richmond and the first of his Cup career. Over the years, the veteran has logged over 12,300 miles at the .75-track. He leads all drivers in top-five and top-10 finishes in both the Cup and Nationwide Series and his five Nationwide wins are a track record as well.

ON THE POLE

Martin earned his second career Cup pole at his first start at Richmond in 1981 and his 41st pole there in September 2001. His other pole came in September of 1996.

NO. 8 LOOKING FOR RETURN TO WINNER'S CIRCLE

The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Team's last trip to victory lane came at Richmond on May 6, 2006 - 72 races ago. Martin and the team hope to end that streak this weekend at RIR.

POINTING IT OUT

Despite running a limited schedule and having missed two of seven events in 2008, Martin is still in the top 30 in the Sprint Cup point standings; ahead of nine drivers who have competed in more events. In addition, Martin has three top-10 finishes in 2008; more than 19 drivers who have taken part in all nine events. Also, Martin has as many or even more top fives than 21 drivers who have raced in every event in 2008.

CHASING THE OWNER POINTS

While neither Martin nor co-driver Aric Almirola are in contention for a Sprint Cup Driver Championship, the No. 8 U.S. Army team accumulates points each week as with any other team. The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Team has tallied four top-10 finishes in nine events this season and three top-eight runs in the past four races, and is currently sitting 17th in owner points. The No. 8 team is just 63 points outside of the top 12 and the "Chase" cutoff point.

QUOTING MARK MARTIN ON RICHMOND

"We have a long history at Richmond, going all the way back to the early '80s when I first broke into Cup racing. I sat on the pole there the first time we went in 1981. We were able to actually get a top-10 there the first time as well. It has always been a track that is pretty fun to race on and we've had some great battles and quite a bit of success there over the years. I was able to win there in 1990, but I think a lot of people will remember that for the now famous 46 point penalty that we got after the race. That really played an important role in the championship that season. We've also had some really memorable runs there to race our way into the Chase in our last couple of seasons of point racing.

"We had a great run at Phoenix and it is our hope that it carries over to Richmond. This has always been a strong track for this No. 8 team at DEI and hopefully I can add a little to that mix and we'll be able to go in this weekend and again compete for a win. We came really close at Phoenix, and hopefully we can get the job done for our Soldiers this weekend."

Martin’s history runs deep at Richmond
Poles, points and victories highlight Martin's storied past at Richmond
mmPR/DEI

Mark Martin was a wide-eyed rookie the first time he raced at Richmond in 1981, and he in made the most of his first opportunity taking the pole and running to a seventh-place finish in the Wrangler 400 on Sept. 13, 1981. It was his second pole and his first of 379 top-10 career finishes.

"Richmond is a track that is a lot of run to race on," added Martin. "It's fast and you can really get around it. You can pass and it offers a lot of excitement to both the competitors and the fans. We've had a lot of great runs and battles there. There is a lot of history at Richmond for me."

Martin won at Richmond in the second race of the 1990 season, but in a controversial decision by NASCAR was later penalized for what was deemed an illegal carburetor spacer. He was allowed to keep the win, but was docked 46 points. He later lost the championship that season by only 26.

"That was the famous carburetor spacer 46-point deal," said Martin. "I left the racetrack that day on top of the world. By the time I got home I got the devastating news. We went from a real high to a real low and it was a tough time for me. We went on to have a great year, but that penalty turned out to be pretty big for us."

In 2004 Martin used a dramatic performance at Richmond in the fall to cap a frantic late-season rally to clinch his spot in the inaugural 'Chase' for the Nextel Cup. The veteran's fifth-place finish at RIR was his fourth in the previous five races. With no room for error, Martin had to survive a multi-car accident that saw his race car get spun around a complete 360 degrees, as others cars wrecked all around him.

"It was kind of like Joey Chitwood (famous stuntman) out there," Martin said. "I was spinning around on the track; cars where everywhere. If anyone so much as made any contact with us, our chances at the chase were finished. I finally stopped, put it in gear and went. We were really lucky that night and the wreck actually put us on a pit sequence that helped us to finish in the top five.

"Making that Chase was a really big deal to me. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my racing career. We got so far behind and it was such a fight to get there. It's something that will always stand out."

Martin also earned his 41st career (and currently last) Cup pole at Richmond in 2001. In 2005 he used a split second victory over Kurt Busch in the IROC car to clinch his record 13th championship in the International Race of Champions Series.

He also has five wins in the Nationwide car at Richmond, where he set the all-time Nationwide Series record for poles (29), with his qualifying run there in the fall of 2005.

Martin has 23 top-10 and 13 top-five finishes (both track highs) in 44 starts at Richmond.

Like that first season, Martin returns to Richmond this year as a part of a limited schedule. No longer a wild-eyed kid - but a seasoned veteran - he will look to prove that after 27 years and over 12,000 miles he can still get it done at one of NASCAR's most exciting tracks on the circuit.

Mark Martin Race Report - Phoenix
Martin,U.S. Army Team Come Up Short on Fuel; Finish 5th at Phoenix
Veteran leads 68 laps in strong Phoenix outing
DEI

AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 12, 2008) -- "We were really spectacular this weekend and it's a shame we finished fifth," said Mark Martin, who saw victory slip away after he was called into the pits for fuel with 10 laps remaining in Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway.

At the time of his final pit stop on Lap 302 of 312 Martin was enjoying a comfortable lead on the one-mile oval after passing Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Lap 273. But unfortunately for Martin, his No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet, which was paying tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Army Reserve, was in need of fuel to make it to the checkered flag.

"First of all I have to say how proud I am of this U.S. Army team and everyone at Dale Earnhardt Inc.," said Martin. "Their hearts are broken because we just about pulled this one off tonight. We had a great race car and thought we could make it on fuel. However, this is a team effort. When I drive the car into the wall they (crew) have to stand behind me, just like I am standing behind them right now."

"You hate to see it come down that way," added Martin, who led a total of 68 laps. "But you also don't want to run out of fuel with one lap to go and finish 20th in a race that you've been up front the entire time. Again, it was a great run and this is a great race team. It won't be our last chance to win."

When the race was restarted for the final time there were 80 laps remaining, and the initial thought, was the No. 8 car would fall one lap short of fuel. To compensate for the shortage, Martin delicately conserved fuel as the race was winding down.

"I thought I saved plenty of fuel --probably saved five laps," explained Martin. "We had such a spectacular car at the end of the race I didn't have to run it hard. There were a lot of laps I didn't get the throttle wide open on the straight-aways."

A handful of teams did take a gamble on fuel and opted to stay out, including Jimmie Johnson's race-winning team.

Martin, who started the race fourth, was in contention for the entire race. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 164.

The fifth-place result was the second consecutive top-10 for Martin, who finished eighth in Texas last week. It was also Martin's third top 10 of the season and the team's fourth top 10 in the last five races. Aric Almirola, who shares the No. 8 ride with Martin, finished eighth in Bristol last month.

With the finish, the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team moved into 14th place in Sprint Cup owner points, only 13 points outside the Chase's coveted top 12.

As part of his limited driving schedule, Martin will take off the next Sprint Cup race- April 27 at Talladega (Ala.) Super Speedway. His next scheduled race in the No. 8 Army Chevy is May 3 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Almirola will pilot the No. 8 in Talladega, his third race of the season.

Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Phoenix
GM Racing

MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY IMPALA - Finished 5th:

YOU'VE ALWAYS ASKED FOR JUST A CHANCE TO WIN. YOU HAD ONE TONIGHT. TALK US THROUGH THE LAST FEW LAPS

"Well, you know, we were saving gas. I thought we were trying to go, so we were real, real slow. I was just putting around out there. We had such an incredible car. I planned that run with 80 (laps) to go when we pitted. I said can we go? And we were just sort of saving the gas and trying to be there. I guess there was some confusion on the figuring and they decided that we were going to have to come (in for a pit stop). I'm just really proud of the team and I want them to keep their chin up because I want to win some of these races. And they can do it. They can do it on pit road. And they gave me a race car to win with tonight. Clearly (it was) one of the better cars out there on the race track, it no the best, you know, at the end. We sort of spent the whole race getting ready for a good run there at the end.

"I am just really proud to drive for the U.S. Army and give our soldiers something to cheer for. We just about pulled this one off tonight,. We had a great, great car. We changed our strategy right there at the end. I saved a lot of gas, probably a lot more than they knew. We just had such a spectacular car, there at the end of the race, I didn't have to run it hard. There were a lot of laps I didn't get the throttle wide open on the straightaway. You can't stop if somebody else stays out. It is a privilege to drive for these guys, I want them to keep their chins up because we can win some of these races."

Mark Martin Happy Hour Notes - Phoenix
Martin Fastest in Phoenix Happy Hour
Dale Earnhardt Inc. places four cars in top 15 in final practice session
DEI

AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 11, 2008) -- Mark Martin led the way Friday in the final practice session at Phoenix International Raceway, as preparation concluded for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500. Both Martin's quick time (129.296 mph) and his average time (127.302 mph) were fastest among the field of 43.

"We have a car that can win the race," said Martin in reference to his No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet. "I'm very pleased with how we've run this weekend and we are pretty excited to see what we can do tomorrow night. Hopefully we'll be able to stay up front and go out and compete for the win."

Martin led a strong Dale Earnhardt Inc. effort that saw all four of DEI cars post laps inside the top 15 during Friday afternoon's final practice. Martin Truex Jr. was the third fastest car in the session, while Paul Menard (13th) and rookie of the year candidate Regan Smith (15th) were both top 15.

Mark Martin Media Visit - Phoenix
April 10, 2008
GM Racing

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 8 U.S. Army Impala SS, met with media members at Phoenix International Raceway and talked about additional track testing, drug testing, racing at Talladega, his favorite Phoenix memory and more.

ON WHAT CHANGES HE WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE NEW CAR

"Without a question raise the splitter up. But I wouldn't mess around with an inch. They should have started at seven inches on that splitter, not four. The rest of the car is okay, there's nothing really wrong with the rest of it and we are so far along now with this four-inch splitter, I don't know. I don't know if I would even do anything. Maybe you could take it up an inch and give it some front suspension. That's the only real problem with this car, it doesn't have enough front suspension."

ON IF FRONT DOWN FORCE IS THE MAIN ISSUE WITH THE NEW CAR

"Its front grip and you can get a lot of mechanical grip by giving it some suspension. The down force is still a question; I still don't completely understand what all this aero push is. In 1990, 1989 we didn't have any down force and there was no such thing as aero push. And now when we take down force away, now we have aero push with down force, we take down force away and it seems worse. I'm a little bit baffled about that. We could use more mechanical grip in the front end and that would be easy to get. A four inch splitter was really way radical of a call for NASCAR to make and we could've had seven inches like the truck and gotten used to the car and then maybe each year cut it down an inch, to six then to five or something like that. Really the rest of the car, it's backwards, but it isn't that bad. It's heavy, it's higher, it's this and that but you can pretty much get used to all those things but giving up 50 percent of your front suspension is hard to get used to."

ON IF ADDITONAL TESTING WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT

"No, we don't need to test. It's just burning everybody up, catching them on fire. I don't think that's it."

ON HIS REACTION TO REPORTS THAT AARON FIKE HAD ADMITTED TO BEING ON HEROIN DURING RACES

"I'm astounded. Just, wow. I saw that and I guess that just shows you can be naïve, I was naïve. I didn't think that was ever really a problem or ever would be an issue. I was surprised by that."

WHY DIDN'T YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE AN ISSUE?

"Cause I'm a race car driver and I would have no desire of racing a car or driving a race car with any sort of impairment at all. Matter of fact, I need something to enhance myself. I'm not good enough as it is, so I can use some help instead of something to put me backwards."

ON HOW HE WOULD REACT TO KNOWING HE WAS RACING WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS IMPAIRED FROM DRUGS, ALCOHOL OR SOMETHING ELSE

"I'm not gonna over react to that. Let me be honest with you, I've raced with a lot of guys that weren't impaired that drove like they were. That's not all of it. I don't know, I've raced a long, long time and I've had a lot of guys on the race track scare me that I'm pretty sure weren't under any kind of influence."

ON IF HE THINKS THERE IS A NEED FOR INCREASED DRUG TESTING

"That's a tough call, that's a tough question. Maybe, because I was naïve. I would have said no, the system works fine. I think that's a very isolated incident, but it goes to show you it could happen. Whether you put somebody out there on the race track who doesn't have the experience level and doesn't have the maturity to do it or you put someone out there that has all of that and is under the influence you know it's all not good and you need to prevent both sides of it. You need to screen these people closely, especially the newcomers, the young drivers and all and you also need to be screening them for drugs. That is a big deal. We have a very, very strong sense here in NASCAR of the competitors, what they're like and what they do and how they live their lives on most occasions. I think that one kind of caught us off guard."

ON RACING AT TALLADEGA WITH THE NEW PAVEMENT

"The last few races they've had there have not been like the last few at Daytona. Prior to that, Talladega was more inclined to give you that kind of finish and Daytona was less inclined to. I don't have an answer for that, for sure. Don't really love new pavement anywhere for what it does to the tire situation and the grip situation and all. I really just think it's a matter of coincidence that we haven't had the kind of wild showdowns at the end of Talladega. I was involved in NASCAR in 1981 and 1982 when there would be two, three cars on the lead lap at the finish. I remember four cars on the lead lap at Talladega and nobody complained it was boring and then maybe three or four races later there might have been 15 on the lead lap at the end of the race. So, it's random. You can't predict racing. Sometimes they go down to this much at the finish line and sometimes they go down to nowhere in sight. If you'll just wait, if you see a race that you don't think was exciting enough, if you'll just wait long enough you'll have one there. Be patient."

WHO IS THE GREATEST DRIVER IN ANY SERIES? WHO DO YOU CONSIDER THE GREATEST DRIVER EVER?

"Oh, wow. I won't give you one name but a few names come to mind. Top of my head - Larry Phillips, Dale Earnhardt, Al Unser, Jr., Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, A.J. Almindinger (laughter), don't laugh.

HOW ABOUT MARK MARTIN?

"No, I'm not in that league. I might make the good category but not the great. I'm serious, there's a lot of really great race -- Juan Montoya, a lot of names that people are surprised about. Al Unser, Jr. was one of the best I ever raced against. Anytime, anywhere, anything - Tony Stewart. A.J. Foyt was a little bit before my time when I was a little kid and a fan, but for what I understood he could drive anything, anywhere, anytime, that's Tony Stewart in my eyes. There's a lot of great race car drivers, I'm not talking about great results, I'm talking about great race car drivers. What gets the results are fickle, what team you're with all kinds of things like that so I don't really go off the trophies. I go off the abilities and what they can do behind the wheel of any given race car."

ON TIRES LAST WEEK AT TEXAS AND PREVIOUSLY AT ATLANTA

"I think the grip level that we had at Texas was marginal, it was right marginal. It was acceptable, but it was right there. If you go over that line, it's not acceptable like Atlanta, totally unacceptable. It's not all race car. Part of it is the tire that we marry to the race car and I think over time the team's getting better with the cars and Goodyear's getting better with what we need for a tire that will be durable enough but also give us a grip level, I think it will get better. One note I would like to make here, point I would like to make, I didn't see one tire failure all weekend at Texas. And by the way, the tires were acceptable. The grip level was acceptable for that car. With that all said, I would say that's a pretty good weekend.

"Unacceptable at Atlanta, acceptable at Texas. We didn't have a tire failure at Texas. I'm not so sure you can say that about Atlanta. I felt like there were tire failures at Atlanta and the grip was unacceptable. There were two pluses at Texas, you were inside the margin of acceptable grip and what I would call zero failures."

ON IF HE THINKS GOODYEAR'S LEARNING CURVE WITH THE NEW CAR HAS BEEN A LITTLE SLOW

"They're trying to make themselves happy, NASCAR happy and the teams happy. That's a pretty tall order and this car has presented a challenge to try to meet all that criteria. I think they did a good job in Texas with that."

HOW ARE THE TIRES FOR THIS WEEKEND?

"I think they'll be fine. We had a test here. I think they will be great."

ON IF HE THINKS TIRES ARE A FACTOR IN THE SLOWER SPEEDS

"I don't know. Everybody is going as fast as they can go."

ON HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT NASCAR HAVING A TRAVELING SAFETY TEAM

"I think that's a hot potato. I don't think NASCAR likes to hear that. That's been discussed ever since I've been a part of this thing."

DO YOU THINK THE CARE IS CONSISTENT FROM TRACK TO TRACK, CONSISTENT ENOUGH?

"When it comes to somebody's life, is it ever good enough?"

HOW CAN THEY GET BETTER?

"Well they spend more money."

SIMPLE AS JUST LAYING THE GREEN BACKS DOWN?

"It costs more money to make it better. It's a pretty simple formula. I mean that formula is fairly simple. Costs more money to have better . . ."

WHO SHOULD SPEND THE MONEY?

"I don't know."

NOT THE TRACKS, NOT NASCAR?

"I don't know."

DO YOU THINK NASCAR DOESN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH IT ON THEIR OWN?

"I don't know. They didn't used to. They didn't use to want to talk about it, so I don't know where they are today. I don't talk to them a lot about a lot of things because they don't really, what I mean doesn't really matter and if they had done what I thought they should have done then the whole thing would be all messed up so I keep my mouth shut because I usually don't know what's best."

ON HIS BEST MEMORY OF RACING AT PHOENIX

"We won here in '93, that's pretty awesome. I don't know if that was the year that I raced with Ernie (Irvan) so hard, but winning here and racing with my buddy Ernie."

ON HOW THE TRACK HAS CHANGED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS

"It's just been a little different. It's a lot the same. Different stages of pavement from new to old, in between. It's like that, its old pavement and they repaved it somewhere along the way and now the pavement is old again. It's just gone through those age cycles."

Martin's No. 8 Chevy to Honor Army Reserve’s 100th Anniversary
DEI

PHOENIX (April 8, 2008) -- Mark Martin's No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet will pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of the United States Army Reserve in this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway.

The hood on Martin's Impala SS will be covered with the Army Reserve's 100th anniversary logo and tag line -- Army Reserve, 100 Years Strong.

"It's awesome -- and appropriate -- that one of NASCAR's top drivers is honoring the Army Reserve's 100th anniversary in this weekend's NASCAR race." said Lt. Col. Virginia Zoller of the U.S. Army Reserve. "Mark Martin is a hero to generations of NASCAR fans. When he drives the car with our anniversary logo, he helps recognize the contributions of hundreds of thousands of heroes who served our nation for a century."

The history of the Army Reserve dates back to April 23, 1908 when Congress established the Army's first Federal Reserve.

The Army Reserve began as a small force of approximately 160 medical professionals. Today, the Army Reserve consists of 205,000 soldiers and is an operational, expeditionary and domestic force that is an essential piece of the U.S. Army.

Joining the Army Reserve contingent for Saturday night's Cup race will be a local hero -- Staff Sgt. Christopher Cruse, a Phoenix native who received multiple honors for his service in Iraq, including the Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge and the Army Commendation Medal.

Cruse was severely injured when his humvee was struck by an anti-tank mine on July 25, 2004. He is currently back in Phoenix, serving as an Army Recruiter in the Glendale area.

"This Army Reserve paint scheme has plenty of meaning," said Martin. "We want nothing more than to go out there on Saturday and put on an excellent show as our way of honoring all the men and women who have served, and are currently serving, in the U.S. Army Reserve. They have sacrificed so much for our freedom."

Taking into account how Martin has performed in Phoenix, there's a good chance the Army Reserve car will run up front. In 22 races at the one-mile oval, Martin has one win, eight top fives and 14 top 10s. In addition, the veteran has led a track-high 608 laps, including 137 in the last three races.

Mark Martin Race Preview - Subway Fresh Fit 500
Martin, No. 8 team head west for Phoenix night race
DEI

After a strong run last week at Texas, Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army/Dale Earnhardt Inc. Team head west to Phoenix International Raceway for the season's first Saturday night showdown. Martin and the team will look to build on their momentum following an eighth-place finish Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

MARK MARTIN AT PHOENIX

Starts: 22 (3)
Wins: 1 (-)
Top 5's: 8 (-)
Top 10's: 14 (-)
Poles: 0
Highest finish:1st (10/31/93)
First time: 11/6/88 (36th)
Last year: 4/21/07(12th)

WORTHY NOTE

Martin's 608 laps led at Phoenix is not only the most in track history, but 160 more than second.

MARTIN AT PHOENIX

Martin will make his 23rd start at Phoenix International Raceway, where he won on Oct. 31, 1993. He has eight top-five and 14 top 10 finishes at Phoenix. However, his best finish in three spring races at Phoenix is 11th last season.

POINTING IT OUT

Despite running a limited schedule and having missed two of seven events in 2008, Martin is still in the top 30 in the Sprint Cup point standings; ahead of seven drivers who have started all seven events. In addition, Martin has two top-10 finishes in 2008; more than 22 drivers who have taken part in all seven events.

CHASING THE OWNER POINTS

While neither Martin nor co-driver Aric Almirola are in contention for a Sprint Cup driver Championship, the No. 8 U.S. Army team accumulates points each week as with any other team. The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Team has tallied three top-10 finishes in seven events this season and two top-eight runs in the past three weeks, and is currently sitting 19th in owner points. The No. 8 team is just 21 points behind the 15th-place No. 2 car and 132 points outside the top 12.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Martin won the Phoenix race in 1993, but it probably wasn't his strongest outing at the track. Martin fans will most likely remember 2006's spring Phoenix race as 'the one that got away.' Martin's car was clearly the class of the field, leading 111 laps and building as much as a six-second lead. A problem in the pits dropped Martin to the back of the field midway though the race, but he was so strong on that night that he drove all the way back to second place before running out of fuel at the end of the race. Even with all the problems, Martin finished 11th.

QUOTING MARK MARTIN ON PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

"I'm excited about getting out to Phoenix this week. Phoenix can be a lot of fun, and I've had some really good cars there over the years. We won there in 1993 and we really let one get away from us there a couple of years ago. Still, we've led a lot of laps at Phoenix and we have some really good race cars. I'm really looking forward to going there with (crew chief) Tony Gibson and this No. 8 U.S. Army Race Team. I think it's the type of track that really suits their style as well, and hopefully we can build on what we've been doing and go there and possibly contend for a win."

"I'm really proud of the effort that we had last week at Texas. The communication was a lot better and we were able to really get the car better as the race went on. I continue to be very excited about working with these guys. These guys are a dedicated group of pure racers, and I think it will only continue to get better and better as the year progresses.”

MARK MARTIN – PHOENIX FAST FACTS

Martin has finished inside the top 10 in 64 percent (14) of his Phoenix Cup races.

Martin has led the most laps at Phoenix (608), including 137 in the last three races.

Martin won at Phoenix on Oct. 31, 1993.

Martin is one of only five drivers to have started 22 races at Phoenix and one of 12 to have won there.

Martin has finished second or better in six of 22 races at Phoenix.

Martin is tied for the most top fives at Phoenix (8) and his 14 top-10 finishes are the second most.

Martin finished 12th at Phoenix last season in his Car of Tomorrow debut.

LAST YEAR AT PHOENIX

April 21, 2007
Phoenix International Raceway
Started 20th, Finished 12th

Mark Martin found the going tough in his debut race in the Car of Tomorrow at Phoenix. Still, the U.S. Army Team was able to use a late-race pit call and solid work in the pits to pull off at 12th-place finish; advancing Martin one place to 10th in the Nextel Cup point rankings, despite missing two races.

Martin started the race 20th and was able to advance as far as 15th early on, but he was never able to truly get a handle on his Chevrolet. Although loose in the corners, the car started to pick up a push around lap 70, and Martin would fight coming off the corners for the remainder of the race.

He fell back as far as 20th position on lap 196, as he continued to battle lapped traffic. Crew Chief Ryan Pemberton made the call of the day keeping Martin out on the track, while several of the leaders began to pit on lap 279. The race’s seventh and final caution was called just four laps later on lap 283. The event trapped several cars a lap down.

The call, combined with a quick stop in the pits, moved Martin up six positions to 12th when the green flag dropped for the final time on lap 293. Martin was able to hold on to position for the final laps, finishing just two places short of his sixth top-10 finish in six races.

Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Samsung 500
GM Racing
April 6, 2008

MARK MARTIN, NO. 8 U.S. ARMY IMPALA SS -- Finished 8th:

"We had a great communication day with (crew chief) Tony (Gibson) and I. It was a tremendous improvement from what we did in Atlanta. I was very disappointed in myself at Atlanta and I feel really good about Tony and I and the Army team and the way we work together. We got the car good, especially for the second half of the race. We were very competitive later on there in the race.

"It came to us. We hardly adjusted the car very, very little. But the longer the race went, the better our car got. And we really actually had a top five car there at the end. I hated to see the caution come out. But I guess we only lost one spot. It doesn't really matter. But we were coming on strong. We were in 7th. It was actually getting to be a pretty strong car there in the latter part of the race."

SOME PEOPLE WONDERED ABOUT TIRES THIS WEEKEND AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN ATLANTA. DID YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES, OR WERE THEY EVEN COMPARABLE?

"These are acceptable. Atlanta was not. I've driven these cars 30 years. I've never driven on anything like Atlanta in 30 years of experience. So, these tires were great. They were very acceptable. I give them high marks. I didn't see anybody having any problems and the car is a handful. Tony Gibson and the U.S. Army team got ours good for the second half and I felt like we were pretty competitive."

HOW ARE YOU PROGRESSING WITH ALL THE CHEMISTRY?

"We're a lot better. I felt really disappointed after Atlanta. I felt like I really let the team down. And so I worked hard with Tony and the guys to make sure we communicated better and I did a better job of leading the team."

WHY DID YOU FEEL THAT WAY?

"Well, because we were terrible, and maybe I could do something about it. So here, I tried to help them. They couldn't help me unless I could help them. We were terrible at Atlanta and I was embarrassed and disappointed in myself and I feel really good about this weekend. It's incredible you can make that much progress in one race, but I love working with Tony. These guys have got big hearts and it's a special time for me to represent all our soldiers. And it was a good run. I look forward to going to Phoenix."

WITH EVERYONE ON DIFFERENT LEVELS OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE NEW CARS, HOW WAS THE HANDLING OF YOUR CAR?

"It was very acceptable today. I'm not saying it was overly comfortable, but it was very acceptable today. I give the tires high marks and I give Tony Gibson and the U.S. Army team kudos for doing everything so great. We had great communication this weekend. I let them down in Atlanta and I feel better about how this weekend went."

Mark Martin Race Report - Samsung 500
Martin Drives to Eighth-Place Finish at Texas Motor Speedway
Veteran hangs on for top finish of season
DEI
April 6, 2008

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 6, 2008) -- Mark Martin picked up two spots on the final lap of Sunday's Samsung 500 to post his best finish of the 2008 season, an eighth-place run at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS).

Martin, who was inducted earlier in the week into the TMS Hall of Fame, backed up the honor by posting his eighth career top-10 result at the 1.5-mile track.

"This was just an awesome job by the U.S. Army Team," said Martin, who started the race from the 31st position. "We kept working with the car all day and it was pretty good there by the end of the race."

"I'm very proud of (crew chief) Tony Gibson and this entire DEI team," added Martin. "I think we had a run that our soldiers can be proud of today. Hopefully we can build on this, and pick up where we left off next week in Phoenix."

Martin battled hard and worked his way to seventh place, when the race's sixth and final caution was issued on Lap 329 of 339. With only 10 cars on the lead lap, the caution set up several different strategic options for the race leaders. Martin and Gibson opted for four tires, while the first five cars stayed on the track for the green-white-checkered overtime finish.

Martin restarted his No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala SS in ninth position, and fell back to 10th as the race took the white flag signifying one lap remaining. However, Martin dug in and was able to pick up two positions during the final lap.

"There really was a lot going on at the end," explained Martin. "It's always hard to know what to do in those situations, but Tony made a good decision and we were able to get an eighth-place finish out of the deal. I'm very excited about this run today."

Martin wasted little time racing through the field once the green flag waved to start the race. He had a loose-handling car early, but was able to move the car inside the top 20 on Lap 32 and inside the top 15 by Lap 81.

Martin moved inside the top 10 for the first time on lap 230, where he would run virtually the remainder of the race.

The finish is Martin's second top-10 in five starts in 2008 and it's the second top-eight finish for the No. 8 Army team in the last three races (co-driver Aric Almirola finished eight two weeks ago at Bristol).

The Texas result moved the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team into 19th place in the Sprint Cup owner points.

Martin Brings Hall of Fame Career Back to Texas Motor Speedway
Veteran set to make 15th Cup start at Texas
DEI

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 2, 2008) -- Mark Martin will make his 15th career Sprint Cup start at Texas this weekend, but his first as a member of the Texas Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

Martin, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this week, won at TMS in 1998 and has totaled five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 14 starts at the track. In addition, the Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver boasts three wins and four top-five finishes in the Nationwide Series at Texas.

"It's really a great honor to be recognized for what we have been able to achieve at Texas," said Martin. "I've always enjoyed going there. It's one of my favorite tracks on the circuit and it was an obvious choice to keep on my schedule. We won there in 1998 and we've had some really solid runs there the last few years. Hopefully we can keep that going this weekend with this No. 8 U.S. Army team."

Martin, who finished third a year ago at Texas, will make his return to the track this weekend after taking off the last two races at Bristol and Martinsville. Aric Almirola, Martin's co-driver in the No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet, finished eighth at Bristol, then qualified third at Martinsville and had a strong run going before falling out late in the race with a punctured radiator.

"Aric did a tremendous job in those races," said Martin. "He is a very talented driver and it was great to be able to watch him run well in the car. We had a lot of hope for Aric when we brought him on board and he has proven what he can do behind the wheel of the car. Now it's my turn to get back out there and see if we can keep this No. 8 team headed in the right direction."

"This really is a great race team," added Martin. "Tony Gibson and these guys on this No. 8 U.S. Army Team are all pure racers. These guys love to race and they love to run up front. They go to the track each week looking to run well and contend to win races. I love what I have seen so far and I really look forward to getting more time in with these guys. We have some pretty good tracks coming up and I'm excited to see what we can do."

Martin, who has finished 92.9 percent of the Cup laps turned at Texas, has logged over 6,500 miles at TMS. One of only five drivers to have competed in all 14 races at Texas Motor Speedway, Martin has led in seven of his 14 starts at the track. In addition, he is tied for the most top five and top 10 career finishes at the track. The veteran will look to expand on those credentials this weekend, and continue to build on what is already a true hall of fame career.

Mark Martin Race Preview - Texas Motor Speedway
Samsung 500
DEI

MARTIN RETURNS TO THE NO. 8 U.S. ARMY CAR AT TEXAS

After taking races off at Bristol and Martinsville, Martin returns to action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for his fifth Sprint Cup start of the season.

MARTIN AT TEXAS

Martin will make his 14th start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, where he won the second race in 1998. He has five top fives and seven top 10 finishes in the Cup Series at Texas. Martin finished third in this race last season. Martin has completed 92.9 percent of the Cup laps at Texas and has led in seven of 14 races. In addition, Martin has won three times in eight starts in the Nationwide Series at Texas, including the inaugural event in 1997.

MARTIN TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY HALL OF FAME

For his accomplishments at Texas Motor Speedway, Martin will be inducted into the Texas Motor Speedway Hall of Fame this week. Martin has a total of five wins, nine top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes in NASCAR racing at Texas Motor Speedway.

THE VETERAN AND THE ROOKIE SOLID TEAMWORK

Martin will return to the No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet this weekend, after giving way to rookie Aric Almirola at the last two races. The veteran will have his work cut out for him, as Almirola posted a top-10 finish at Bristol and a top-three qualifying effort at Martinsville last weekend. Martin will pilot the car at Texas and Phoenix, before giving the wheel back to Almirola at Talladega.

LOOKING AT THE POINTS

While neither Martin nor Almirola are contending for a Sprint Cup driver Championship, the No. 8 U.S. Army team accumulates points each week as with any other team. The No. 8 team peaked after Bristol at 15th, just three spots out of the coveted top 12. A punctured radiator at Bristol helped knock the team back to 22nd position, where they sit going into this weekend's event at Texas.

MARK MARTIN QUOTES ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

"I'm looking forward to going to Texas and getting back out on the racetrack. I've really enjoyed having a couple of races off and getting to watch the races at home on television, but I am definitely ready to get back out on the race track with Tony Gibson and this U.S. Army Race Team. These guys are a pleasure to work with and I can't wait to see what we can do in Texas this weekend.

"Aric (Almirola) did a great job driving the car the last two races. He is an extremely talented race car driver and I think the results speak for themselves. He had a top 10 at Bristol and turned around and qualified third at Martinsville. I'm really going to have to make sure I'm on my game to live up to my end of the equation with as well as Aric has run."

MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS - TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Martin posted a Cup win at Texas in the second race there in 1998.

Martin has five top fives and seven top 10's in 14 Cup starts at Texas.

Martin has led in seven of his 14 starts at Texas, where he has completed 92.9 percent of his laps.

Martin is a 2008 inductee into the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame.

Martin has won three times in the Nationwide Series at Texas in four races, including the inaugural Busch race there in 1997.

LAST YEAR AT TEXAS

APRIL 15, 2007 – Texas Motor Speedway

Started 6th, Finished 3rd

Martin finished third in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The finish was Martin’s fourth top-five and fifth top-10 in five starts in 2007.

Martin started the race sixth based on the No. 01’s owner points after Friday’s qualifying was canceled due to severe weather. The team struggled early with the car’s handling in traffic and Martin dropped back to as far as 15th as he struggled with an aero push behind other cars.

The team made its final adjustment on its fourth pit stop of the race on lap 117, moving the track bar up and adjusting the air pressure. Martin restarted in 14th position when the field returned to green.

From that point on the No. 01 U.S. Army Team went to work, picking up five positions on the next three stops as Martin moved up the field, breaking back inside the top 10 on lap 195. He would run the remainder to the race inside the top 10, moving inside the top five for the first time of the day on lap 239, where he would run for the rest of the race. The veteran picked up two positions in the final 20 laps of the race to move to the third place finish.

Texas soldier honored for heroism will be guest of U.S. Army NASCAR team
DEI

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 1, 2008) -- Mark Martin and the United States Army NASCAR team will have an added incentive at this weekend's Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Along with the Army's prerace pageantry for Sunday's Samsung 500, the No. 8 team will be introduced to a special guest - Staff Sergeant Kenneth Thomas -- a hometown hero from Utopia, Texas, located approximately 85 miles northwest of San Antonio.

Thomas, 23, a member of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division out of Ft. Hood, Texas, was awarded the Silver Star, a decoration for gallantry in combat.

Thomas' heroic action on Feb. 16, 2007 resulted in a number of his comrades' lives being saved while his boat patrol platoon was under attack by heavy enemy fire on the Tigris River -- 20 miles north of Baghdad.

"I got so excited when I was told that I would be going to a NASCAR race," said Thomas, who joined the Army following his 2002 graduation from Utopia High School. "This is really an honor for me. I've seen races on television and they look like a lot of fun. I just can't wait to get there."

Thomas will be accompanied to Sunday's race by his platoon sergeant in Iraq -- Sgt. 1st Class Allen Johns.

"When I hear stories about our soldiers like Mr. Thomas, I do sit back and reflect about what an awesome honor it is to wear the Army uniform," said Martin, a 35-time NASCAR Cup winner. "I am so proud to represent our soldiers and drive their car."

The Army will also have a visible presence during Sunday's national anthem. The 36th Infantry Division Band out of Austin, Texas will play The Star Spangled Banner while 50 Army Reserve and Army National Guard soldiers from Ft. Worth will hold the 30-by-60-foot flags of the United States and Texas.

The 1st Cavalry Division from Ft. Hood will provide the color guard for the national anthem along with 56 soldiers, who will hold the state and territory flags.