NASCAR's Mark Martin
2009 Season Articles - November & December
It was Johnson's evening, but Martin's moment
A few years ago people were giving him rocking chairs, fitting gifts for a man who seemed to be easing into retirement. Friday night, Mark Martin was back on the stage at the Sprint Cup awards ceremony for the first time in three seasons, the 50-year-old fresh off a runner-up campaign that stands among the best and most satisfying in his long and illustrious career.
"You really know how to steal a guy's thunder, don't you?" he remarked to champion Jimmie Johnson, being honored with his fourth consecutive series title in NASCAR's first postseason banquet at Las Vegas. But it was Martin who stole the show Friday night, upstaging showgirls and impressionists and even the champion himself with a heartfelt speech that left some in the Wynn ballroom a little misty.
If his words were scripted, it didn't show. Martin's remarks seemed spontaneous and earnest, a welcome departure from several driver speeches that came across as a little too orchestrated. People in the audience ooohed and ahhhed as he mentioned the butterflies he still gets in his stomach when he looks at his wife Arlene. They wiped their eyes when he talked about how being associated with car owner Rick Hendrick made him want to be a better man. They applauded robustly as he recounted his first full-time season since 2006, a five-win campaign that felt like a gift.
"I've been so fortunate to be able to pick up a bunch of trophies. You bring them home, you set them down, and after a while you don't notice them anymore," Martin said. "But what does last is the quality time I got to spend with my family this year, and with my team and the fans. That stuff will last a lifetime for me. I want to thank you all for it. 2009 is a year I will always remember."
Not even Johnson, who picked up a $6.6 million check for his record-breaking fourth consecutive title, could match that. Nobody could, really, although the ballroom grew hear-a-pin-drop silent as Hendrick struggled with his emotions after being given the Bill France Award of Excellence by Betty Jane France, widow of former series chairman Bill France Jr. Those were easily the most poignant moments of Friday night's ceremony, which was in Las Vegas for the first time after 28 years in New York, most of those spent amid the aristocratic surroundings of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
The change was noticeable as soon as you walked into the room. While the Waldorf-Astoria's grand ballroom is a relatively intimate space overlooked by two decks of balconies, the Wynn offered a sprawling hall that allowed NASCAR to put on a production worthy of any Las Vegas casino. The setting, with a faux-neon backdrop that changed color and an in-the-round secondary stage apart from the main stage, was beguiling. The entertainment, from host Frank Caliendo to comedian John Pinette to musical acts David Gray, Escala and Brooks and Dunn, was as good as it's ever been. It all made you wonder why it took NASCAR so long to leave New York in the first place.
The space allowed 300 fans to watch from the rear of the ballroom, a first for a NASCAR awards ceremony, and many times they livened up the proceedings by whooping and hollering. Even Martin, not exactly the type of you'd expect to see slinging dice at the craps table at 3 a.m.—although it wasn't uncommon to find other drivers doing exactly that—loved it.
"I'd like to thank Sprint and NASCAR for bringing this banquet to Las Vegas," he said. "It's been a big time. I've really enjoyed it."
Overall it was one of the better NASCAR awards ceremonies in recent memory, an event that felt energized by the unknowns that accompanied the change in location. It wasn't perfect—segments on NASCAR's Hall of Fame and the sport's green initiatives seemed forced and unnecessary, and gave the first half of the event a rambling quality. Taped bits by ventriloquist Terry Fator, a headliner at the Mirage, fell flat. (Note to NASCAR: No more puppets at the awards show.) In driver speeches, the repeated thanks offered to fans and the military felt like talking points ordered from on high.
But those lulls were few and far between. Ryan Newman thanked his wife Krissie for making those "courageous walks to the Talladega infield care center." Tony Stewart, who led the points for 13 consecutive weeks but faded to sixth in the Chase, needled the championship system. "Maybe next year they'll change the rules or the format a little bit, and we'll give the championship away at the halfway point or something," he said. Denny Hamlin was all over the place, thanking his sunglasses sponsor ("I could have used the sunglasses at Homestead when I got into Brad [Keselowski]") to Sprint ("for those two hot girls who stand behind us in Victory Lane and nod") to NASCAR ("What can I say? Early morning meetings, late-night trailer visits, it's a great place to race").
And then there was the host Caliendo, a headliner at the Monte Carlo and a frequent contributor to Fox NFL broadcasts, whose collection of celebrity impressions brought down the house. Appearing as television personality Dr. Phil in one taped bit, he razzed one driver after another. "What were you thinking with that whole back flip thing?" he said to Carl Edwards, who finished 11th and was not in attendance. "You know who does back flips? Little girls, trained monkeys, and mechanical dogs. I was going to tell you to knock it off, but then I remembered—you haven't won in a while anyway."
It was good-natured fun of the kind drivers and team members enjoyed all week, from the roast at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that kicked off Champion's Week on Wednesday, to Thursday's Victory Lap parade down a Las Vegas Strip choked with onlookers, to the ceremony itself. Time will tell whether the geographic shift saved teams money, given that even the best hotels in Las Vegas were markedly less expensive that what was available in New York. But the fact that NASCAR felt wanted and appreciated—not always the case in Manhattan—seemed priceless.
"The city has been over the top in welcoming us and being excited to have us here," Johnson said. "New York is a great place. I have an apartment there, and like to spend a lot of time there. But in December, it's such a tourist destination, it's so packed for the holiday season, it's tough. It's tough to find friendly people, it's tough to find a friendly city environment to welcome us and to host us. Vegas has been great, and we get a year or so under our belt here and it's going to be bigger and better."
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes – Ford 400
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, FINISHED 12TH IN THE RACE AND 2ND IN THE FINAL STANDINGS
"This might have been the hardest one to win that we picked but I am so proud of this team and so glad I got to drive this car. And I don't know what next year will bring but we will dig deep and whether we do better, or worse, or the same - we are going to be looking for more and we will see if we can try and find enough to pull it off. It was enough this year to beat a couple of guys that held me off before -- Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon. So it was really, really, really a special year.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ONE-TWO-THREE FINISH BY HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?
"Congratulations to Hendrick Motorsports, but I know we all have heavy hearts right now."
THIS WASN'T THE WHOLE ENCHILADA BUT I KNOW YOU HAVE SAID THAT IT'S BEEN A DREAM ALL YEAR AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AT THE END OF THE SEASON?
"I finally picked the hardest one ever to try to win. But my race team was so awesome.....the five car. I just want to thank the fans and the competitors. Their support means more to me than that trophy. I swear.
"I almost get emotional about it because it was such an incredible achievement to even have a chance and to be a part of history here, but I know all of us have heavy hearts right now and praying for our Hendrick tragedy that we are dealing with."
MARK, IT WAS A TOUGH FIGHT BUT YOU HAD A GREAT YEAR.
"It was a great fight and it was a sure tough night and actually the car was pretty good that last run and we changed stuff on it, went to the back, and wrestled and actually the last run was decent. If we could have been there the whole race we could have got a top ten out of it. We are lacking something here and you know, as a group I think just a little bit and we will work on it for next year. But it was really a privilege to even have a crack at it."
I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO REFLECT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BUT A HECK OF A BATTLE?
"Yes, it was awesome. I am proud of these guys and I am proud of everything that took place this year for Hendrick Motorsports and thankful that they gave me a chance."
DID YOU EVER THINK AT A SEASON FINALE THAT YOU WOULD BE LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT SEASON AS MUCH AS YOU ARE NOW?
"No, I did not. This has been great and has been the best year I could ever dream of and it was an honor and a privilege to have a shot at it and we didn't do it but we gave them a run for it anyway and we tried hard."
MARK IS THE 5 AS GOOD OF THE 48 THIS YEAR?
"My equipment is just as good, but I am not as good as Jimmie Johnson."
Mark Martin - Ford 400 Post-Race Transcript
An Interview With MARK MARTIN - 2nd in final 2009 standings
THE MODERATOR: If I could have your attention, please, we have tonight our 2009 runner up in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and that's Mark Martin. He drives the No. 5 Kellogg's CARQUEST Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Mark, I can't say enough about the type of season you had. I know you gave it everything you possibly could and certainly put on a great show for all the fans and the competitors that follow this sport. Your thoughts about how things unfolded this evening and maybe this entire season for you.
MARK MARTIN: Well, there's a little bit of a dark cloud over it all because the boss and the family in Charlotte. I'm sorry that he wasn't that he needed to be there. We made history in multiple ways tonight at Hendrick Motorsports, and for me it's just incredible, just incredible to have had a chance at it.
We were the only team in the garage that had earned a chance in the last race at it, and that's quite an accomplishment.
And just what the fans have done and what the competitors have done means so much to me. I don't have one of those trophies, so I don't know what one of those things would mean to me. But I can't imagine it meaning any more than the feeling that I felt from so many people, competitors and fans.
Q: I just wanted to ask you the same question I asked Jeff about trying to put this victory by Jimmie into context in terms of where he might belong.
MARK MARTIN: Jeff told you the same thing. It's very difficult when it's happening to make statements, and I don't want to offend myself or any of my other old timers by making statements right now. Let's just let it play out. He's not done yet.
I look at that a little bit like that old question, are drivers athletes, and I say, who cares, because the race is still on whether we are or not, and we love racing, right? I look at that a little bit the same way. It's like, what's the argument? I mean, the numbers speak for themselves, and I don't think they're done yet.
Q: Congratulations on a great season coming back. Reflecting back to where you were at the start of the year with the goals you set for yourself and what you've accomplished, what's your dominant emotion now? What are you feeling right now? Is it pride at what you've accomplished? Is it frustration at not
MARK MARTIN: There's no frustration, man. I know you'd love it. I know y'all would love it, but there's no frustration. There's none. I'm very proud of what we accomplished.
I'm very proud of what we accomplished, and on top of all that, I had more fun than anybody. So how could you what else can you say, man? I had a blast. It's been an honor and a privilege, and I didn't leave nothing. I never left anything anywhere.
We got beat, and we got beat under any scenario that might have happened. I didn't leave anything out there.
My race team dug as hard as they could dig, and we accomplished more than anybody else in the garage this year except for the 48. That ought to be enough to make you proud.
Q: In a lot of ways, your story has kind of made you like a beloved figure among your competitors in the garage. Do you think that is more fulfilling to you than any championship could have been?
MARK MARTIN: Look, I don't have one, so I don't know. That's what sure, I can say that because I don't have one. But when you're young, it's all about you, at least it was for me. And when you get older, you know, things look a little bit different, at least they do to me.
I am one of the luckiest guys in the world to have done what I've done and worked with the people that I've worked with and earned what I have earned.
Q: Rick has said this a couple times and said it when he was in here again on Friday. He felt like he needed to say something to you at the beginning of the season when he had talked you into coming back and you had a couple engine failures at a place where you probably never expected to. Just what were your thoughts at that point? Did you have some second thoughts at that time? Alan said that he had tried to keep he had to keep thinking, not looking at the hard numbers but looking at the potential.
MARK MARTIN: Well, it was bad luck, and it was a little gloomy. But we were running good. So it would have been so much worse if we'd have been running bad and all that stuff would have happened.
We just had to dig in, roll our sleeves up, and we made a tremendous year out of it. I've got enough experience, and I might use the word mature. I'm mature enough to realize that there's more to this sport than four races, the first four.
Q: You were in a situation a couple years ago with Roush where all five cars made the Chase. Now you've been a bigger part of history with Hendrick finishing one, two, three in points. What did this situation have this year? You've been at Hendrick a year now; what gave Hendrick a little bit more of an edge to get you guys to that next level and be as dominant as you guys were this year, compared to Roush?
MARK MARTIN: I don't know, we were pretty strong that year that we did that at Roush's. The level of your competitiveness is cyclical; it don't always you're not always on top, you're not always on the bottom and not always in the middle. And Hendrick does a good job of getting knocked off the top a little less than most.
But it's still a moving target, and we've got our challenge on our hands for next year.
Q: Enough of this gloomy. There have been times when you were a little bit younger man when it seemed like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders. How do you think you're going to feel when next season starts?
MARK MARTIN: Happy. I'm going to be happy. You know, this is the first time in in as long as I can remember that I'm not glad it's over with. I'm fine. I've had a blast all year, and I do look forward to starting with a clean slate. But other than that, I'm a happy guy.
Q: Again, on a lighter note, about five years ago at your first retirement lunch, you told us Joey Logano, you'd hire him. What have you seen from him in the last five years, and where do you predict he's going to be five years from now?
MARK MARTIN: It's always nice to say I told you so, isn't it? (Laughter.)
I guess that was obvious, blindingly obvious, what a great he was going to be. And will be. He'll be fun to watch.
Q: We haven't heard anything about the race. How did this thing go? Were you chasing the car, or what?
MARK MARTIN: Yeah, our car didn't work well today. It didn't work well, and we really struggled with it. And as the sun went down and we went to the back, we came in and pitted and tried to do some work on it to try to improve it, and it didn't really improve it a whole lot, so then we were stuck with sorry track position on top of not having a great race car. We just fought and fought and fought, and actually the last adjustment perked it up, and we drove from 21st to 10th, and then right at the end a couple of the guys got the high line going and got me back.
It was a great run, that last run. I mean, it wasn't good enough. I mean, if we'd have been with that all day, then we were a top six car maybe, like that, but we would have needed to be like that the whole race and not just the last run.
We've got our work cut out for us to make our cars better for here. It didn't work well.
Q: Can you share with us what you said to Jimmie when you met him out there at the stage?
MARK MARTIN: You guys would just write it in the paper if I told you. How about I just say congratulations. I wanted to see him and Chad and all those guys who did a superior job. It's incredible. What they've done is incredible. Ask anybody trying to beat them.
Q: As the night wore along and as it became semi obvious what the reality of the outcome was going to be, how much does it make you I don't know if proud is the right word or not, that you were able to hang onto second for the season?
MARK MARTIN: I was concerned when I was very concerned when we made the stop and worked on the car, went to the back, because the car wasn't good enough to drive back up through there. You know, and I wanted to when you're third, you want to be second (laughing). And I had the third and the fourth place guy race me for it, as hard as they could go. But we made a great adjustment on the last stop, and we drove up through there pretty well. I was very pleased with the car the last run versus the way it had been all night.
Thank you guys for everything all year. You guys have been awesome. It's been fun. Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Mark. We certainly enjoyed watching you race this year.
Mark Martin Post Qualifying Notes and Quotes - Ford 400
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, QUALIFIED 4TH:
DESCRIBE THE LAP: "It is a good race car, but it wasn't a good lap. But, I am really happy that we ran as fast as we did. Early wasn't a good time to go. But that doesn't matter because when we went, we laid down a better lap than we probably thought. We picked up considerably from practice and most guys aren't doing that. Kudos to this race team. This is a great race car. We dug in and I really thought we were going to take a beating in qualifying and it isn't going to be that paid. It wasn't too scary out there but it was a regular qualifying deal. My car was more comfortable than those that make me shake."
Mark Martin Friday Media Visit - Ford 400
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS met with media and discussed his successful season, running a full-time schedule, the comfort level in his team and car, and more.
THE MODERATOR: Mark Martin, a big race on Sunday. Season finale. You and Jimmie have talked already so much about what could happen. What is your sense this morning as you get ready to get in the car?
MARK MARTIN: I really like this racetrack. I love this championship weekend that they've built here through the years. It's a real exciting weekend. I can't wait to get to work with my guys. It feels really good to be here at the track with my team. I like the racetrack. It's a fun racetrack. I can't wait for the challenge.
THE MODERATOR: Sounds good. Let's start with questions for Mark Martin.
Q. Mark, we go back a few years when Matt won his championship in 2004, there was a lot of complaints that things had gotten boring, it was a runaway. Now unless something happens on Sunday that's going to be a big surprise, I think Jimmie is going to wrap four in a row. You're going to try to make that not happen obviously. Is there anything that can be done to make things more competitive than that's what happening right now with the current Chase format?
MARK MARTIN: Well, it doesn't matter what you do, over the course of time there are going to be runaways and there are going to be thrillers, whether it's points or just a racetrack. Same thing with a racetrack.
You know, one race will be a runaway, and then you'll have a bunch that are okay, maybe good but okay. Then every once in a while you'll have a thriller.
That's just how it works. Doesn't matter what the track shape is or what the system is, it's gonna happen.
Q. Although Roush Fenway hasn't announced it officially yet, Jimmy Fennig we kind of expect may not be back as David Ragan's crew chief. You worked with him for a long time. If this is his last race as a Cup crew chief, what do you want to say about him?
MARK MARTIN: I'm actually really happy for Jimmy. I think in some ways Jimmy is ready to cut back a little bit from the role, all the pressures of the role, that he has. I can't announce what it is exactly that he'll be doing, but I have a picture in my mind of what's in store for Jimmy, and I think that he'll be very, very happy. My expectation is that he'll be happier than he is now moving forward with his new role. That's my expectations. I'm not inside the group over there, but I think I know how things are going to play out and kind of what he's going to be doing in a sense. My expectation is that he will be happier than he is now. There comes that time when you have to make a shift in what you do, much like I did in 2007, catch your breath.
Q. This apparently is the only track Rick hasn't won at. Is that hard to believe? How much does that drive the organization to try to get that this weekend?
MARK MARTIN: It's just a little bitty bit. I mean, because we want to win every weekend, so how could we want to win that much worse here? Just a little bit worse. But, you know, it's a small thing, but it is there.
Q. Does it surprise you?
MARK MARTIN: Well, yes and no. I mean, as I was explaining to Mike, kind of the same kind of logic applies to this as well. Sometimes your number just doesn't turn up on the card, you know. Biffle, you know, has had a very good handle on this place, and Tony Stewart. You know, there wasn't a lot of wins to be passed around because of some of the guys that really hit this place right. There's no reason why we can't win this weekend, why one of our cars can't win, just because we haven't before. I mean, I have no concerns whatsoever about the performance of my racecar. I'm very comfortable that what we've been doing is gonna work just as well here as other places.
Q. Mark, I imagine that no matter what happens Sunday, you'll go to bed that evening feeling you did everything you could have this season. Is that the case? If so, can you elaborate just a bit on that?
MARK MARTIN: Yeah, it is the case. You know, I'm very comfortable with where I am right now. I'm very proud of my race team. I feel like it's been a tremendous accomplishment to even give those guys any kind of run for their money, is a tremendous accomplishment. And my race team deserves great credit for what we've done.
You know, I feel really good about things. And I've had the time of my life. I'm in the best frame of mind that I have been since I've been an adult. You know, this has been the best time. You know, I look forward every time I have an opportunity to go strap in that racecar and to work and interact with my team.
Q. Mark, your teammate Jimmie Johnson, obviously their success is attributed to them running well those last 10 races the past four years. As a driver over the years, how is it possible to just run well during the regular season and then really turn it up a notch for the last 10 races? Is that something you can plan and do like they've done?
MARK MARTIN: I think they can. And it's something more in the hands of the mechanical side than it is in Jimmie's hands. You know, Jimmie turns it up every time he straps in. But I think that the guys build toward that. You know, they build through the season, they build toward having a faster racecar.
The easiest way to win these races is to have a faster racecar than everybody else. That's the easiest way. There's a lot of other ways to do it, but the easiest way is just have a faster racecar than everyone. And they do a good job of putting all the pieces together at one time, you know, once the 10 starts.
Q. Mark, I remember a couple of years ago when you announced you were going to run the limited schedule. You were talking with great satisfaction that you weren't going to have to go to Bristol, Talladega, some of those tracks that you may not necessarily enjoy racing at. How long did it take for you to get the desire back to compete at those when you decided to come back on a full-time deal?
MARK MARTIN: It really wasn't any problem. You know, really the only one left there on that list is Talladega (laughter). We had a blast at Bristol. I think we sat on the pole both times, contended, led the most laps, contended to win the second one there. Had good runs at Martinsville. We got a win at New Hampshire. It was just a whole new year this year. New frame of mind, new year. Like I said, you've got to understand that I love going to work with those guys every day and competing.
Q. Did you find the weekends off the last couple years, you were kind of looking for things to do?
MARK MARTIN: The first year, in '07, no, I wasn't looking for nothing to do. But in '08, I was charged up and it was fine. But, you know, I was a little less -- I don't know how to explain it. In 2007 I needed them. Man, I really cherished every one, every minute of it. 2008, I was having a good time. I was really happy. I could have been there or not.
In 2009, you know, with this team, the way things are going, it's my passion, it's my life. There's nothing else in the world I want to do.
THE MODERATOR: Mark, thank you. Good luck this weekend. Thanks for visiting with us this year.
MARK MARTIN: Thank you.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 'Championship Contenders' Press Conference Transcript
An interview with:
JIMMIE JOHNSON - Points leader
RAMSEY POSTON: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Ramsey Poston, NASCAR's managing director of corporate communications. On behalf of the France family, everyone at NASCAR, welcome to Ford Championship Weekend, this championship contenders press conference.
Sunday history will be made. There's a good number of story lines in that regard. Jimmie Johnson could possibly make history by being the first four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. Mark Martin could be NASCAR Sprint Cup's oldest champion. No matter what happens, Mr. Hendrick will make history. On Sunday he will tie Petty Enterprises for nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ownership championships. He will also be the all-time owners champion for the three national series with 12 championships.
Along with our special guests today, we have a special host. He is a broadcaster with Sirius NASCAR Radio and the Motor Racing Network. I'm proud to say he's recently dedicated his life to living shootout style, the Postman, Steve Post.
STEVE POST: Thanks, Ramsey. It is great to be here. Welcome onboard, everyone, for the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship contenders press conference here at the Hyatt Regency, Coral Gables. Great hotel, great city. It is going to be an awesome weekend of NASCAR racing down at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We're glad you kicked it off here with us this afternoon.
The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season has boiled down to one race between dueling teammates. Yeah, there may be nearly two decades in age difference between our two guys that are going to battle for the crown on Sunday afternoon, but the way they handle themselves, there's a lot of similarities between them.
They both set the standard of excellence on the track with their racing and they both set standards as far as their sportsmanship off the racetrack. It just makes it a fascinating battle that we're going to see play out on Sunday afternoon. We've been watching it actually all season long.
With all the pleasantries out of the way, let's get down to the facts of what we're going to see at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson, the three-time champ, is going to try to do something that has never been done in the 61-year history of the sport of NASCAR. He is looking to become a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion.
And Mark Martin, he is looking for that first crown, after finishing in the runner-up spot four times, and a tremendous career. Both drivers looking to make history Sunday afternoon. Jimmie has a 108-point advantage over Mark. While that may seem daunting, it is not insurmountable. Just look a couple weeks ago at Texas where Mark gained 111 points on Jimmie.
Since 2002, Mark as out-pointed Jimmie nine times by a margin of 108 or more. So we'll see what happens on Sunday afternoon.
The veteran Mark Martin, he may be on the ropes, but he's not down for the count. Ready for a good fight on Sunday afternoon.
These two Hendrick Motorsport teammates have been battling all year long, and the stage is set for one more round on Sunday.
I'd like to take this moment to introduce you to our guests today formally. Starting to my immediate right, one of NASCAR's true all-time greats, he's the driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's Carquest Chevrolet, Mark Martin.
The man in the middle will become the all-time leader in NASCAR national series championships this weekend with 12, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, welcome Rick Hendrick.
And finally the driver who is chasing a title and chasing history, trying for the fourth consecutive championship, we welcome our three-time defending champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson.
We'll start off with some opening comments from our guests.
Rick, I guess I'll start with you. So many great seasons you've had in NASCAR racing, obviously with all the crowns. How has this season compared to others that you've had so much success during?
RICK HENDRICK: I would have to say this is probably as good as it gets. You know, to have the three cars in the points where they are right now, having the championship as owner going into Homestead already secured, we've won a lot of races, and this has got to be as good as any season we've ever had.
STEVE POST: It is amazing. I have two young daughters. Some of the homework we do is compare and contrast. I'll ask you to compare and contrast Jimmie and Mark.
RICK HENDRICK: No one ever asked me that before (smiling).
I'd say that the thing that is almost identical with these two is the devotion to excellence, not only in what they need to do in the car with the race team, but the way they take care of themselves outside of the car as far as the way they train, the way they eat, and the way they think.
They're as close to being identical as any two I've ever been around. They are both students of what it takes both in the car and outside of the car. And their dedication to excellence, it's remarkable. Their talent speaks for itself. I think that's the reason that they're sitting where they are today. They just are never satisfied without everything around them being as perfect as it can be. They put all of the load on their shoulders.
STEVE POST: Thanks, Mr. H. Congratulations on a fantastic season.
What a season it's been for Mark Martin. A series high seven pole positions, five victories, that's second best in the series. When you think about it, not bad for a guy who was a part-timer last year. Mark, this is your 27th season of racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Could you ever have dreamed a year ago that you would be doing what you do or did you think you'd be running for the championship this year?
MARK MARTIN: Well, I want to say that Rick and Alan certainly thought so, but I didn't. You know, everybody knows and have heard me say this, and I'll say it one more time. The reason I took this deal is because I get close to winning a race or two in 2008, and I could just taste it. I really wanted a chance to try to win again before I wasn't able to ever experience that again. That was the motivation for me, taking this opportunity.
It definitely has turned out to exceed my expectations. I knew that the race team would be awesome. I knew the car would be fast. I just hoped that I would be able to get the job done. One of my biggest goals coming into this year was just to be considered a good teammate, to make a contribution to Hendrick Motorsports so that when the season was over everyone involved would be glad that I, you know, was a part of the organization. That was probably as important as maybe squeaking out a win for me personally.
But I want to take this opportunity to say it's really cool to see Bobby Allison here. It's been my understanding for 20 years that he recommended to Jack Roush that he hire me to drive his car, so I owe a little part of what I'm doing today to BA.
STEVE POST: Pretty cool stuff, no doubt. Absolutely.
Mark, you have talked to many of us over the year of in the past you've let points battles make you not a happy person. Are you having fun this year?
MARK MARTIN: I'm having lots of fun this year. This has been obviously the best year of my life professionally as well as personally. The personal part comes from being happy. I was a very, very happy person in 2008. But that little bit of extra performance that we have been getting on the racetrack in 2009 even made it more awesome. An opportunity to be around Mr. Hendrick and all the fine people, teammates and people at Hendrick Motorsports, has really made my life rich this year with people and with quality relationships above and beyond any other year that I can ever remember.
STEVE POST: Talk about memories. You've made a lot of them for us this year. We appreciate your success. Congratulations on that.
Now we'd like to turn to the points leader going into Sunday's event, the final event in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Jimmie, in Major League Baseball, Reggie Jackson was known as Mr. October because of his clutch performance in the playoffs, then in the World Series. I guess since NASCAR has implemented the Chase, you can be Mr. Autumn with your clutch performance in the Chase. Dating back to 2004, you've won 18 races in the Chase. How have you been able to establish such dominance late in the season as you guys have?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: It's tough to really say it's one thing. I feel that the tracks are good to us. And at the same time I feel Chad Knaus and our whole group of guys, all that we have at Hendrick Motorsports, we get stronger throughout the year. When the pressure is on, myself, the team, Hendrick Motorsports, everybody involved has really performed well under pressure time and time again. Rick would not be in this position, winning so many championships, if he didn't kind of build that into the work environment at Hendrick Motorsports. Chad and I have been able to be a part of the culture and keep that alive here lately.
Very proud of what we've done since this team has started in 2002. We've done a lot of great things. It's hard to believe in some ways it seems like the eight years have flown by, in other ways it seems longer. But it's been a very, very special eight years. I'm thankful that Lowe's took that chance with me years back. Rick and I tell a story about sitting at the table trying to ensure them that I was going to be able to win a race back in the day. To see where we are now as a team and a group is really special.
I'm glad that we have this late-season push each year, especially with the Chase in play. I think it would be helpful if it was the old points system, as well. I know we were close to winning a championship with that system also.
STEVE POST: We all know the numbers. We've all ran the numbers 10 thousand times since Sunday afternoon. How has your week been? Have you thought about finishing 25th, how you're going to accomplish that on Sunday?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: You know, luckily Texas is still really close in my mind and something that I think about. And because of what happened in Texas I'm just not letting my guard down. I'm not letting my mind wander and think about the 'what ifs.' I'm trying to keep the same focus and mindset that I had in Phoenix. Things obviously went really well there for us.
So it's really that mentality. I am just dying to get in the racecar. I'm pouring through my notes. I've driven hundreds of laps in my mind before I go to bed each night, worrying about qualifying trim, worrying about race trim, all the things I can do to prepare myself on my side. I'm there. I'm eager for tomorrow. It will help getting in the car, getting a feel for the track, the tires, what our challenges are. Tomorrow morning when we get on track, it will be a real good time for me.
STEVE POST: Jimmie, best of luck on Sunday as you go to rewrite the record books here at NASCAR.
At this point I'll turn it back to NASCAR's Ramsey Poston. He's going to conduct the Q&A portion of the conference here.
RAMSEY POSTON: Thank you, Postman. Great job. We'll start the Q&A session.
Q: Mr. Hendrick, Martinsville in 1984 you almost didn't make it to the race. Turned out you won your first race. In the 25 years since then, you've seen the best the sport has had to offer and the worst. Can you talk about what it's like being at the point where you have more championships than anyone else has and you have the best team you've ever had. As a follow-up to that, can you talk about having two guys up here, because you know one of them is going to be happy and one of them is going to be disappointed. Is that harder or easier than if you're racing another team?
RICK HENDRICK: I think to answer your first question, I never really thought I'd win a race. I wanted to win a race, but I never thought I'd win a championship. I was just happy to compete.
I grew up, and it was almost in the modified racing with my dad. It was an honor to go to a Cup race. It just so happened I was a big Rex White and Bobby Allison fan. To think I would be able to do it, to compete in it, was an honor for me. I'm kind of stealing one of Mark's lines, but I'm actually living the dream because I grew up, and that's all I knew, was racing, cars, working on cars. You didn't get paid to do it; you did it because you loved it. You'd take whatever you made to do it.
So to be able to look back and see what we've been able to accomplish, I've just been really fortunate to be around a lot of great people. It's hard for me to believe that we're sitting here tied with Richard Petty. I don't feel worthy of that. I don't know how to explain that, because when I was nominated for the Hall of Fame, I don't think I'm even in that category in my mind with a Bobby Allison, a Richard Petty, that group.
I hope one day when we look back that we can say we've accomplished some pretty neat things. So I'm just very fortunate to be at this place in my life with this organization. I owe it all to the people. I really can't explain how it happened, it just did.
Going to a race when you've got two guys battling, I'm not going to be as nervous Sunday as they are. I kind of got over that little bit of a hump. But I'm going to be as nervous for them. It's going to be nice to know we're going to bring it back in the organization.
The thing that I'm probably going to be the proudest of is that what got us here is the fact that Alan and Chad will talk on Saturday and Saturday night and they will share information. Jimmie and Mark will talk on Saturday and Saturday night, and they will share information. They'll go out and compete against each other. That won't change. At the end of the race, they know that what they've done all year has got us here. That's the part that I'm so proud of, that Chad in a meeting at Motorsports on Tuesday will give Alan credit that he got the setup on Saturday from Alan, went out and won the race, when Alan will give Chad the credit. When you've got everybody working together, it makes a big difference.
Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt said, if Mark Martin will join our organization, he will make us all better. And he has made us all better.
Jimmie, I mean, I'll tell you, I would hate to have to race against these two guys. I don't know how this guy here hasn't won a championship. I thought about it the other night and, you know, he has raced and finished second to some of the all-time greats when they were in their prime, from Jeff Gordon to Dale Earnhardt. If you kind of put it on a graph and you said, Has anyone ever raced against that many champions in their prime and finished second? He would have to be considered one of the all-time greats.
I'm just fortunate. It feels kind of strange for me for him to call me Mr. Hendrick. I want to go on the record, I'm only 10 years older than he is. I want it to be Rick (laughter).
I'm so proud of what these guys have accomplished. And I think that's a part of our organization 'cause as soon as I talked him into one year, we've got him for two more. So, I mean, we went to work right away.
Unanimously from our drivers, they said, He will make us better, he will just help us. So, anyway, I'm very fortunate. Whatever happens Sunday, we've had a heck of a year. Both of these guys are champions.
Q: Jimmie, I thought you said something interesting just a little bit earlier when you said you're on the verge of maybe also wrapping up the points under the old system. Is that something in the past three years has sort of eaten at you? Is it something you feel like you need to do in order gain some of the respect from some of the people who think you haven't won it under the old system?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, not necessarily. I've said all along that I feel that the old system is kind of the toughest way to win a championship, and I wish I had won, just to say that I had won. You talk to Gordon, he says just the opposite. So it's a matter of opinion. Drivers all have different opinions and impressions of it. So that's really all it is. I wish that I had. I feel like I'm very fortunate to say in 2004 I had a real good shot at winning the championship. Same with '05. I think back to really each year we've led the points at some point. So it's more looking back, saying, We had a chance at a few more of these things.
Q: Mark, at Phoenix you said something I thought was interesting about how you think there's a little piece of Rick or Mr. Hendrick, as you call him, in everyone at the Hendrick organization. Can you speak to that a little bit more? Jimmie, could you also talk about that?
MARK MARTIN: Well, I know that Rick handpicks his people, and he probably picks people that have the capable people skills to do each job. But to me it seems like it's more than that.
You know, when I deal with everyone there, no matter what it is, everyone that works there that I have dealt with on a personal basis had a little bit of, you know, the little qualities of being interested in doing a better job. What is it, how can we do this better? There's just no arrogance. Just good communication and people skills.
Just to tell you something. I went to the shop, you know, quite a bit after we made this deal, some before the season ended and some, you know, after the season even started this year. My wife, I'd come in after being there, and she'd say, You're always smiling when you come back from that shop, you know. I said, Heck yeah, you would be too. It makes you feel that way. I'd just come back from being there with a permanent smile on my face. It's good people with great attitudes. Everyone there has treated me, you know, like gold. It's been amazing, the respect that I've been shown there. It's very humbling.
JIMMIE JOHNSON: To kind of expand on Mark's thoughts, I think relative to Rick, the company and stuff, but just to add to something Mark was saying and came up in my mind.
Over time, I've been able to be a part of a few big decisions at Hendrick, even starting with who the crew chief was going to be for the 48 car. Now we look back and it's pretty easy. The decision at the time, Chad Knaus was working for Melling, it was a tough decision to make. Rick had to make a decision on bringing me in. Rick has had to make a lot of decisions for a variety of employees at every level. Somehow, some way, what he possesses in connecting with people, looking for the right skills, the desire, the drive that an individual may have to perform well and do well, there's something that he can see and recognize. I think it speaks volumes to the company and the success of the company.
He can pick something up, pick something out, know how to weave it into a group of guys that are all very good at what they do as well, kind of piece everything together.
Again, I don't even know if this comes close to answering the question you asked, but he has a great ability. We talk about people skills. We all know and respect him and enjoy what he's about. But there's something he can see and pick out in people and make stuff happen. I think over time, over 25 years of building this company, finding the right people, massaging all the details, we've been able to put ourselves in these positions.
Then if you look at the challenges we've had, the plane going down, key personnel that were on that aircraft, the backups that were so well-trained, had these qualities in them to step up and keep the company moving forward, it's amazing. It's all on his gut reaction and feeling of what he needs to do with the company.
MARK MARTIN: I want to add one more thing, too.
You know, I've said this once before, but I've never known an organization that wants to win for the boss. It feels like to me they want to win more for him than they even do for themselves. You know, that's just a testament to what a guy Rick is.
Q: Watching that videotape, it had the emotion of One Shining Moment. Mark and Jimmie, do you allow yourselves to feel the emotion right now or if you sort of have to cut that off, not allow yourselves to get emotional over it? And for Mark, are you doing hundreds of laps in your head before you go to sleep at night, as well?
MARK MARTIN: I've run some laps (smiling). He's not the only one.
Q: Do you have to kind of not allow yourself to feel the emotion of this at this time?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: For me personally, I left Talladega with emotion and felt very good about things, that we missed the big one. Damn if we weren't in the first caution on the third lap at the race in Texas. So I am out of emotion. There is no emotion. It's all business. It's about showing up tomorrow, putting in the best lap I can, driving the car as hard as can I on Saturday, making sure the car is set up right, and doing my job on Sunday. I am not allowing my mind to slip any. It's not that it slipped after Talladega, but it was hard to look at a 184-point lead and have something positive come through my mind. Lap three it was gone. It was like, Wow, I'm not going to let that happen again. So it's all business this week.
MARK MARTIN: Pretty much the same thing for me. You know, I have focused the same every race all year. I'm excited about going to Homestead because I can't wait to go to work with my team, to compete in each practice session, and to compete in qualifying, and compete for the race. And if we do a good job, then we'll do well.
I'm not looking over my shoulder or looking ahead, either one. Definitely, you know, I'm sure that we could wind up fourth in the points, which is something no one has even considered. But I'm not thinking about that. I'm neither worried about that or Jimmie. I'm excited about going to work and competing in every event there, which to me a practice session is one. I try to win those, too. Every time I strap in that racecar, I'd like to be the fastest dude out there.
Q: Mark, throughout your career you've been Mr. Clean. I think that's probably something that you take as much pride in as much as anything you've done. You race people fair and clean. Do you see that you've passed that mantle along to Jimmie? He's considered for the most part to be a very clean driver.
MARK MARTIN: No, but he is that way. I don't really think that he got that from me. I might have had some influence on some drivers out there today, but I'm not sure that, you know, Jimmie and I were ever close enough for my style or my logic or my thought process to really influence him.
The thing is, if you go out there and you race people the way you want to be raced, and you do a really, really good job, you don't have to use a mask and a gun. That's not how I want to come out ahead, with a gun and a mask, you know. I'd rather go out there, work hard, earn it.
Q: Jimmie, Chad said the other day that he might have underestimated Mark a little bit, especially through the grueling Chase. Was there ever a point where you had that same feeling?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, I can't say that I did. Mark and the team showed so much before the Chase started, that I knew. First I was really excited to get the 5 car in the Chas, e. Then once I watched them overcome the points deficit they had, lock themselves in, I realized, Man, we're going to have our h, ands, full. That's who we're going to race for the championship.
I've known all along. I'm really impressed with, the 5 team, how they started the season and where they ended up. If you really look at what they've accomplished in a year's time, they had some unfortunate things take place at the start, they rebounded. They've won a lot of races, a lot of poles. It's all in 10, 11 months.
Next year, I mean, this year they're already this competitive, next year it will be real tough.
Q: Jimmie, Mark, you guys have probably been asked this question many, many times: How does it feel to be in the position you are in right now? I want to know, looking into 2010, after this weekend, the two of you on very special ground right now being that you have the chance, Jimmie, to go four in a row, and Mark, you might win the first one, the two of you being where you are right now, what does it feel like with this chance for 2010, no matter what happens?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Well, I can't tell you that I've thought about it yet. I've been so worried or so focused, you know, on the job at hand, worrying about a championship for this year, that I haven't thought much about next. Very secure in, you know, my job, sponsor, Hendrick Motorsports, all those aspects. I guess in a lot of ways I don't have to stress like some other guys may stress about, is the sponsor coming back, do they have a ride next year, what that may be.
In general, there isn't much there because of the security that Rick provides for us. I feel that, you know, we'll be a contender again next year. Look forward to it then. But today it's just about, you know, this weekend and the 400 miles we need to run on Sunday.
MARK MARTIN: You know, I just have exceeded I think my expectations. The race team has done everything that I knew that they could. I just didn't know, you know, if I could -- I really didn't know if I could compete against Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. coming into this season, for sure. But I knew that I was going to give it everything, my whole heart. But I didn't know for a fact that I could measure up to those guys really in their prime.
I will say that I knew how good Alan was. I watched close for multiple years I've watched him close. I listened to him and Kyle on the radio. I've been a fan of his. I think, as Jimmie says, it's really, really special to see those guys. They showed what they could do with Kyle Busch, Kyle, at an early stage in his career. I think that Kyle got a lot of the credit for what they were doing because of his talent, and now this is the year that they really had a chance to shine, Alan and that group, especially after, you know, having a tough time last year, for them to come up and show everybody that not only are they a great race team, but they can give the best in the business a run for their money, it's huge for me. I'm very, very proud.
Q: Jimmie, obviously it's not a bad thing to be known as a three-time champ, possibly a four-time champ. What else do you want? What else matters to you? What else beyond this weekend and this sport? Is there something within the sport or beyond that matters that's going to drive you beyond this weekend, beyond this year?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Man, we're going deep (laughter).
I've wanted my whole life to be able -- to be a champion, to compete against the best drivers in the world. With what we have going on in our sport, the competition, I don't see where else there is to race. You know, this is it. This is home. Hendrick Motorsports is home.
Of course, I want to be successful and win more races and contend for championships, that kind of thing. But it's really kind of what it is. I mean, on a personal note, you know, my family life and being at home is very important to me. I'm enjoying that, all that that has to offer, friends, that kind of thing. But the schedule being as busy as it is, there's not a lot of time for that. I'm not at a point where I'm craving that time, and I wish that I had it, because I love my job and I love what I'm doing.
Racing's it. It's all I've ever done. I'm glad it's worked out because I don't know what the hell I'd be doing otherwise. I'm finally good at it, and I want to keep it up, I want to keep it going.
Q: Jimmie, how much redundancy and backup have you built into this weekend? Are you bringing like 20 axles, pieces and parts? What do you know about the history of the car that you're running?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: I wish I knew which car it was. I don't know the car. I would suspect it's the car we ran at Charlotte. It's just another mile-and-a-half track, or two-mile. What is it? Something like that. Details (laughter).
As far as the parts and components and everything that goes with it, you know, we prepare for every race the same. I know you hear it from time to time, but every race anymore, with what Rick gives us to prepare with, the level of equipment we have, it's the same stuff. It doesn't matter if it's Martinsville, Daytona 500, final race of the season, even down to the responsibilities on the car, what guys do, the check systems that they go through, wire things, lock things, all those things are really the same. That's really what we strive for, is to treat every race the same, so that when you get into these pressure-packed situations, it's just the same old thing, that nothing affects you and things should work out as you would hope. So it's really the same stuff we've been doing all year.
Q: Jimmie, we've all seen what you can do in a racecar. We've seen Chad make great decisions up on top of the pit box. There's been a core group of guys behind this team, not just this year but from when you first started finding success. How important has it been that that group really hasn't had a lot of turnover and you've been able to keep those guys together?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, it's a really big part of the success, especially of the 24 and 48 shop. You know, at the track you may see some different faces year to year, but the guys that came off the road, typically for family reasons, they want to start a family, be home more. They've been on the road for so many years, they're ready to settle down and have a job at the shop. But those key players, even guys that I started this team with, they're still at HMS. They're still in that race job. The engine tuner, Danny Emerick, he's still there in the engine shop working. He was my engine tuner from the beginning. He's still contributing to not only my efforts but all my teammates' efforts. That culture comes from Rick. People have left and have worked at other places to get experience, try to increase their possibilities. In most cases, they've all come back, come back on great terms and really contribute to the company.
Not only just on the 48 team and the core group of guys that you see every year, you know, it's just the culture of the company. It starts with Rick.
Q: Mark, I'm guessing you're not going to want to answer this question. A lot of people refer to you as the greatest driver never to win a championship. Where do you think you stack up in terms of this sport, the history, what you've achieved?
MARK MARTIN: That might be a misuse of that first word. What was that first word you said?
Q: 'Greatest.'
MARK MARTIN: Yeah. Probably a misuse there. My record does not stand up against the greats in this business. It was funny, I think Dustin asked Jimmie what does he want. I thought about that a little bit myself. I just want to be a winner, just a winner, you know. That doesn't mean a career or at Monopoly or Scrabble. I just want to be a winner. I worked really hard and I try pretty hard to be that.
Q: Why do you think people hold you in such high regard, if you don't think you're among the greatest?
MARK MARTIN: Because I'm the worker. I'm the guy that rolls up my sleeves, and I never put that mask on that I talked about and pulled the gun out. I work real hard and try to win the game, whatever it is, you know, fair and square.
RICK HENDRICK: Could I ask a question? Jimmie, would you answer that for Mark, if you think he's one of the greatest.
JIMMIE JOHNSON: My answer is yes. He's too humble of a man, and doesn't understand what he's done in this sport, for this sport, how many young guys have respected what he's done. You mentioned earlier how we weren't around each other for me to look at your style and want to drive like you. But coming up through ASA, everybody knew who Mark Martin was. I aspired at that time to have people speak of me as they did you. When I came to race in the Busch Series at the time, you were wearing us all out week in and week out. That was our chance to race against Mark Martin and to learn something from him.
So as she suggested, I'm sure all of us in this room, you are one of the greatest. We all think the world of you and respect the hell out of you.
MARK MARTIN: Thank you.
Q: Jimmie, what has your week been like since Phoenix? As a guy who will do things like set his alarm clock for 48 minutes after the hour, do you try to stay in the same places, do the same things when you get down here, given it's worked out for you for three years in a row?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: You know, I got home I guess, what, early Monday morning, just stayed at the house, really trying to distract myself from the sport. If SportsCenter is on, something comes on about the Chase, change the channel. If the local news is talking about it, change the channel. I just want separation from it because I can really control my own thoughts. What gets me, leave here today, I'll have to go home, try to flush the brain, it's when all the other questions come about, you start thinking about things, maybe getting excited, maybe doubting. Before I know it, the brain's doing things I don't want it to.
So I've really tried to remove myself from that all week, do things I enjoy to do, also do things to wear me out, because sleeping at night is typically difficult in the Chase. So plenty of working out, just trying to wear myself down so I can get a good night's rest.
Q: Jimmie, during your run, by the time you got here, you haven't really had to win this race or really go all out, just play it safe, clinch the championship. Your recent comments about going for it this weekend suggest you want to win this race. How active is that approach for you compared to playing it safe and how much have you looked forward to that opportunity?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I really look forward to it. In years past coming down here, it's really been a goal then as well. I don't think that we have had this track under control as a company. I feel that we've been close, but Hendrick Motorsports has not won here yet. We hope to change that on Sunday.
But that's been a big factor. There's a window in which I'm willing to take a risk. You know, if I'm driving to the edge of the car, I know that I can slide it around a little bit more, I'll take that. If it's gonna give me seventh, I'm going to take it, or eighth I think we finished one year. If I can slide the car around a little bit and be within my comfort zone, have a shot at winning the race, I'm gonna take it. There's no doubt about it. But I'm not going to push it over that limit and spin this thing out on my own or put myself in harm's way. That's the same as any other race.
The safest place to run on the track is up front. You think of double-file restarts, the safest place to be is being the race leader, picking which lane you want to be in and set the pace coming to the green. Everything in my eyes points towards trying to win the race. That's what we're here to do.
Q: Given your expertise on mile-and-a-half tracks, how have you looked at this track compared to some of the other ones? More difficult? Whatever quirks have worked against you, things you feel can work for you this weekend?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: This track is so different than any other big track we run on that it's tough to take Texas or Chicago, Charlotte, any of those tracks, take that setup and apply it here. The progressive banking, the way it works is different than any other track we run on. The entrance to turn one is really flat for a long period of time, and then the banking finally kicks in. Then in turns three and four, it looks more like other tracks, but it still is real different in how we run through there. The banking seems to be early, but you almost run downhill, at the center of the corner you turn around and run uphill, instead of it being a normal dish like we see at a lot of tracks.
The subtle differences make the setup totally different than other places we run. We're working hard to get that under control and to really have a very stable and comfortable car that we can run here. But without testing and not racing here a couple times a year, it's tough to really advance your program.
Q: Jimmie, just wanted to ask you about the success that you've had with this organization. To what extent would you credit the stability and continuity that you've enjoyed with those people who have worked on your team? How much do you rely upon that and how much confidence do you get from that when you strap yourself in, knowing that these guys have been through the wars with me, won championships with me? How much confidence do you get? Do you think you would have had the success you had without that and maybe even without the resources driving for Mr. Hendrick?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: As Rick said earlier, he wouldn't want to race against us. I wouldn't want to race against him. I wouldn't want to race against these cars, knowing what we have there. I'm not sure how things would turn out. I don't even know if I would have had a chance to race in Cup if it wasn't for Rick. I don't know what he and Jeff both saw in me back in 2000 as I was a mid-pack Busch driver. They saw it, offered me a job. Nobody else was calling offering me a job. I don't think I'd be where I am today without Jeff and Rick, what they've put on the line for me.
I do believe having guys on this team that have been in this pressure-packed situation before is a big advantage. I know from my own experience it helps me out a lot to understand each weekend the type of pressure I could possibly be expecting, the sleepless nights, what the brain does to you, how you think about things, worry about some things, get excited about others. Experience has helped me manage those emotions.
The same thing, when I climb in the car, coming down pit road, if we're off and we need to adjust on the car, there is a lot of confidence in my mind knowing that Chad has been here before, our engineers have been here before, they're going to be less sensitive to the pressure hopefully. It's been that way so far.
So I think it is a big plus. I think experience, you could chalk it up to experience in a lot of ways. We've all been through it probably in our professional careers. The more experience you have, the more you think things through are maybe not easier, but things seem to slow down and you can make better decisions because of experience. I feel having this core group of guys over these last really eight years, and it's changed a little bit over those eight, but the core group, I know Ron Malec on the mechanical side, it's not going to faze him that it's the final race of the year. Greg Ives is our race engineer. He has been here. It's not going to bother him. That gives me the comfort to sleep at night.
RAMSEY POSTON: Thank you, everyone. Thank you, gentlemen. For closing remarks, I will turn it over to Steve Post.
STEVE POST: You know, I'm becoming a history buff of this sport. History is going to be made on Sunday afternoon. 1983, the great Bobby Allison, who we're so happy to have with us here today, won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, becoming the oldest driver to do so. History could be made on Sunday. Mark Martin could best that by winning the crown on Sunday.
This date, November 19th, 31 years ago today, at Ontario Motor Speedway, it was the Los Angeles Times 500. Ironically enough, Bobby Allison won that race. But Cale Yarborough cinched up his third straight championship. That is a mark that has been matched but not been surpassed in the 61-year history of the sport. That very well could happen on Sunday afternoon. No matter what, history will be made on Sunday.
Guys, thank you for allowing us to live it out. It's been a blast. What a season it's been.
To wrap it all up, we would like to on behalf of NASCAR, Sprint, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Ford, thank everyone for coming out and joining us here today at the championship contenders press event. We're getting geared up for Ford Championship Weekend.
Thank you.
Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview – Ford 400
POINTS BATTLE: Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet, will be the only driver with a shot at points leader Jimmie Johnson once the green flag waves Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Martin trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammate by 108 points. Should Martin lead the most laps and win the race, Johnson would have to finish 26th or worse for Martin to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
MARTIN AT HOMESTEAD: Homestead-Miami Speedway is one of just four active tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit where Martin has not yet earned a win. In nine Cup starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Martin has posted four top-five finishes, including the runner-up spot in the 2005 Sprint Cup finale. In Martin’s last three races at Homestead, he has spent almost 70 percent of the time (558 of a possible 802 laps) inside the top 15.
LAST TIME AT HOMESTEAD: Martin, who ran part-time schedules in 2007 and 2008, did not compete in the final race of the 2008 Sprint Cup season at Homestead. In 2007, he drove his Chevrolet to a ninth-place finish, scoring his fifth top-10 result at the intermediate track.
OF THE CHASERS: Martin has the second-most top-five finishes (four) at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the fourth-best average finish (12th) of all drivers in the Chase.
LOOP STATISTICS: During the past four races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martin’s average running position of 12.6 is the third-best of the drivers inside the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Martin has earned the fourth-best driver rating of 91.6 among all drivers inside the Chase during those same four races.
LAPS LED: Martin has led 805 laps in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports. He has not led this many laps in a single Sprint Cup season since 1998, when he paced 1,730 of them. Martin finished second in the Sprint Cup point standings that year to his now teammate Jeff Gordon.
THE NO. 5 AT HOMESTEAD: Since 2005 and under the leadership of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team has earned one top-10 finish in four Homestead starts. The team started 12th and finished eighth in the 2008 Sprint Cup finale.
DOUBLE WINNING CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Chassis No. 5-527 for this weekend’s event at Homestead- Miami Speedway. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to Victory Lane at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May and Chicagoland Speedway in July.
HENDRICK AT HOMESTEAD: Homestead-Miami Speedway is the only racetrack on the current Sprint Cup schedule where Hendrick Motorsports has not won a race. The organization, which will wrap up its 25th anniversary season this weekend, has recorded eight top-five finishes and 16 top-10s in 10 Cup events (39 starts) there.
QUOTES
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE.): ”Anything can happen, but it really doesn’t change anything for me. I’m going to go to Miami on Sunday and race my guts out trying to win that race. And everything else that happens is out of my control. I’m not worried about the championship. I’m not worried about points. I just want to win the race and end this season with a good night for Rick (Hendrick, team owner), Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and all the guys on this Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team.”
MARTIN (ON RACING THE FULL 2009 SEASON.): “I’m honestly surprised at how fast this year went by. It seems like just yesterday I was at Daytona (Fla.) getting to know these guys and settling into this car for the first time. Everyone at Hendrick Motorsports—everyone --has made this season a dream come true for me and my family. It starts from the top, and Rick (Hendrick) has made sure that I enjoyed this season. And I have. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’ll actually look forward to getting back into the car again in Daytona.”
MARTIN (ON TEAMMATE JIMMIE JOHNSON.): ”Jimmie is the man. There’s so much that that guy does that people don’t even know about. He’s as dedicated as anyone I’ve ever seen, maybe more so. There’s a reason I call him Superman, ya know? Whatever happens Sunday is how it was supposed to. And I will have no shame should I finish second to that guy. If he wins, it’s because he outscored us. And that’s what a points deal is about. They would have scored the most points, and we wouldn’t have. And I will be one of the first guys to say that he deserves it. He has done what it takes and it shows.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON SUNDAY’S RACE AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY.): “I’m really looking forward to the race this weekend. Homestead is a great racetrack, and I love the area. I just want to get after it. There’s been a lot of buildup, and I’m ready to get out on the track and get it started. Winning at Homestead on Sunday would be a big deal for a lot of reasons. Ending your season on a high note is always good and it makes the offseason more bearable. Hendrick Motorsports has never won at Homestead, and anytime this (No.) 5 team can help Mr. (Rick) Hendrick accomplish a goal or set a record, we definitely want to be a part of that. Mark has never won there either. We’ve checked Chicago and New Hampshire off his non-winning track list earlier this year, so it would be nice to get another one of those for him. And for me, personally, I’m from Florida, and I’ve never won a Sprint Cup race in that state. I’ve been trying to for a long time and have been close, but have never quite gotten it done, so that would be really important to me, too.”
GUSTAFSON (ON HIS FEELINGS AS THE 2009 SEASON ENDS.): ”The sky was and is the limit for this race team. When I found out Mark Martin was going to be driving our race cars, I knew we could accomplish anything. We’ve had low spots and high spots, which have definitely outweighed the lows. This team has worked hard. We’ve been well prepared for every race and that helped us to execute the way we wanted to. Mark is just fantastic. He’s been a pleasure to work with, more so than I ever imagined. It’s been a career year for me and this race team. I’ve been blessed. I’ve enjoyed all of it. I’m not going to treat this race as though it’s the end of anything, though. We have next year, too, and I honestly can’t wait to get that started. It’s going to be great.”
GUSTAFSON (ON PREPARING FOR THE 2010 SPRINT CUP SEASON.): ”We’ve been looking at the 2010 season for six months or so. You never stop. Rome isn’t built in a day. It takes a lot to get to where we’re at. A lot of effort and planning and preparation. We’ve had to have our 2010 plans rolling for a long time now or we wouldn’t get them done. We would go to Daytona unprepared. I’ve been planning hard for two months. Tossing around ideas for over four months. That’s nothing new. That doesn’t detract from 2009. That’s normal business. You just constantly try to prepare.”
NASCAR Teleconference Interview - ALAN GUSTAFSON & CHAD KNAUS
If we could start off by getting your overall thoughts on your respective seasons and the outlook for Sunday’s finale and then we’ll go to the media for questions. Alan, start us off and then we’ll swing it over to Chad.
Looking back, how do you view 2009?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: It’s been a real successful season for us. You know, getting Mark on board was obviously a huge step in the right direction, and being able to win five races and contend down to the wire for the championship and have a shot at Homestead has been good. It’s been a great season, and the guys have accomplished a lot and really looking forward to going to Homestead. It’s a really fun track to race on.
Going there with a shot is even though the shot is not as good as we want, it’s still a privilege to have that opportunity to contend and win a championship and go down there as put as much pressure on Chad, as much as possible, even though it’s not as much as we want it to be. But go down there and have some fun doing that.
Chad, what’s your take on 2009 thus far?
CHAD KNAUS: We’ve had a really good season, obviously. I think that with Alan and Mark running as competitive as they have this year, very similar to when the 24 car was running as well as what they were a couple years ago, having that internal competition I think has really helped our team and helped our company, actually, to rise to a better level. I think that’s evident with the way that all of our teams are running, especially at this stage in the year. The 88 is running well, the 5, the 24 and the 48 are all battling each and every week. So I think that having the two teams battling for the championship and then with the 24 car right there on our heels, I think it’s raised the production of the whole company up a bunch. So we’re real happy with that.
Real pleased after coming off of Phoenix with a great win there. Jimmie did a fantastic job, the guys did a great job with the car, so I’m really looking forward to Homestead. We’ve been competitive there in the past. We haven’t gotten a victory there. We would love to get an opportunity to do that, and just proud of the position we’re in right now. It’s really nice.
Q. One question for each of you. First for Alan, does this current Sprint Cup car make it easier or more difficult to chase teams like the 48 that’s been in front of everybody else? I wonder whether you’d have a harder or an easier time trying to close the gap on those guys if you were in the old vehicle.
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Um, I don’t know that the car matters. That’s an interesting question. But I don’t think that the car really matters as far as chasing the 48, if it would have been easier in the old car. It may have been a little bit easier to get an advantage in the old car, so with that being the case, maybe I could make a case for yes, it could potentially be a little bit easier to run somebody down in the old car.
I don’t think it makes a ton of difference. This car does have us in a little tighter box to where it’s tough to get an advantage. Obviously Chad and Jimmie have a great relationship and a great team, and they really work well together, and that makes it tough. To beat them, you have to have some advantage over them. Maybe the old car would give us a better opportunity to do that, but if so, it would be very slight.
And Chad, Ray Evernham won three titles and went into ownership. Do you have any aspirations for stuff like that or management, or is being a chew chief where you want to be long term?
CHAD KNAUS: I’m getting an awful lot of those questions for whatever reason the last few weeks. I don’t know. My initial goal when I first came into the Cup Series was to obviously become a crew chief and win races and win a championship and then move on to an ownership role. I don’t know if I want that now or not. I think it would be foolish of me to try to think that I could be an upstart team and try to make something like that happen.
You almost have to have an affiliation with somebody to do that. If you look at Tony Stewart and the way he got into Stewart Haas and that deal all came together with the support from Hendrick Motorsports, that deal will work. To start from an outside company I think would be a pretty lofty goal, and I don’t know if after realizing what it is that we’ve got here at Hendrick Motorsports, I don’t know if I would ever want to race against it. It’s a pretty amazing place.
Just I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see. But the likelihood is probably slim at this point.
First for Alan, and then if Chad will follow up, Alan, can you put your finger on what Chad and Jimmie have that nobody else seems to have? And after that, if you will, Chad, will you address what about Alan and his operation has impressed you in these last couple years?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: As far as what the 48 has that nobody else has, that’s a really tough question to answer. If I could answer that, I’d be working really, really hard to figure out or to implement that or whatever it is. But I can tell you that they work as hard or harder than anybody else in the series consistently, and they’re both at the pinnacle of the sport, both Chad and Jimmie, and they have assembled a great team and do a great job keeping a great team even when they have some rollover, which in professional sports is inevitable, they can fill the voids really well.
But the things that they’ve accomplished, and I know firsthand racing in this Chase, this is the closest I’ve ever been to them in my career, what they’ve been able to go do is extremely, extremely, extremely difficult. I’ve given everything I have and my team has and Mark has, and I think we’ve had a great season. Right now we’re falling a little bit short. Hopefully for us that can change. I don’t wish any bad luck on them at Homestead, but anything can happen. I do want to make the point that what they’ve been able to accomplish over the last four years and what they’ve done in this Chase is really remarkable.
I’ve heard some people bring the Tiger Woods analogy into the equation, and you sit there and you think about that, and that’s probably one of the best ways to summarize how good they are and have been able to be over the last four years.
With that being said, we’re not going to stop. At Homestead there’s going to be another season in 2010, and we’re going to gear up as hard as we can, and that’s the position we want to be in. Each time you fall a little bit short, you learn, and I think we’re getting better, and I think we’re going to do whatever we can to reach that point sometime, too.
CHAD KNAUS: I think if you look at the 5 car, the thing that’s impressed me the most, and not even this year, it’s obviously easy to put a brand on what the 5 car has been able to do based on the 2009 season. But I think if you look at the tenacity that Alan and his team has had with different drivers, different circumstances, they don’t give up. They have a never say die attitude.
I think if you look at where they were at at the beginning of the season with a couple of DNFs, whether that was from an accident or from an engine failure, they never even blinked an eye. Yeah, they were upset and they were discouraged, but they never gave up hope that they were going to make the Chase and man, they came back with a force. I think that if you look at the 5 car, they’re probably one of the most technically advanced teams that we’ve got out there. Their engineering staff is second to none. They do a very good job of facilitating tests, looking at seven post data, gathering intel and using that information.
I think Alan is the smartest crew chief out there. I’ve been saying that for a couple of years now. And I think it’s just a matter of time before they get their chance, and it very well could be this year. We’re hoping obviously from my side of things that it’s the 48 car, but I can promise you, if we have something go down, they’re going to be there to pick up the pieces.
Question for Chad. One question and then a follow up. Can you sort of go back to that 2004 race down at Homestead and just sort of take us through that and how intense that race was?
CHAD KNAUS: That race, man, if I could do anything to have that race again. I’ve played that race over in my head a million times. You know, to lose the championship by eight points we did a very good job. We finished second that race. There were a lot of teams that were in the hunt for that championship, with the 24 and us and the 97, and I think the 20 was the other one maybe. And we did a very good job. We really did. We lost it by 8 points.
The 97 car had that loose wheel. If the wheel would have fallen off just a split second later, he’d have hit the end of pit wall. If the wheel would have fallen off just a split second later, it would have went down pit road and the caution would have never come out. So all of those things coming out. If we would have won the race and the 97 car would have finished where he did, I think he was fourth or fifth, we would have got the five bonus points for winning the race and leading a lap, and we would have won the championship.
That one was a heart breaker because I can tell you probably going back about 15 ways that we could have made up eight points throughout the course of those final races.
But I think at that point we definitely established ourselves as a team capable of battling for the championship seriously and people really started to take notice of us, so I think that was a step out season for the 48.
And then just one follow up. In terms of sort of intensity of sitting atop the pit box, where does that race rank?
CHAD KNAUS: Right now not as intense as Homestead this weekend is going to be (laughing), I’ll be honest with you. The one thing that I think you have to have in this industry is a short term memory. That’s definitely what I’ve got. I can’t exactly tell you how that all played out that weekend. I know the stress level was high and intensity was high. The 97 car sat on the pole, the 24 car qualified well, we qualified well.
And right there at Homestead there’s three pit boxes, and the 97 was that that race?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah.
CHAD KNAUS: The 97, he took the first pit box, the 24 car took the other one just behind them, and then I took right in the middle of them just to try to add fuel to the fire and try to get everything going. And at that point, it was every man for himself. Typically in a competitive nature you try to spread out and give everybody their own space, but at that point we couldn’t do it.
So actually we qualified a little worse. But anyways, man, they’re all as important every race is just as important as the next. The one that’s most important to you is the one that you’re at currently. And obviously we’re looking ahead to Homestead.
This question is for both of you. Ray Evernham said that in order to be a really great crew chief you’ve got to have the willingness to kind of give up the other portions of your life while you’re doing it. Do you find that’s true, in order to be really dedicated to the team, that you have to let some other things go?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely a balance, and those are decisions that you’ve got to make. I think the point to all that is somebody is going to do it. Somebody is going to dedicate their life 24/7, 365, to their trade and their sport and their craft and they’re going to continuously get better.
You’ve got to make a decision in your life at what point in time is enough enough or when are you going to quit or is there ever a point when enough is enough. That’s difficult and something we all have to balance out.
The flip side of that is I think you can go too far and lose your sanity, and that can be just as bad of a distraction as not working hard enough. You’ve got to balance it out, and there’s a lot of ways. I think the one thing that we really look at here at Hendrick Motorsports is how we can be the most efficient and optimize our time and not waste time because time is so precious to us, either being here at work, at the racetrack or on vacation with our families or whatever it is that we’re doing. We try to get the most out of every second of every day. And I think that’s the key, because you’ve got to be able to balance it out.
But to Ray’s point, you’ve got to dedicate the majority of your adult life to it and your good years to be the best. Chad is the best right now, so he could give a lot of insight into that, I’m sure. But from my point of view, yeah, it’s very taxing.
CHAD KNAUS: I think, again, a lot of what Alan says is right. But I think he’s a good example of you don’t have to do that. I think that Alan has he’s got a wife, children, house, he does stuff with his family, and he’s extremely successful. So I don’t think you necessarily have to have that.
I know a lot of us have given up things like that, family life, children, lost wives. I mean, there’s been a lot of things that have gone on through different crew chiefs’ careers, but I don’t think it’s necessarily the case that it has to be that way. We do a good job of empowering the people that work with us to carry a lot of the load.
In 2005 I really dedicated everything I had to that year to try to win the championship, and we came up short, and Mr. Hendrick and Jimmie showed me at the end of that season, look, you can’t do this; you can’t do it at the level that you’re trying to do it. It wasn’t the level of success, it was the level of intensity, because it was like what Alan said, I was losing that edge that I had and I was beginning to flame out.
I think that now a good crew chief, a really good crew chief, probably does a better job of balancing his home life, his life away from work and his life at work because that’s the only way you’re going to get the proper balance to where you can be successful in both, so you can be successful in both because you can’t have one without the other and probably be fulfilled.
Have you figured out how to balance that?
CHAD KNAUS: Me personally? Yeah, I think so. I’m doing a lot of I’m definitely taking more time off than what I have in the past. I’m enjoying things, I’m going places, and I owe all that to Jimmie. I had never had a vacation until 2002 when Jimmie and I went to Cabo San Lucas together, and it was like, man, there’s something else to do other than racing. And still to this day I don’t do as much stuff as what I would like, but I definitely take time off and enjoy myself, yeah, for sure.
For Chad and for Alan, Mark had said on pit wall after the race, and it was really earnest and from the heart, I’ve gotta dig deeper, but he did that and said that, having exorcised the demons that we have seen before in him. For Alan, did you help exorcise those demons? That makes him a better driver, I think. And can you talk about him saying I gotta dig deeper? And to Chad, have you had to help exorcise demons out of the mind of your driver because that’s such a big part of it?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think we all have things that we’ve got to challenges that we’ve got to face and mental blocks that we’ve got to get over. I think the one you’re referencing specifically is Talladega, and that was a place where Mark has made it pretty common knowledge it is not one of his favorite venues, and the racing does not necessarily suit him. He took a very positive attitude on it and didn’t let it affect him.
I don’t know that I specifically helped Mark with that, but I think in general, Hendrick Motorsports as a whole, as a company, and our race team in general have helped Mark relax and allow us to do some of the things that maybe in his career previously he wouldn’t allow other people to do or have the confidence in them to do. And I think he is at a point in his career now where he trusts us and he allows us to take some of those burdens off him, and he can just go out there and drive.
And as far as the comment that he’s got to dig deeper, you know, when you’re in the position we’re in, it’s very frustrating. We’ve done about everything that we humanly possibly can do. I don’t look back at one situation I guess I should rephrase that. If I look back at one race and second guess myself, it would be Lowe’s. I think at Lowe’s we could have done a little better job there and finished a little higher.
We’ve done everything we could do. We’ve worked as hard as we can work. He’s driven his tail off every week; the pit crew has practiced and performed from January of last year or December of last year preparing for this. So when you get into that situation and you’re falling short, it’s frustrating, so I think he’s just saying to himself in typical Mark Martin fashion, he’s putting that load on his shoulders saying he’s got to go out there and dig deeper.
I don’t know if that’s necessarily the case. We’ve all just got to polish our system or fine tune our team a little bit, and we’re talking a position here, two positions there and we’ll be where we need to be. We’re not that far off.
Mark, yeah, maybe he can do this a little bit better or that a little bit better, but it’s not a huge gap. We’ve just got to close it a little bit.
Chad, what about you? Is your driver flawless with the demons in his head, or do you have to work on that with him, or did you?
CHAD KNAUS: I don’t know if you’d call them demons, I guess, but Jimmie and I, we’ve reached a level in our relationship that we’re pretty open with one another and can communicate very well. So I think that, you know, if there’s something that’s weighing heavy on him, he definitely brings it up and we can discuss it. It’s not like we have to have a formal sit down or anything like that, that I’ve really got to try to talk him off a cliff. It really hasn’t been that way.
We’re in communication constantly, whether it’s via email, text, phone conversation. So I think we have our own therapy sessions, just kind of unwillingly, just kind of flows. I don’t think it’s something that’s real, real structured or something that I necessarily have to focus on. But if there were things, you know, we would talk about them.
One for each. For Alan, I know that you’ve talked about in the past always have been a Mark Martin fan growing up. I don’t know if I can recall exactly how you got in that direction or why, so if you could talk about that. And for Chad, we were talking the other day and mentioned the name Bill Belichick, and I’m guessing you’re aware of the gambling call he made at the end of Sunday’s football game that didn’t work –
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Thanks a lot. I know he knows about that because we watched that together.
CHAD KNAUS: Weren’t you just here?
Yes, I was. I really wanted to ask you just about the decision making in evaluating a risk of a gamble. Obviously to Belichick, he didn’t see the risk as great as other people saw it or he wouldn’t have made that decision. A lot of people look at you and the gambling that you do. Can you talk about that process when you get the chance, please?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: As far as me being a Mark Martin fan, where that started is just a kid, a young race fan, who like every other kid was in love with the race cars and the speed and the competitiveness of the sport and everything that’s great about it. Mark was a guy that stood out to me, what I would kind of term as a man’s man. He always worked very hard for what he got, and if he fell short, he was the first guy to stand up and take the blame, and he would not point the finger and get into controversy. He’d go back and work harder and come back that much better.
That was a trait that I tried to emulate in my life and follow, and that was something I was really drawn to. He was a blue collar racer and he worked really, really hard for it and deserved everything he got. And that was the big thing that drew me to Mark, and his tenacity on the racetrack, as a fan, somebody watching this guy on Sunday or Saturdays in the Busch Car winning all these races. It really drew me to him, and I really respected what a stand up guy he was.
The great news about all that is sometimes I think when you have people like that, that you idolize, the opportunity when you meet them or you really get to know them, you can be let down. But for Mark with me it’s exactly the opposite. I think I’m a bigger Mark Martin today than I was before I knew him, and I have more respect for him today than I did then. That’s a really neat thing.
CHAD KNAUS: You know, as far as you have to weigh out your options as you’re going through a race. The thing that I probably enjoy the most in our sport is trying to figure out how to win. You know, that’s what drives me the most. You know, if you’re running 10th with 100 laps to go in the event, what we enjoy the most is trying to figure out how to beat the competition.
Based on what Belichick did, he weighed it out, and this is me speaking for him, I haven’t heard any of his interviews or anything like that, but I think he felt like, okay, our team is in a position where we’re comfortable enough, we’re going to make the playoffs, we’re in a position where we can take this chance. If something happens and it doesn’t work out, we’re not going to be much worse for it.
I think if you look back at Phoenix last year when we won the spring race on fuel mileage, it was the same situation. We were like, okay, we can take a gamble at this point because it’s not going to kill us. We won the race.
If you fast forward to Michigan this year, the same situation arose. We were like, okay, let’s give it an opportunity. We really had nothing to lose because we were going to be in the Chase. So to go for a win at that point was a little bit wiser.
Now, he was on the defensive side of that thing because he had the points lead, but I think if you try to second guess every decision everybody makes, you’re going to find a fault in every person. But I think if you make the right decision the majority of the time, then you’re a successful coach.
Jimmie sort of flew under the radar there in the Busch Series and we all know the story about him. Chad, you ended up at the drivers meeting in Chicagoland that sort of led to this whole thing. Was there any point that particularly sticks out in your mind when you first saw him do something, where you thought, oh, yeah, I’ve got something to work with here, this is going to be good?
CAD KNAUS: Nope. Not until we showed up at the test in Las Vegas because I never really paid any attention to him to be honest with you. I was in the Cup Series. I’ve primarily been in the Cup Series, never really worked in the Nationwide or the Busch Series. I’ve never even crew chiefed a Nationwide car until Jimmie and I did it together. Really I had nothing to fall back on.
All I knew is coming into Hendrick Motorsports I would have the resources that we needed to be successful. I knew that I liked Jimmie from a personal standpoint, and I was like, shoot, let’s give it a shot, see what happens. From his driving ability, I knew nothing. I had never even watched a race that he had been in. I think the one race that he won in Chicago on fuel mileage was the only race I really even took notice to him doing that, and I knew Ryan Newman was catching him at the end. That’s all I really knew about it.
Do you remember a point after y’all got together when he did something like that, that you sort of turned an eye to him?
CHAD KNAUS: You know, I think just from us really getting after it. We went to the Las Vegas test, and we really sat down and we had a methodical way of trying to learn each other and develop our vocabulary, and right there, I was like, man, this guy has got some talent. We were running just as fast and what the 24 car was and we were trying to kind of mimic them. If you’re at a racetrack and you’re one of the fastest guys there, because back then everybody went and tested together, so you had all 50 teams there testing, and if you were in the top two, three at a test, you were pretty impressive. And I think that’s kind of the way we went through Las Vegas.
So I would say that test there was a good indication of what kind of skills he had.
We spoke to a Cup champion recently, and he said that Rick would not be satisfied unless he took you and Jimmie to the point where you broke the seven championship record with I know this is down the road, but he just said Rick Hendrick has such a need to break records, he takes such satisfaction in setting those goals and doing it. Can you see yourself in that position at some point?
CHAD KNAUS: Yeah, I hope. That’s all I can say. We’ve been in a position to where we’ve been able to battle for the championship since 2002. So I would like to say that we could be in that position. But you don’t know. The competition level is so high that you can’t you don’t know what you’re going to do from one week to the next. It’s so difficult to predetermine what’s going to happen. It wasn’t that long ago you would say, okay, we can realistically run Top 10 every week, barring a mechanical issue or what have you. Now you can’t realistically say you’re going to run Top 20 every week because the competition is so tough.
So I’m hoping that we have that. I know that Jimmie has got the talent. I know that we’ve got the talent here at Hendrick Motorsports to make that happen, and we know Mr. Hendrick likes shiny things. If we can keep going and get him more trophies, he’s just going to be happier, and Alan is going to try to do the same thing.
That’s just kind of the way it is. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got and see where it shakes out, and hopefully we’re here six, seven years from now doing the same thing.
This is for Alan. How is working with Mark Martin different from other drivers you’ve worked with?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Mark has got obviously a lot of talent. He’s a great person. I think the biggest thing, his professionalism is above considerably above everybody else I’ve worked with on and off the racetrack, the way he works at his trade, the way he communicates with the team, the way that he works with his teammates. Everything he does, he is very, very professional, very dedicated to what he does, and he does it in a really positive way.
I know it’s a really broad statement, but his professionalism is very impressive, and that allows you to focus on what’s important. You don’t have to worry about things that aren’t important. You can worry about what’s going to make the cars go faster, the communication of the team, the communication of the engineering staff, help work with the pit crew, help work with our teammates and other drivers, other crew chiefs and other drivers to get that dialogue going to where we can get as much information as possible, and then process it correctly.
He does a fantastic job with that. You know, he’s a great teammate. He’s just a great person to be around. I think Chad would say the same thing. He’s a great complement to our organization. He helps all the drivers, helps all the teams, helps management, everybody. He’s just got a great perspective on racing and how to go about things, and we’re really fortunate to have him here at the company.
As a follow up, because of his experience, has that been an asset there with the younger drivers at Hendrick, but with Mark’s experience because of the testing policy that has been in place this year, has that benefitted Hendrick?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think there’s no question about that. I know it’s benefitted the 5 tremendously, and I think that’s flowed over to other teams. He knows what he needs and what he wants. He’s got a great feel for a race car, and he can give us the information. Not that he’s going in and saying, hey, I need this or I need this, but he will say I need my car to do this and he feels like this is happening, that it make this happen and that’s a result of X, and then we can go back and diagnose all that stuff.
There’s been a lot of times during the year that the 48 and the 5 have been very similar or the 24 and the 5 have been very similar. All four cars have been similar. To watch Mark have the dialogue with those other drivers and when you get a guy like Mark Martin and a guy like Jimmie Johnson on very similar equipment, getting their feedback is just priceless. It allows us to take things so much further, and like you said, with the lack of testing, you don’t have that benefit if you have a rookie driver or drivers that don’t have the experience or the intelligence level or the ability that those two have. They’re two of the best.
So it’s really neat to be involved with that, when you get the four talented drivers we have, get them on similar equipment and then listen to how each one of them will dissect the car differently, and I think Mark does as good a job with that as anybody.
And Chad, would you mind commenting, please, if Mark has benefitted you this year, as well?
CHAD KNAUS: I think Alan really hit on it all. Mark is a fantastic talent. I’ve been a fan of Mark since I was just a child. My father and Mark used to run ASA together, so I’ve got photographs of myself and Mark when I was like six and he was, like, 18 or something like that, 20 years old. So that was kind of neat to be a part of this deal.
I think he brings great experience, not only from a motorsports side of things but life experiences. Obviously he’s older than we are, so he’s done more and he’s experienced more things. He really pulls out good information out of the other drivers. It’s real easy, especially with what we’ve got going on now with different tires, and obviously we hate to compare cars still, but with this car that we’ve got, there’s only so much you can do to it before the driver just has to say that’s about as good as it’s going to be and I have to go through with it and drive it.
And I think when we get together with Mark as a group, a lot of the drivers will come in discouraged and be just like, man, that’s all I’ve got or even Mark could possibly do that. What ends up happening is they start to discuss it, and they’re like, wow, that’s what my car is doing, too, and they start to feed off of that and then Mark starts to influence those guys, just like, you know, guys, we can get through this, we can do this.
He’s got such a good spin on things. It’s never done. You’re never done working on it. It could always be better. It’s just time to go race.
And I think he brings a lot of that mentality to where we’re like, look, we’re going to work on it until the last lap of the race and try to make it better. He’s got that desire that not a lot of people have.
Chad, I’m wondering, heading into this weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway, it’s the only track on the Chase schedule that you guys haven’t won at, and I’m wondering if the reason is mainly because you’re going in protecting a lead, or is there something else about that track that you guys haven’t quite figured out yet?
CHAD KNAUS: Well, I think if you look at it, we’ve had obviously both scenarios play out there. We’ve had races that we’ve had to win to try to win the championship, we’ve had races that we needed to go in there and just be protective and try to make sure we didn’t lose it.
So I think that we haven’t hit on exactly what it is that we need there, although I feel like our package going into Homestead this year is probably the best that we’ve had yet, so I’m excited about that. I think we can go in there this weekend with the aggressiveness that we need. We sat on the pole there a couple years ago. I think it was 2006. I think we can go down there and battle for the pole and hopefully get ourselves in position to race for the win.
But you know, we’re not going to do anything silly, either, to take ourselves out of contention or out of a place that we can possibly win this thing. So we’re just going to have to play it by ear and hopefully we can be in a position to race for it and hopefully win this thing. It would be awesome. But obviously the big prize has to be the thing first and foremost on our minds.
Alan, Rick Hendrick as a guy, what is it about him that just promotes an incredible sense of loyalty that we see out of the employees from the drivers and crew chiefs to everyone we see in the garage area? There’s just something about Rick Hendrick that you guys want to do well for him.
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, I don’t think there’s any person that I’ve ever met who was more compassionate and who treats fellow human beings better than Rick Hendrick. And I think that’s the key for me personally, and that’s all I can speak on.
I know when I started here in the chassis shop, basically I don’t want to say a nobody, a nobody is a nobody, but nowhere on his radar, he treated me like I was the best crew chief in the world or the president of Lowe’s or whatever you want to say. He was extremely, extremely good to me, and he has been, and he’s supported me through thick and thin, and he’s supported me in tough times.
One thing that stands out in my mind when we’ve had issues on the racetrack or we had performance issues last year, there’s a lot of owners who would have went right to the crew chief, and we see that week in and week out. We’ve seen that happen this year. But he had faith in me, and he stood behind me. I will return that favor ten times over. I think that’s the key.
It’s not there’s not any magic. The fact is he’s willing to do more for people, for his people, than basically anybody else is. And he’s willing to put himself second time and time and time again for his company and for his people, and we all sincerely appreciate that, and we want to return the favor to him because he treats us so well.
I think he genuinely enjoys bringing good things and happiness to people’s lives, and he does a great job of it. So he’s just a super special person. The world would be a worse place without Rick Hendrick in it. He’s just a great guy and somebody you will do anything for because he will treat you the same way.
Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS, FINISHED 4TH
TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY AND THE POINTS
"We had a great run. The guys did a fabulous job and we had a really good race car. The car was awesome on the long runs. I really thought with that last long green flag that we were going to get up there and make it a four-car race but our car got tight and kind of fizzled out."
DID YOU MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR CAR?
"We didn't do anything. Really, what we did do, we took back out and kind of left the car. It was a top-five car the whole race. It was really good on the long runs. We fought from behind it seemed like a little bit today. It was a good effort by this whole team."
IT SEEMED LIKE YOU HAD A GOOD RACE CAR ALL DAY LONG, WAS IT AS GOOD AS IT SEEMED?
"It was a good car and a great effort by this race team and we gave it everything we had today. The car was a little vulnerable on the restarts and we lost some spots and had to battle back from that. Our car was very, very good on the long run. In fact I really thought we could get to Jimmie with 35 to go as good as our car was going and then it just got tight. I got up to Denny (Hamlin) and I got tight and kind of fizzled out. It was a strong car and a great effort by this team and I'm really proud."
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN DIG OUT OF WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE THIS SEASON?
"I'm pretty proud of what we've done this season. That's really all I've got to say about it. I'm proud of what we've accomplished."
Mark Martin Post Qualifying Notes and Quotes
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS – Qualifies 10th
"It just didn't hook up. I told myself before I went out there to just let the car do the work. I came down the backstretch and I went in to turn three and I figured out I better not let the car do the work because it isn't going to do much here. It was just all over the place. I'm not really sure why. I needed a breathtakingly spectacular lap and I got a below average lap. An above average lap would have put us third or fourth and we would be feeling really good. We are really close right there, but I was just a little sloppy. The car didn't do it, so I had to force the car to do it and when you do that, you are a little less predictable about where you are going to land and how you are going aim and all that stuff and I was just aimed up a little wrong in a couple of spots."
IN TERMS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE, DOES THIS QUALIFYING EFFORT CONCERN YOU?
"No. I mean, it is rarely going to be as easy as it was for us the last time here. I mean we were the heat here in practice we felt like and the heat in the race. The car today wasn't the heat. It was ok but this is a different race. A daytime race which I think will pose an additional challenge for us. I think it will be slicker and it may be more difficult for us. So far the car has been a little bit more cantankerous for us about working and getting angled up just right and all those things. We will have some time, a couple of hours, tomorrow to work on that and hopefully we'll get it. We're doing everything we can do man. We are digging and we are doing good. Not going to hang my head about if I had got a better lap, we would be ahead of half the guys that are ahead of us right there because it is only one one-hundreths for each spot. It was a good effort. We gave it our best and that is what we will do Sunday."
CARQUEST RETURNING TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS IN 2010
CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 13, 2009) -- CARQUEST Auto Parts has extended its relationship with Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 Chevrolets driven by current Sprint Cup Series championship contender Mark Martin through the 2011 NASCAR season.
The two-year pact will showcase CARQUEST with primary sponsor placement in eight points races annually beginning in 2010. When its red, white and blue shield is not on the hood, the Raleigh, N.C.-based company will maintain a significant presence on the No. 5 Chevys as a major associate sponsor.
"CARQUEST is pleased to be an eight-race primary sponsor of Mark Martin and the No. 5 team for the 2010 NASCAR season," said Temple Sloan III, president and CEO of General Parts/CARQUEST Auto Parts. "In our eight years as a partner of Hendrick Motorsports we have enjoyed many successes, and this year has been tremendous. As the Official Auto Parts supplier to Hendrick Motorsports we are proud to have Mark, Alan Gustafson (crew chief) and the team partnering with us. Winning is the goal our team strives for every day, both on the track and in our stores."
CARQUEST began its relationship with Hendrick Motorsports in 2002 when it became the organization's Official Auto Parts Supplier and a major associate sponsor of the No. 5 Nationwide Series team with driver Ricky Hendrick. The partnership grew in 2005 when CARQUEST joined the No. 5 Sprint Cup team as both a co-primary and associate-level sponsor.
"Our goals and values have always matched up extremely well," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "CARQUEST is focused on teamwork, quality and providing terrific value to their customers, which are things we emphasize daily in our business. We're excited that racing continues to pay dividends for them, and we look forward to seeing CARQUEST in Victory Lane many times in the next two seasons."
In his first Sprint Cup campaign with Hendrick Motorsports, Martin, 50, has recorded five wins and a career best seven pole positions. The veteran driver, who recently signed a contract extension through 2011, is second in championship points with two races remaining in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup.
"I can't say enough great things about CARQUEST," Martin said. "They've been an incredible partner in my first season with Hendrick Motorsports, and I'm extremely happy that we'll have them back for the next two. I'm looking forward to having fun and competing for more wins with CARQUEST on board the No. 5 Chevy."
ABOUT CARQUEST AUTO PARTS
CARQUEST Auto Parts has more than 3,100 locations throughout North America. It is the premier supplier of replacement products, accessories, supplies and equipment for virtually all makes and models of automobiles, as well as light- and heavy-duty trucks, off-road equipment, buses, recreational vehicles and agricultural equipment. Additionally, CARQUEST distributes and sells tools, equipment, chemicals, paint and accessories. For more information, please visit www.CARQUEST.com.
ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
Since 1984 Hendrick Motorsports has earned 12 championships in NASCAR's top three divisions and 187 victories in the sanctioning body's premier series, the Sprint Cup. The organization, which currently is celebrating its 25th anniversary season, fields four full-time Chevrolet teams on the Sprint Cup Series circuit with drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Headquartered in Concord, N.C., Hendrick Motorsports employs more than 500 people.
Mark Martin Media Visit – Phoenix
MARK MARTIN, NO. KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS met with media and discussed sponsorship renewal, racing against teammates for championship, Hendrick Motorsports, grass roots racing, and more.
THE MODERATOR: We're now joined in the infield media center by driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's Carquest Chevrolet, Mark Martin, currently second in points. Mark, I understand there is some breaking news with regard to a sponsor announcement.
MARK MARTIN: Carquest has signed up to come back as a major sponsor on a number of races and a major associate for '10 and '11. I'm pretty excited about working with them again. It's been an awesome relationship so far this year that we've had. I really enjoy all the Carquest teammates from all over the country, being a part of their team.
THE MODERATOR: We'll start off with questions from the media.
Q. Mark, even though you whittled it down to a 73-point lead, do you still feel like you have a big mountain to overcome knowing how the 48 performs when it seems to matter most?
MARK MARTIN: Well, NASCAR racing's no different today than it was 30 years ago in this respect. If there are no problems and you have the two top-five performing teams, then there won't be any major shift if nothing goes wrong, okay? I mean, I hope that answers your question. There won't be any major shift in our points unless things go wrong.
You know, we turned upside down at Talladega. Had I managed not to be involved in that wreck, you know, then the race would be on and it would be basically down to who scored the most points in the last two races, right down to performance.
But this is the same as it's always been. There are a lot more than just flat-out performance week in and week out to it.
Q. Racing two of your teammates for a championship, you have crew guys that work on both cars, how do you keep an even keel, how does the team maintain its relationships with each other, not be so competitive that it's toxic and destructive?
MARK MARTIN: Well, it's certainly not been toxic at all. I have noticed very little difference, very, very little difference in our interaction from the drivers and the crew chiefs as well. We're still working hard to make our four Hendrick Motorsports cars the four cars to beat when we're off the racetrack. When we're on the racetrack, we're working to make our car, whichever one we're in and we're associated and worked on, the car to beat.
Q. A lot has been made of what you've been able to accomplish this year at age 50. Tonight Ron Hornaday has a chance to clinch his fourth Truck Series title at age 51. I wanted your impressions of that accomplishment and wonder if you ever spoke to Ron in the garage or had contact with him, that sort of thing?
MARK MARTIN: Yeah, Ron and I had a chance to speak at Martinsville. Obviously both of us are, you know, proud of what we've been able to accomplish this year, as well as a number of other drivers that are in our age bracket.
Q. I guess you look at the guys who make up the Chase, so many of them from Hendrick Motorsports or have ties to Hendrick. Looks like Hendrick Motorsports is going to be a champion again. Why is that operation so good when we got like Roush and the other teams that are kind of struggling? What makes Hendrick Motorsports so good?
MARK MARTIN: I think it has a lot to do with, you know, the people and how they all interact together. You know, we talk a lot about team chemistry, 'team' being the 5 or the 48. But, you know, you can go into a broader scale, you know, when you talk about Hendrick Motorsports and four cars, and that team chemistry as well that encompasses the whole program.
There's a little bit of Rick Hendrick in every person that works at Hendrick Motorsports. You know, when I deal with them, I see a little bit of Rick Hendrick in each one of 'em. It just works. You know, it's the mentality and the chemistry of everyone that seems to get incredible results.
Q. Next week when the checkered flag drops at Miami, are you going to be able to look back and go, Wow, this is one of the years I've had the most fun driving, and after a week off be ready to start 2010?
MARK MARTIN: Yes. I'm going to look at 2009, I may not have the best memory in the world, but I'm going to look at 2009 and say I've had the best year of my life personally as well as professionally. This has been the best year of my life. You know, I found so much peace and happiness and good-quality time with people, relationships, family, coworkers, fans, competitors, as well as success on the racetrack.
Q. Media?
MARK MARTIN: You guys, too (smiling).
Q. Mark, having had almost a week now to look back at it, how shocked were you that the 48 actually had the troubles they had at Texas? He was just in here saying he doesn't expect lightning to strike twice. I'm wondering your thoughts on that also.
MARK MARTIN: That's what I said at Talladega: I don't expect lightning to strike twice. But for me it did, so... Sometimes the unexpected happens. But I don't expect it to either. I'm still optimistic, even when it comes to their, you know, efforts as well.
The thing you have to remember is, you know, my focus is on the race at Phoenix, it's not on the point accumulation. The point accumulation will take care of itself if I focus on the race and do our very best, so...
Q. If you can't win this championship and Jimmie does win four in a row, can you put that into perspective? Is that going to be bigger than Petty winning seven, Earnhardt winning seven, some of the other major accomplishment in the sport's history?
MARK MARTIN: I think when you look back on it, it will. I think everyone has it tempered some. I don't think that they really realize that they're getting their brains beat in by that group like they really are in today's age. I think when we get down 10, 20 years down the road and look back, people will realize what an incredible feat that they have achieved. Golly, who would expect that to discontinue anytime soon based on what you see. Incredible, incredible stuff that they're doing and have done. So I wouldn't expect them to be done at the end of '09.
Q. Mark, can you put on your track owner hat and talk about how important tracks like yours are to the grass-roots of motorsports in general and the effect of having tracks like yours in that area help to benefit Homestead and Daytona in the bigger picture?
MARK MARTIN: What track are you talking about?
Q. You own or manage a track, don't you, in Florida?
MARK MARTIN: I helped a quarter midget racetrack get going and everything. I don't own it. I did finance it or, you know, I helped make it happen and pulled a lot of people together, a lot of efforts together so there could be quarter midget racing in Central Florida. The track that was currently being used has now been closed down, the one prior to ours. So it was a good thing that we had ours going.
It's good family entertainment. You know, football or T ball, whatever, is just not for everyone. It might be for almost everyone, but some people want to do that same kind of thing in motorsports. So for me, quarter midget racing is the safest, coolest, most fun, most economical, family-oriented, perfectly managed organization with QMA that you could have going. I mean, it's just really a special time. The most fun I've ever had in racing was going racing with Matt, quarter midget racing. He did all kinds of racing, but the quarter midget racing was the most fun.
Q. The grass-roots of racing, all the places around the Midwest you went to, where would you be today had you not had those places to cut your teeth? As you said, football, baseball, you can go to any high school, grade school, there is a diamond that you can play on.
MARK MARTIN: Racing is much more difficult because, you're right, you can't go to the city-owned baseball field or whatever. It takes personal individuals. They're usually not community funded.
This quarter midget track was obviously kind of the face of it, but there were a lot of people that rallied behind it to make it work. It was actually a big deal, even though they're 1/20th of a mile racetracks. I can't imagine what trying to do a whole stock car track was like, because that took a lot of work from a lot of people.
Q. Looking back at April, does the track itself have much of a difference in comparison to today or is it more of a mental difference in that there's only two races left?
MARK MARTIN: For me there's no difference. I mean, you know, today is a different day than Friday the last time. We have the whole weekend in front of us. You know, we have to go out here and make it happen, just like we did then. Every day's a new day. There's no telling how the weekend will turn out for us, but we sure are hoping to have the best results.
Q. I was talking to your crew chief this week about that go-get-you-some mentality that you talked about before Talladega. As you slide into this race this weekend, he said, Yeah, this is what you're going to have to do. How aggressive, how much do you go after it this weekend?
MARK MARTIN: Same as every week. You just don't realize it. I'm going after it every week. Every time I strap in that racecar, I'm going after it. Every time I strap in that racecar, I'm going to the extreme limits. I've raced that way, I've drove that 5 car, every time I strap in the 5 car, it's the same. It's everything I got, points or no points. If it's just practice, I like being on the top of the scoreboard even in practice.
You know, we're digging as hard as we can go.
Q. Mark, since you've had time now at Hendrick to work with some of the different crew chiefs, what have you learned about Chad Knaus in your dealings with him? Is there somebody over your years of experience, a crew chief in the past, a figure in the past, that he's kind of like? You also mentioned there's a little bit of Rick Hendrick in everybody. What part of Rick Hendrick is in Chad Knaus?
MARK MARTIN: That's too hard a question, okay, too in-depth. That's a pretty tough question. I will answer part of that question.
I see a lot of myself, younger self, in Chad Knaus, I do. Although I wasn't a crew chief. He is very, very intense. He pushes really, really hard. He leaves no stone unturned. He's insanely driven. That reminds me a lot of my younger self. So that I see.
You got to remember, I don't work next to Chad all the time. I can't get into his, you know, really, really great details. I see his work ethic. That's what I notice, his drive and determination. That's really what I see the most of.
Q. You talked about the chemistry over at Hendrick Motorsports. When you saw what Jimmie's team did last weekend, in the garage fixing the car, somebody from your crew came over, Jeff's crew came over and helped, is that part of what makes that 48 crew so special, those guys behind the scenes that we never hear or see about?
MARK MARTIN: You would have seen probably the same type of thing from any of the other top organizations, I would expect. If I was a car owner, I would expect the same kind of cooperation with my teams as you saw. But certainly, as I said before, the chemistry that flows through the whole organization has got some Rick Hendrick through it. I can see that. When I deal with different individuals in that company, I get a little feel of how he is. He is a very, very special person in the way he inspires people and the way he deals with people. Most of the individuals at Hendrick Motorsports have some of that going on, too. That really helps I think with the chemistry, helps them be successful.
Q. Why are his cars so different?
MARK MARTIN: I don't know for sure why the Hendrick cars are so good here. We actually ran pretty good here before I drove a Hendrick car. Some of it is the drivers get around here good. Certain drivers get around certain tracks. For me to come and drive a Hendrick car here was definitely a good thing. If you remember last year in the 8 car, we were in position ahead of Jimmie when we pitted at the end of the race. So some drivers just get around certain racetracks good. Then you'll go there one time, do terrible, then you wish you never said, I get around this place good. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that.
Mark Martin named 2009 NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year
Mark Martin is the NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year presented by Old Spice for 2009. Martin will officially accept the award in a prerace ceremony at the Ford 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22.
NASCAR Illustrated chose to honor the 50-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver because of his exceptional talent and extraordinary class. His return to a full schedule in 2009 underscored his ability and gave fans another chance to appreciate his humility and graciousness.
This is the third time Martin has received a Person of the Year honor – but only the first that he has been the sole honoree. He joins a list of previous recipients that includes Jeff Burton, Kyle Petty, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace.
Martin is the cover subject of the December 2009 issue of NASCAR Illustrated, which will be available on newsstands across the country the week of Nov. 24.
Martin is NASCAR’s good ol’ Charlie Brown
Maybe it’s because we’re so close to Thanksgiving, but Mark Martin reminds me of Charlie Brown.
He’s just so good, and so optimistic.
Just like Charlie Brown, who will again line up to kick that football with Lucy holding when “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” makes is annual network TV appearance this month, Martin thinks he has a chance at the Sprint Cup Series crown.
For some reason, after all these years of pulling the ball away, Charlie Brown thinks this will be the year Lucy holds the ball in place. He thinks this year will be the year he boots “that football clear to the moon.”
In just the same way, after four career second-place finishes Martin thinks this year is the year he has a chance at the crown.
When TV cameras found Martin after last week’s race — when an accident cost points leader Jimmie Johnson 129 laps, leading to a 38th-place finish that put Martin within 73 points of the series lead with two races remaining — the sport’s ageless wonder was upbeat.
He saw a chance, a minute crack that might lead to an improbably possibility. He thinks he might be able to find a way to his first championship.
Unfortunately for Martin, he and Charlie Brown share more than the fact that neither of them needs a hair dryer.
The two remaining Sprint Cup races, starting with this weekend’s 500-lap event at Phoenix International Raceway, represent nothing more than Lucy setting the ball on the ground. Things look good, even possible, but reality will intervene.
Even Martin, who was so immediately upbeat after last week’s race, knows it. Johnson’s team simply has too much of a lead, and too much preparation and talent on its side this late in the season.
“Our race team has done a good job, but we’re still at an arm’s length away,” Martin said. “If they run like they’re capable of doing, there’s nothing we can do.”
In fact, Martin worries as much about what’s ahead of him as behind. While he has Johnson, a teammate, to try to track down, another teammate, Jeff Gordon, lurks directly behind him.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Martin said. In fact, if he could preserve a second- place finish, it would be perhaps the most satisfying runner-up performance of his career.
He joined Hendrick:
Motorsports this season just hoping to find a team good enough for him to again reach Victory Lane. He’s done that five times, and his performance in the points race has been an added benefit.
“It’s be pretty overwhelming (to finish second) when I’m considered too old to be doing this,” Martin, 50, said. “It’s been an incredible year.
“The year I wanted to win the championship was 1990 and that’s the one that tore my heart out. I don’t think anything can compare to the disappointment we felt that year.”
Since then, Martin has raced for great owners and teams (Jack Roush, Rick Hendrick) and led what should’ve been uncompetitive teams (Ginn Racing, DEI) to unexpected results.
He’s a Hall of Fame-quality driver, a hard-working, not-so-flashy and talented pilot whom others respect because he keeps plugging away. He’s good for the sport.
He’s a good man. Just like Charlie Brown.
Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview
POINTS BATTLE: With a fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway last Sunday, Mark Martin and the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team gained 111 points on teammate and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship leader Jimmie Johnson. Martin remains second in the standings and is now just 73 points out of the lead.
LEADER SCENARIO: There are many possibilities in which Martin can take over the points lead after Sunday's race at Phoenix. For instance, if Martin wins and leads the most laps, he would become the new championship leader if Johnson finishes 14th or worse and doesn't lead a lap. For perspective, a driver who wins and leads the most laps can make up 161 points on another driver who finishes 43rd and doesn't lead a lap.
GOING FOR THE SWEEP: Martin won the April event at Phoenix International Raceway, marking his first Sprint Cup victory in 98 starts. Martin's Phoenix win was his first of five this season and made him the fourth driver older than 50 to win in NASCAR's elite series. Martin started the April 18, 2009, race from the pole position and led 157 laps on his way to Victory Lane.
AT PHOENIX: Martin's April victory was his second career win at Phoenix. He scored his first victory at the one-mile track on Oct. 31, 1993. Martin started third that day and led 212 of 312 laps for the win. In 25 Cup starts at PIR, Martin also has earned 10 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s.
BEST AVERAGE: Martin's average finish of ninth at Phoenix International Raceway is his best at any oval track on the Sprint Cup schedule. Only Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International has been kinder to the driver, who owns a 7.8 average finish on the road course.
OF THE CHASERS: Martin and Johnson are the only Chase for the Championship contenders with multiple victories at Phoenix with two and three wins, respectively. Martin leads all Chasers with 10 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s at the one-mile oval. Martin has the second-best average finish (9.0) and has led more laps (833) than any other Chase driver.
DRIVER RATING: Martin earned a driver rating of 145.6 out of a possible 150 score in the April race at Phoenix. NASCAR's driver rating is determined by a formula that combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finish.
LOOP STATISTICS: During the past nine races at Phoenix International Raceway, Martin has earned the third-best driver rating of 102.2. His average running position of 11.4 is the fifth-best among the drivers competing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
CAREER YEAR FOR GUSTAFSON: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has led the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST team for five years, and the 2009 season is his best to date. Gustafson's five wins, 13 top-five finishes, seven poles and 805 laps led are career-bests for the 34-year-old crew chief. His 20 top-10 finishes tie his 2007 season record.
THREE WINS FOR THE NO. 5: Phoenix is a special track for the No. 5 team, which earned Hendrick Motorsports' first PIR win Oct. 30, 1994, with Terry Labonte behind the wheel. Under the direction of Gustafson, the No. 5 team earned its second victory there on Nov. 13, 2005, and third on April 18, 2009, marking the first win for Martin at Hendrick Motorsports.
THE NO. 5 AT PHOENIX: Since 2005, when Gustafson took the helm, the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team has earned two wins, two pole positions and four top-10 finishes at Phoenix.
DOUBLE WINNING CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-538 for Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to victory at PIR in April and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.
HENDRICK AT PHOENIX: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has seven wins, 23 top-five finishes and 44 top-10s in 26 races (91 starts) at Phoenix International Raceway.
ON A ROLL: Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won five straight races at Phoenix, with Martin most recently visiting Victory Lane in April. Johnson earned the three previous victories, while Jeff Gordon won the April 21, 2007, contest after starting from the pole position. During the last nine races at the track, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have claimed six victories and six pole positions.
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE.): "We can't say that one race changed everything. Did we close in on Jimmie (Johnson)? Yes. But that doesn't mean that the whole Chase has changed. We're going to keep doing what we've done every race week: try to win. That's all I can do, and that's all this team can do. We aren't in control of anything else that happens. I've said all along that you can't make predictions, and I still say that it's not over. There are a lot more guys in contention than just me and Jimmie. The race is still on for all of us."
MARTIN (ON THE TEAM'S PERFORMANCE IN THE FINAL TWO RACES.): "We were great in Phoenix in April. I have no doubt that we'll run strong there again this weekend. And there's no reason for me to think that we won't have a strong race in Homestead (Fla.) either. Performance-wise, this is one of the best teams out there, and I am so proud and feel so blessed to be driving for (owner) Rick Hendrick and Alan Gustafson and the whole Kellogg's/CARQUEST team. It's going to be a tough fight, but it's not over."
MARTIN (ON WINNING AT PHOENIX IN APRIL.): "That was such an incredible night. I knew going into the race that we had a really, really good race car. I knew that we had a very good shot at winning, and I didn't want to disappoint any of the guys on this team because you could see it in their faces that they were excited. We went out there and the car was nearly perfect all night. We had great pit stops, and when the yellow came out there at the end I thought, 'You've got to be kidding me!' We held Tony (Stewart) off, and crossing that finish line was such a mix of gratitude, disbelief and relief. I couldn't believe we won. It was just an amazing night. All of the people that came into Victory Lane that night, that blew me away. It still does. That's what I race for. It's the people, not the trophies. And I'll never forget them all coming to shake my hand and the things they said. That night was incredible, and I owe that to Rick (Hendrick) and Alan (Gustafson). They gave me this opportunity, and we are making the most of every minute."
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET: (ON THE TEAM'S APRIL WIN AT PHOENIX.): "It was our first win of the season, which is always a big deal. It was a great weekend for us. We had a good car in practice and a great qualifying effort with the pole. We had a strong car throughout the night and didn't have to chase it much throughout the race. The (No.) 2 was really strong, and the (No.) 14 was strong. But anytime you can win is a big deal. It was the first one for Mark (Martin, driver) in awhile and the first one for the team in awhile. It's just nice to get that win and get back to Victory Lane. As much success as we've had at Phoenix as a team, it's a place that we feel really comfortable and confident going back to. It's a fun track to race on, even if you haven't had success there. Pit strategy always comes into play. It's an interesting track, and I enjoy going there."
GUSTAFSON (ON JIMMIE JOHNSON'S EARLY ACCIDENT AT TEXAS.): "The first thing I saw was the opportunity to gain points. My initial thought was, 'This is opening the door for us to make the championship closer.' Not that you're not focused on that anyway, but the first thing I thought of was that we had to somehow or another get a really good finish, if not win the race. His accident just magnified that need. You hate to see anyone get caught up in an accident like that. But that's part of the sport. It happens."
GUSTAFSON (ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP.): "More so than the points, the performance of the team at Texas made me feel better. We got back on our feet after having three weeks that, I felt, we didn't get the finish we deserved. At Charlotte (N.C.), we didn't operate at the level we needed to. At Martinsville (Va.), we gave up four or five spots at the end of the race. And at Talladega (Ala.), we got caught in a crash. That stuff starts to weigh on you. It's nice to get back to performing well and getting the finish we deserve, if not overachieving a little at Texas. Good adjustments, a great pit crew and good strategy maybe got us a better finish than we had car. That gives you confidence and momentum. Even if Jimmie hadn't had issues, I would have felt better after Texas just by getting back on track and gaining that momentum."
GUSTAFSON (ON THE POSSIBILITY OF WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP.): "Yes. There's no question we can do it. We can outperform the No. 48 the next two weeks. The question is, will we and by how much? We have to focus on doing that. A lot of it is perspective, and I've tried to explain that to the guys and handle myself that way. After Lowe's, we went from a 30-point deficit to an 80-point deficit. We were all disappointed. Now we go from a 184-point deficit to a 73-point deficit, which is the same thing, but the perspective is different. Now we're going the right way. That may add extra momentum to this team. It makes a difference. We're going the right way now, which is really important."
GUSTAFSON (ON HIS RECORD SEASON.): "It's good. It feels good. Time will tell if we can win the championship or not. That will have huge implications on how I feel about the season. We're trying to be the best, so that's the ultimate goal. As far as having my career-best year, it's a good accomplishment, but I also feel that that's the way it should be. I've invested a lot of time and this team has invested a lot of time on improving the team and our chances. Countless hours have been spent trying to get this team to championship level. We should get better every year. And I think we're doing our job. We want to be the best, and I think we're close to it."
Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes – Dickies 500
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS -- Finished 4th:
TURNED OUT TO BE A PRETTY PRUDENT MOVE TO COME IN AND GET FUEL AND GOT YOU A TOP-FIVE:
"Well we had to have some gas. It worked out good. Alan Gustafson (crew chief) and everybody on the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's team were on it today. We were junk yesterday in practice and they threw some new stuff at it today. Wasn't very good the first half and then magically mid-way the car became a top-five car. That what it was the last three runs.
YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO JIMMIE JOHNSON EARLY IN THE RACE, DID THAT CHANGE YOUR THINKING?
"No I still have got my hands full for the top-six positions (in the points) with all those guys. Two guys that knocked me out of championships are breathing down my neck so the race is still on. I don't know why everybody tries to cap this thing out and doesn't just wait and watch. There are still two races to go and still things that can happen."
WOULD YOU EVER HAVE ANTICIPATED YOU COULD MAKE UP ALL THOSE POINTS THIS WAY?
"It happened this way in reverse last week. I'm not really sure why everybody counts everything out. When it comes right down to performance you know you can't beat those guys, Jimmie Johnson and those guys. It's not over yet. The top six, I'm still kind of baffled why everybody is so preoccupied with first and second. The top-six spots are being raced for like a dog fight. I've got to past champions that knocked me out of championships breathing down my neck so the race is still on for all of us.
"I just want to brag on Alan Gustafson and everybody on the Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet. We were junk yesterday. Fair at the start of the race and half way through the race they hit on something and it was a top-five car. We clawed our way back into the top-five. I can't believe it, it is so much fun to drive the race car."
SEVENTY-THREE IS A LOT TO MAKE UP IN TWO RACES, HOW IS YOUR PERFORMANCE AND DO YOU THINK YOU CAN GO AT LEAST HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH THE NO. 48 AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS?
"Yeah, we can go head-to-head with them. No doubt about it. In Phoenix we led the most laps and won the last time there and we have no reason to think we can't run strong at Homestead. There could still be swings in the points. There's two races left, you never know what's going to happen. I'm really blessed to get to drive their stuff and be in this position. No matter what the outcomes is we've raced our guts out and I'm so proud of this team."
Mark qualifies 7th at Texas
Mark Martin Q&A – Dickies 500
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG’S IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway and discussed racing and fans at Texas Motor Speedway, his wreck at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson, the transitions in the track here at Texas and other topics.
TALK ABOUT YOUR OUTLOOK RACING HERE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
"This is a great facility in a great location. Great part of the country to come to not only because of the tremendous facility, but because the fans support it in such an incredible way. The fan support here not only with numbers but with enthusiasm is overwhelming."
WHEN YOU LOOK BACK OVER YOUR CAREER, CAN YOU RELATE TO WHO YOU WERE WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED HERE?
"It is a good point. It brings up some odd memories. One of them certainly was that I was too young. Back then, they didn’t want any young drivers. Jeff Gordon really was the one that changed all of that. Before that, they weren’t looking for young talented drivers; they were looking for the experienced ones. A lot of differences though. But there are some similarities in the fact that, I was not a preferred driver; I wasn’t in high-demand and not in a high-demand category now based on my age. But, we’re doing it. We were doing it then and we are doing it now. There are similarities and there are some vast differences. Back then, we were certainly struggling for the finances to do this and we are certainly in a better position now than we were then."
COMING OFF OF TALLADEGA, IS YOUR HEART BROKEN TO REALIZE YOU ARE IN ANOTHER UPHILL CLIMB FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP?
"Definitely no heartbreak whatsoever. But Talladega did rub because I would rather get beat then turn over, you know what I mean? I want to go down racing and not like that. But you know what, we raced. We raced all day. We raced like we just couldn’t be in a wreck. I was in one I didn’t even see. I never even knew I was going to be in that wreck until I was turning over. So, what the hay. Obviously, the performance of the No. 48 has been phenomenal and we have given it a good fight, but we haven’t quite matched their performance, although we gave him a pretty good run until Martinsville and Charlotte. That is all we can do. Certainly, I wasn’t BS’ing you guys; I didn’t take this job to go try and get a championship trophy. I took this job, you know why, and doggone, it has worked out pretty good. We have been in a position; it still could happen the race is still on for the top-six positions. We are going to race. I can’t wait! I can’t wait to get on the track here at Texas; it is going to be awesome. I hope that answers your question. It certainly doesn’t break my heart; it was a rub at Talladega. I would rather go down fighting than flipping."
HAVE YOU TRIED TO DISSECT AND FORM A THEORY AS TO WHY THE CARS ARE FLIPPING?
"My car turned over so fast, it makes me wonder if the nose of the No. 1 car didn’t go under the rear frame rail behind the rear tire and tip my car over. I know they do tend to turn over when they go sideways that way because they are heavy left side. They tend to go over; all cars always have a little bit.
"But this thing went so fast and it didn’t feel like it just kind of went up. It felt like it was shot over so I’m not sure why it went over like it. Newman’s crash was not atypical of the past 15 years as far as his car going up. I don’t know if there is any phenomenon whatsoever about a wing with a car backwards or not. But, I went up like that and just didn’t quite have the ride that he had in the early 90s’ back there. Way back at the exit of (turn) two, not the entry of three. I really feel like from reading everything and listening to everyone, I feel like what happened there in some ways was sensationalized and just blown way out of proportion. It was a horrible wreck that Ryan (Newman) had to go through and it was a horrible thing, we need to try and fix that. But that was not different than what we have seen for a good solid 15 years if not more. It is really hard to stop the cars from doing that when they get around like that. I think that we need to work on it, but we did keep the cars out of the grandstands.
"I don’t believe that was a boring race. I didn’t like it but I certainly think it has been blown completely out of proportion that the cars got single-file for a while in the race. When I finished 15 years ago, it was me, (Dale, Sr.) Earnhardt, Ernie (Irvan) and one other car was in the lead draft. That was all. No one complained that was a boring race, it was just Talladega. No one said anything. Now we have 40 (cars) nose to tail and that is a problem? For me, I am just a little confused about everything that I have read and listened to this week. I just don’t know what to say."
IT HAS BEEN 20 RACES SINCE THE DOUBLE-FILE RESTARTS STARTED, WHAT HAS IT CHANGED OR TRANSFORMED THINGS AND HAS IT HAD AS BIG OF AN IMPACT AS THEY THOUGHT IT MIGHT?
"It has not as big of impact as I expected. I dreaded it with a passion. It has worked for me in the car on the race track, it has worked ok. I’ve had some real winner restarts and a few real loser restarts but for the most part, it has been gained one, lose one, back and forth. I think it is ok. I am surprised. I really didn’t think I was going to like it very much. I am not saying I love it, but I am certainly fine with it."
YOU HAVE SAID THAT JIMMIE JOHNSON WORKS HARDER THAN ANY DRIVER IN THE GARAGE, IS THERE A WAY FOR YOU TO QUANTIFY THAT?
"I can’t quantify that because you are talking to a guy who doesn’t really know what he is talking about because I am not really, I don’t follow Carl Edwards around. I don’t really really know, I guess what I was saying was that he (Johnson) than anyone that I have seen from studying this sport to making notes after every race. To reviewing notes before (every race). To nutrition. To physical fitness to commitment to the sport has been surprising to me. I was one of those like many others from the outside looking in, looking at Jimmie Johnson making it look easy thinking he was a lucky guy that drove for a great race team. I’m taking that back now. I’ve seen different and one of the guys that is standing up saying ‘Hey, he’s not getting enough credit.’
ABOUT TRANSITIONS AT TMS BEING TIGHT AT TURNS TWO GOING INTO TURN THREE AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST COMFORTABLE AT THIS TRACK?
"Boy I wish I would drive high, but I won’t because if I do, I will hit the wall. So I am most comfortable and 99% of the time expected to be on the white line the whole time although the high grove gets to working and the middle grove can work. And every once in a while I might find myself looking for something up off the bottom, but for me I have spend 35 years working the bottom and I am still better at that, than riding the wall.
YOU SAID YOU WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED OR ASHAMED TO HAVE FINSIHED SECOND TO SOME OF THE GREATEST DRIVERS IN THIS SPORT AND THAT IF YOU FINISH SECOND TO JIMMIE YOU WILL FEEL THE SAME WAY. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS DEVELOPED AS YOUR CAREER HAS MOVED ON?
"You know, actually the 1989 season was overlooked. We were second in points going into the last race in our second year with Roush Racing and the engine blew up and caught on fire and we finished third. And that was as disappointing to me as…you know it didn’t disappoint the team I don’t think all that much because they thought they were going for it but for me I wanted to be second and not third. And then the next year we led from May until the next to last race and I thought I could beat Earnhardt, and as it turned out, I was wrong. And that was the one that I wanted to win and probably the most of all when I was young and when it looked like we were going to. (laughs)
"And since then, I have learned a lot and I have seen a lot and I have come to realize that I’m no Dale Earnhardt. My record don’t stand up to his…just doesn’t. And when you stand me up against Jeff Gordon…it just don’t stand up to it man. I understand that. And we have beat them but it was always somebody else that beat us you know? So I think its pretty awesome to hold my own against guys like that in the sport. I gave them something to shoot at in the race from time to time. I gave their fans something to be concerned about and I gave mine something to cheer about. And my record just don’t stand up against theirs. Its just that plain and simple. Tony Stewart’s either. And those are the three guys that I have run second to and most of those guys have finished behind me on any given year. That is where I am at man. I don’t think I am better than all those guys, I am just glad I can get out there and beat them once in a while. If I couldn’t, it might not be as appealing to me."
YOU HAVE WON HERE BEFORE AND CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS TRACK
"Well just the chance to be able to come to an intermediate race track with Alan and the five team is always exciting and we were ready after Martinsville and Talladega to come here and do this thing and hope that we get the kind of performance we really expect to. Its going to be fun and a blast and this race track is great for Sprint Cup racing and it’s a great venue and great place so I can’t wait to go get in the car here shortly.
WHAT IS TOUGH ABOUT THIS TRACK?
"It poses the same kind of problem than any other one because if you want to win you have to go through the corners faster than anyone else and that is a challenge because these corners are a little bit flat on the exit, a little flat on the entry and good banking in the center and you have to figure out a way to make your car roll through there faster than everybody else."
Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview – Dickies 500
POINTS BATTLE: Mark Martin and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team currently rank second in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship battle. Martin, who was the points leader following the first three Chase races, trails teammate Jimmie Johnson by 184 points with three events remaining.
ONCE A COWBOY: Martin wore the famed cowboy hat in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway on April 5, 1998. He started seventh and led 37 laps en route to earning his second of seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins that season.
TRACK STATS: In 17 career Sprint Cup starts at Texas, Martin has earned one victory, five top-five finishes and nine top-10s. He has led a total of 172 laps there. Martin finished sixth in the April Sprint Cup event at the Fort Worth track.
OF THE CHASERS: Martin is tied with three other Chase drivers for the most top-10 finishes -- nine -- at Texas Motor Speedway. Of the 12 drivers in the Chase, he has the third-most top-five finishes with five and holds the fifth best average finish at 13.8.
LOOP STATISTICS: According to NASCAR's loop statistics, Martin has spent 1,902 laps inside the top-15 at Texas Motor Speedway over the last nine races, the fourth-most of any Chase driver. Martin spent 222 of those laps inside the top-15 in the April race at the track this year. He earned the fifth-best driver rating of Chase drivers in that event.
NO. 5 TEAM AT TEXAS: Since 2005, the No. 5 team has earned two top-five finishes and three top-10s at Texas Motor Speedway under the guidance of crew chief Alan Gustafson. Both top-five results came in the fall races in 2006 and 2007.
TRIPLE-5 CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Chassis No. 5-555 for Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway. This chassis never has been raced nor tested.
HENDRICK AT TEXAS: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, has three wins, 17 top-five finishes and 26 top-10s in 17 Cup events (69 starts) at the 1.5-mile racetrack.
TEST DRIVE A CAMARO: Fans can visit the free Chevy Ride and Drive this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway to test drive brand new Chevrolet products. Participants will enjoy some action behind the wheel of the 2010 Chevy Equinox, Malibu, Silverado Texas Edition, Silverado Hybrid, or Traverse, and then take a spin in the all-new 2010 Chevy Camaro. All participants will receive a Camaro t-shirt. For pre-registration and additional details, visit www.teamchevytestdrive.com.
QUOTES
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET (ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.): "Texas is a great place to race. I have a lot of fans that go there because it's kind of close to my home in Batesville (Ark.). We have a lot of charged up fans there. It's a great track and a great place to race. We're going to go there, try to sit on the pole, lead every lap and win the race."
MARTIN (ON HIS FIRST SEASON BACK TO FULL-TIME RACING.): "I'm not tired of the racing at all. Everyone at Hendrick Motorsports is first class. They've all made this season so much better than I ever imagined it could be. I am tired of the points, though, and I'm not just saying that because of being behind. We were chasing points to get into the Chase, and now that we're here, that's all people are talking about. I'm just ready to have a fresh outlook and get back to it just being about the race itself. I'll be looking forward to Daytona (Fla.) and starting with a clean slate there."
MARTIN (ON SEARCHING FOR HIS FIRST SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP.): "Look, I'm not disappointed in the things I haven't accomplished. I'm proud of the things that I have. And that's the way I'm going to look back on my career. I have finished second to (Dale) Earnhardt, Tony (Stewart) and Jeff (Gordon), all of them great drivers in this sport. And I'm not embarrassed to finish second to those guys. And I wouldn't be embarrassed to finish second to Jimmie (Johnson). I have the greatest amount of respect for those guys. I love what I'm doing. I love this sport. And I won't sit here and worry about the things that haven't happened to me or for me."
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET (ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE.): "We're in a big hole. The deficit is getting bigger and the opportunities we have to make it up are getting smaller. That's not good. Two of the last three weeks have really cost us. It is what it is. We have to fight as hard as we can. There are still some good things to race for even if it's not the championship. We need to find as much motivation as we can to do the best we can."
GUSTAFSON (ON WHAT THE TEAM IS RACING FOR.): "Winning. Winning is the biggest thing. It's a huge deal. There are a lot of good teams and good drivers that haven't won a race. We have to stay hungry. We have a chance to win at Texas, which is a place I've never won at and would love to do. We have a chance to sweep Phoenix. That would be a nice thing to say that we were able to accomplish. And we have a chance to win Homestead (Fla.). A Hendrick Motorsports car has never won there so that would be a great thing to do. You always want to finish the year strong and still put ourselves in the best position we can in the championship. There are a lot of things to race for, but it comes down to perspective. Our perspective is that we were leading the first four weeks into the Chase and now we're not, so there's some disappointment there. If your perspective is that you are coming from the back and gaining momentum, then racing for second would be huge motivation. We have to realize that our perspective is a little different and find the motivation still to compete at our highest level possible."
GUSTAFSON (ON WHERE HE SEES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NO. 48 TEAM AND THE NO. 5 TEAM.): "Lowe's Motor Speedway is the difference to me. That's where they won and we finished 17th. That's the biggest thing. At Talladega (Ala.), I don't feel like there's a whole lot of skill involved in that. Things happen however they happen, and for some reason Jimmie (Johnson, No. 48 driver) missed the wreck by two feet, and we were right in the middle of it. I don't think we can reflect on that and say, 'That was a weakness in our team.' Lowe's was our biggest issue. We needed to run better at Lowe's and change the dynamic a little bit."
GUSTAFSON (ON HOW HE WILL VIEW THE 2009 SEASON.): "If we do not win the championship, I'm going to be disappointed. A lot of guys on this team are going to be disappointed. It won't override what we've accomplished. They are separate entities. Where we've succeeded is one thing and where we've failed is another. One isn't more important than the other. When you win a race, it's still a success. But it's like winning a battle or winning a war. We want to win the war. Yes, we've won some battles, but we haven't won the war. I will be disappointed, but I won't be ashamed, and this team has no reason to hang their head. This team fought very hard and it will continue to fight hard to do everything we can possibly do. I want to win a championship and so does everyone on this team. That was our main focus when we came into the year. So, there is some level of disappointment. If we win at Texas and Jimmie finishes second, I'm going to be happy. I'm going to realize that I've got less of a chance to win a championship, but I'm still going to be happy. They're separate things. There's going to still be a strong sense of accomplishment and commitment and a lot of payoff for the hard work, but there will still be some disappointment as well."
Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Amp Energy 500
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 POP TARTS/CARQUEST IMPALA SS - Finished 28th
ARE YOU OKAY?
"Yeah, I'm fine."
WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT DID YOU SEE?
"Nothing."
SKY AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS, WAS IT TYPICAL TALLADEGA?
"It was just a wreck. I hope everybody enjoyed the show there. I don't know what it looked like. It looked pretty exciting from my view point. I don't have a clue. I don't know what happened out there. So, I don't know. Congratulations to Jamie McMurray and that's about all I know about the whole race. I'll find out later I guess, I don't know."
LAS VEGAS - DECEMBER 04: Driver Mark Martin poses with the 2nd place award during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series awards banquet during the final day of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions Week on December 4, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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MARK MARTIN – Second
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November 11, 2009
GM Racing
November 8, 2009
November 6, 2009
Texas Motor Speedway
Hendrick Motorsports
November 8, 2009
GM Racing
November 1, 2009
