NASCAR's Mark Martin
2010 Season Articles - June
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH:
"I'm just proud of these guys. We've been off a little bit here lately and to come here and to have the speed that we have bodes well for all the races to come. These guys have been working hard and I think they've found some of what we've been missing."
DID YOU EVER SKIP THIS TRACK WHEN YOU WERE RUNNING PART TIME?
"Two years. Came back and won the second time but we skipped four races."
LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE YOU WERE IN VICTORY LANE
"Yeah, that's pretty cool. I want to thank CARQUEST and GoDaddy.com and the Chevy bunch; they've really worked hard on this thing. We've been off here lately and they just keep digging. We saw that we closed the gap some today and we're really looking forward to tomorrow to try to massage this thing a little bit more and maybe get a little more out of it. But certainly the car is a lot closer to that top speeds than we have been lately. So I'm really proud of this race team. They support me 100 percent."
Mark Martin Media Visit - Lenox Industrial Tools 301
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and discussed the race weekend, aggressive driving in NASCAR and other topics.
TALK ABOUT BEING BACK AT NEW HAMPSHIRE
"Happy to be here. We had a good time the last time we were here. We’ve got a lot of new things to look at with our car and we are looking forward to getting our practice started here today. We’ve got a whole bag of things we want to have a look at and sort of evaluate so we can eliminate some of things that we are going to look at tomorrow. We just can’t wait to get started."
CAN YOU COMMENT ON SOME OF THE CHALLENGES DANICA PATRICK IS GOING TO FACE ON THIS TRACK?
"I think this race track is pretty straight forward. I don’t think it will be nearly the challenge that say a California would pose. This is a very straight forward race track. Sharp turns, not a huge amount of options on where to run and what-have-you so I think this should be a comfortable deal for her here this weekend. Give her a chance to get acquainted to this kind of racing on this size race track."
WHEN YOU FIRST HEARD NASCAR WAS GOING TO THE BRICKYARD, WHAT WERE YOUR ORIGINAL THOUGHTS AND HAS IT GROWN INTO SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOU ANTICIPATED?
"If you want me to be really honest with you, I thought it was ridiculous that we were going to go run there. I didn’t thing we belonged there. I didn’t think the race track would be conducive to stock car racing. All of which was very wrong. I was really really wrong in my impressions of it. I think it we do belong there. I think that the cars race really well there. I have a blast racing on that race track and I think it is a tremendous addition to our schedule and it is great for all of our fans."
JEFF BURTON WAS IN HERE AND TALKED ABOUT WHAT HE CONSIDERS A LACK OF RESPECT AMONG THE DRIVERS FOR SOMETHING LIKE LAST WEEK BEING CRAZY AT SONOMA, IS IT GETTING WORSE, HAVE THINGS CHANGED THAT MUCH?
"It happens every week though. I understand he is pointing at certain things but it wasn’t just last week, it happens all the time. I agree. It is getting worse mostly because the nature of our racing and the growth of the sport. You wouldn’t be able to keep a job if you raced 20 years, if you drove for somebody and you wrecked as many cars as you wreck today, you wouldn’t keep a job. The teams could not justify it. They didn’t have the manpower. They didn’t have the money, they could not repair these cars and get them back out there. You wouldn’t last. But it is a different day and age now. It is just different and there is a lot of pressure on these guys. You don’t see Jeff Burton and I running over each other and Bobby Labonte and a number of the veterans. We still try to race the way we raced but we also are having to learn to race differently as well. It puts you in a bind. Just for example, I almost spun Jeff Gordon out and boy, I didn’t want to. But, I was racing all these cats around me and we flew into the corner harder than I wanted to because I was having to race the cats around me and I almost ran over him and he did some guys. I almost got lured into the same situation. It was very close. The racing today is about the thrill of watching it on TV and the racing 20 years ago or 25 years ago was about the sport. It wasn’t really about the thrill, it was about being a part of something that you loved and it was a lot smaller, less entertainment oriented. If you weren’t one of the top teams, you just had to survive. You couldn’t afford to go out there and wreck these things every week. You just had to do the best that you could with what you had to work with and close the deal the best you could. So it is different now. It is much more entertaining. It is what it is, you take a 25 year-old driver and it is NASCAR racing to them but you take a Jeff Burton or myself or whatever and you might think that Whew, this is different. But to the kids, it is different."
HOW DO YOU SEE THE 10 RACES LEADING UP TO THE CHASE WITH THE COMMENTS ABOUT ROUGH DRIVING, ARE ALL BETS OFF?
"It is the same thing as it is every week. It is no different. Don’t over-dramatize it. It is what it is. It’s been this way all year long and it was this way last year as well. As we go forward, the kind of racing that we had at the end of Pocono and at Sonoma will not be every three weeks in the future, it will be every week, everywhere. Right now it is every third week or so. Every other whatever. It is moving toward that more and more. That is what equal cars, double file restarts and all that stuff, that is what it brings you do. Which is going to be fun to watch."
TO A DEGREE, YOU’VE BEEN IN (MARCOS) AMBROSE’S SHOES. YOU’VE SORT OF EXPERIENCED THAT TYPE OF HEARTBREAK. HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL FOR HIM?
"Well I feel for him a lot, but on the other hand I know that he will survive because I did. [laughs]. I feel for him, but I can share stories with him—I already have today—that are of anguish and heartbreak, and a long-time coming stories, and stuff like that as well. I’ve had many, many wins slip through my fingers before we finally got our first one, including running second six times. It was a long-time coming. He’s a great, great person and a great driver, and he’ll survive it all and win."
Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Lenox Industrial Tools 301
775TH START: When Martin lines up Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he will be making his 775th career start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Only seven other drivers in the history of NASCAR have surpassed this mark, and Martin ranks eighth on the all-time list. In his previous 774 starts, Martin has earned 40 victories, 262 top-five finishes and 423 top-10s. He has started from the pole position 49 times and has led 12,403 laps.
FIRST START: Martin made his first career Cup start at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway on April 5, 1981. He qualified fifth for the 400-lap race and finished 27th due to rear-gear failure. Richard Petty won the race that day, picking up his 194th victory.
IN PERSPECTIVE: When Martin was making his first career start at age 22, two of his teammates were just beginning their racing careers. Jeff Gordon, age 9 at the time, was in fifth grade and racing quarter midgets and go-karts. Gordon took runner-up honors in the 1981 Quarter Midget Grand Nationals. Then 5-year-old Jimmie Johnson just had begun his racing career on 50cc motorcycles. In 1981, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was living with his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. He was a first-grader at Aycock Elementary School in Kannapolis, N.C., and had not yet started his racing career.
STREAK: While Martin started Sprint Cup racing in 1981, he completed his first full season in 1988 and went on to tally 621 consecutive starts (from Feb. 14, 1988, to March 18, 2007). During those 19 full seasons, he finished fifth or better 12 times in the championship standings and scored 35 wins, 233 top-five finishes, 365 top-10s, 39 pole positions and led 11,326 laps. Martin owns the fifth-longest consecutive start streak in Cup history.
NEW HAMPSHIRE WINNER: Martin earned his first career New Hampshire Motor Speedway victory last September. Martin entered the race as the points leader, started 14th and led 68 laps en route to the win. He left the event -- which was the first in the Chase for the 2009 Sprint Cup -- with a 35-point lead over Johnson. The win left Martin with only four active tracks on the Cup schedule where he has yet to reach Victory Lane.
NEW HAMSPHIRE TOTALS: In 26 Cup starts at New Hampshire, Martin has earned one win, nine top-five finishes and 14 top-10s. His average finish of 10.7 is second only to Phoenix International Raceway -- 8.7 -- for oval tracks.
LOOP STATISTICS: During the last 10 races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Martin has earned the third-best average finish -- 8.7 – among the competition. Martin only raced in six of those 10.
POLE MAN: Martin's next Sprint Cup pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner's list. Martin earned the pole position for his first race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 11, 1993, when he went on to finish second. He followed that up by earning another pole there on July 9, 1995, and went on to finish that event third.
THE NO. 5 TEAM: Crew chief Alan Gustafson led the No. 5 team to New Hampshire Motor Speedway's Victory Lane on July 16, 2006, and again last September. In 10 total Cup starts at the track, the team has earned two victories, four top-five finishes and five top-10s with Gustafson at the helm. New Hampshire Motor Speedway joins Phoenix International Raceway as the only track where the No. 5 team has earned multiple wins since 2005.
HENDRICK AT LOUDON: In 30 races (106 Sprint Cup starts) at the New England racetrack, Hendrick Motorsports has tallied seven wins, 29 top-five finishes, 46 top-10s, five pole positions and led 2,160 laps.
POINTS: With his 14th-place finish at Infineon Raceway last Sunday, Martin advanced to 11th in the championship standings. Martin trails 10th place by just 36 points and is 72 ahead of 13th.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-588 for Sunday's race. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a fourth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway on April 10 earlier this year.
CARQUEST CAR: For the third time this season, CARQUEST Auto Parts will be on the hood of the No. 5 Chevrolet. CARQUEST, a long term partner of Hendrick Motorsports, will return to the car for five more events this season, including next weekend's race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
HELMET GIVEAWAY: Hendrickcars.com is giving away a No. 5 Hendrickcars.com replica helmet signed by Martin. Race fans can register to win the helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com through Aug. 4. Martin has sported the Hendrickcars.com scheme four times this season: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and most recently at Pocono Raceway.
WIN A CORVETTE: In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Corvette's first appearance at the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans, race fans can enter for a chance to win a 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport by entering the "Race To Win Corvette" promotion at www.racetowincorvette.com now through June 30.
GUSTAFSON HONORED: Gustafson will be the guest of honor at the Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation Dinner in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, June 30 at the Daytona 500 Club in the infield of Daytona International Speedway. Martin will introduce his crew chief and friend, before Gustafson speaks. The dinner will be followed by a silent auction to raise money for the Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation. For more information, visit www.s-mf.org.
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST AUTO PARTS/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON MAKING HIS 775TH CAREER START.): "I didn't even know that was coming up. (LAUGHS.) I was told that last week and to be honest, it's kind of shocking even to me. Like 'Really? That's a lot of starts.' I kind of wonder where the time went, but it's all been fun, you know? I'm doing what I love. Still doing what I love. It's incredible. I don't think you can measure success by starts, but I appreciate all 774 races that have come to this point."
MARTIN (ON HIS WIN LAST YEAR AT NEW HAMPSHIRE.): "Starting the Chase off like that, that was just incredible. I'd never won at New Hampshire before. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) gave me an amazing race car, and then he made a great pit call to get us to the front. Once we were up there, it wasn't easy. We had those restarts at the end with Juan (Pablo Montoya) breathing down my neck. We held them all off, and on tires that were quite a bit older than theirs, so it was just a huge accomplishment."
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 CARQUEST AUTO PARTS/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR'S NEW HAMPSHIRE WIN.): "That race was really important to us. We had had a lot of pressure all season just to get into the Chase, and then, finally, we were in and could focus on wins. We worked really hard with our engineering department for that race, and it paid off. We got the opportunity later in the race to kind of flip track position on the leaders. When we did that, Mark (Martin) took the lead and just really took off. He was absolutely incredible on the restarts there at the end. I don't think our car was a lot better than our competitors at that point, it was all Mark. Just a great win and a great way to start the Chase for us."
GUSTAFSON (ON HIS SUCCESS AT ONE-MILE TRACKS.): "I feel that we've always had a good short-track program. Not just the (No.) 5 (team), but the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization. Those types of tracks require really good chassis setups, which we've done a good job with in the past. Also, it helps that those tracks are really fun to race on. They let the driver get after it. Mark enjoys that style of racing, and he's good at it, too. I think that showed with our wins at Phoenix and New Hampshire last year."
GUSTAFSON (ON WHAT HE WAS DOING IN APRIL 1981.): "Man, that was a long time ago! (LAUGHS.) Let's see, I would have been 5-years-old. I hadn't started school yet, but my Dad had taken me to Daytona a few times to watch the races there. I was a typical 5-year-old, riding my bike and playing with my Matchbox cars."
Team Chevy From The Driver’s Seat - Mark Martin - Lenox Industrial Tools 301
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET -- 11TH IN STANDINGS: "Starting the Chase off like that, that was just incredible. I'd never won at New Hampshire before. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) gave me an amazing race car and then he made a great pit call to get us to the front. Once we were up there, it wasn't easy. We had those restarts at the end with Juan (Pablo Montoya) breathing down my neck. We held them all off, and on tires that were quite a bit older than theirs, so it was just a huge accomplishment. I didn't even know that was coming up (775th Cup Series start). (LAUGHS) I was told that last week and to be honest, it's kind of shocking even to me. Like 'Really? That's a lot of starts.' I kind of wonder where the time went, but it's all been fun, you know? I'm doing what I love. Still doing what I love. It's incredible. I don't think you can measure success by starts, but I appreciate all 774 races that have come to this point."
The Associated Press: Switch to spoiler throws Martin's team for a loop
SONOMA, Calif. — The spoiler is spoiling Mark Martin's season, and if his Hendrick Motorsports team can't get it figured out quickly, last season's title contender could be a spectator in this year's championship Chase.
This time last season Martin had three wins, three poles and had established himself as a legitimate threat to teammate Jimmie Johnson's championship reign. He fell short of winning the title — Johnson beat him by 141 points — but still won five races in a remarkable season.
Duplicating those numbers hasn't come easy this year. Martin heads into Sunday's race at Infineon Raceway winless and clinging to the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field.
Crew chief Alan Gustafson puts the shortcomings squarely on himself and his failure to properly adjust when NASCAR switched from the wing to the spoiler back in March.
"I will be the first to admit I didn't do a good job with it," Gustafson said Friday. "We should have known better. We're paid to know better, but we missed it and didn't get it as quickly as we should."
In fairness to Gustafson and his No. 5 team, the switch to the spoiler has seemed to affect the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization. Often viewed as unflappable, the top team in NASCAR has suddenly become very vulnerable as Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing have closed the gap.
Johnson won three of the first five races — all with the wing — and since the switch to the spoiler, Hendrick cars have gone winless.
"Definitely, we've had to work harder on the spoiler," Hendrick said Friday. "It caught us a little by surprise. It upset the balance of our cars. We just have to work to get it fixed. You go through this."
But no one seems to be suffering as much as Martin's team, which could find itself outside the top 12 with a poor run Sunday.
The 51-year-old Martin remains upbeat, though, and didn't present as stormy a view of the situation as his crew chief seemed to have.
"We're not performing, but we are," he began. "We're better in execution than we were a year ago. We're taking what we have and we're finishing better with it than we did a year ago. Had we been doing as good a job last year, as we have this year, functioning in that respect, we wouldn't have been sweating quite as hard about making the Chase.
"Some of the changes to the cars (the spoiler) have actually affected the cars more than we realized on the surface. And our competition has either responded or it worked in their favor or both, and elevated them above us in the stack."
Gustafson is confident the No. 5 team will eventually adapt, and he was unwavering in that Martin will win races this year and will make the Chase. But he admitted there's a sense of urgency, as well as a less obvious issue of troubled team morale.
"When you are struggling with the car, a lot of things mentally follow," Gustafson said. "Frustration. Then you are frustrated that some of your energy is being focused on that, and you are not as productive as what you would have been. It compounds itself, and there ends up being two sides to this: the technical side of it and then there's the mental side of it."
The team took another hit last weekend at Michigan, where they went into the race as the defending winners but struggled most of Sunday and finished 16th.
"Michigan was a huge disappointment," Gustafson said. "You think you can go back, and even if we are off, we can still be good. So we go in and it's "OK, let's save the world and win the race," and when we weren't in position to do that, we mentally let that get to us."
A third potential problem on the season is quickly dismissed by Gustafson and Hendrick, despite the obvious issues it raises: When Hendrick streamlined during the offseason Martin's team with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team — a move that sent Gustafson's top engineer to Earnhardt's crew — did it adversely harm the No. 5?
"No, I don't think so," Hendrick said. "I think if you ask Alan and Mark, I don't think so. I really know that's a mystery to me, but they are gaining back. But they clearly, clearly were hurt more than anyone else in our organization by (the spoiler). It's a real surprise to me and a real surprise to them and the three of us have scratched our heads and said `We don't understand it, but we are going to figure it out.' "
NASCAR Driver Mark Martin Presents Check to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, The NASCAR Foundation
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. -- NASCAR driver Mark Martin not only made hundreds of Auto Club Speedway Hard Card season ticket holders happy, he made thousands of children at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH) and one little boy in the audience feel the same way.
Today, fresh off his 16th place finish at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, the driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet made a quick trip South, en route to this weekend’s race in Northern California to take part in an exclusive Auto Club Speedway Hard Card Members Q&A session with over 300 season ticket holders at Impulse, located in the Speedway’s Opportunity, California FanZone.
When asked about his plans in the near future and in the next five years, Martin responded “I see myself in the five car next year,” which was followed by a thunderous applause from Hard Card members.
He went on to say, “It’s a stretch to see me as an owner. I would only do that under the same kind of conditions that Tony Stewart did, and I don’t have as much to bring because I can’t drive the car long term, nor would I really want to long term like Tony can. So that’s a long shot.
“There are some options formulating.
“What I’d really really love to do is get tied up with someone that I could help them with the experience I have and the things I have learned and be able to add something and make enough of a program better and stronger. I think that would make me feel really good and it would also keep me involved in racing.”
Martin also took part in a check presentation ceremony which saw Auto Club Speedway and Stater Bros. Supermarket officials present a check for more than $26,000 to LLUCH and The NASCAR Foundation. Present to accept the check on behalf of LLUCH was Jaylen Morris, a four-year-old heart patient who has a dream of becoming a NASCAR driver when he grows up. All were elated at the presentation.
“Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital is tremendously grateful to Auto Club Speedway, The NASCAR Foundation and Stater Bros. Supermarkets for their recent efforts on behalf of LLUCH. It would not be possible for us to provide care for our children without the help of these outstanding community partners. Thank you for all that you have done,” said Zareh Sarrafian, Administrator, Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.
The monies raised were a result of two Auto Club Speedway “Jaylen’s Car Washes” in support of NASCAR Day across the nation. More than 600 cars were washed at the Speedway on pit road to kick off NASCAR Day festivities on May 10 and two weeks later another car wash was held at Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga. Turtle Wax®, the world leader in car care, donated all of the car care product used during “Jaylen’s Car Wash” and each participant drove away with a sample of Turtle Wax’s latest product Turtle Wax ICE.
Additionally, over 3,500 NASCAR Day collectible lapel pins were given to customers who stopped by Stater Bros. Supermarkets in San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego and Kern counties in exchange for a $5 donation.
Since 2008, Auto Club Speedway has raised over $150,000 for local charities during its NASCAR Day efforts.
Mark Martin Media Visit - Toyota/Save Mart 350
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET met with media and discussed his road racing success and background, this season compared to 2009, Father's Day and racing, and more.
ON COMING BACK TO SONOMA AND RACING ON A ROAD COURSE
"My thoughts are to let the fun begin! It's going to get started here pretty soon. It's been wild racing out here it seems like every year that we come out the racing gets tougher and tougher. The drivers get better and better at it throughout the field and the cars continue to get more equal and it gets tougher every year. So, I'm looking forward to it. It's a lot of fun. Road racing is fun. To me it's just driving a car. Oval track racing is sort of oval track racing. To me, road course racing is just driving a car fast and keeping it out of the ditch."
DO YOU LOOK AT THIS AS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN POTENTIALLY PICK UP A LOT BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE OF THE BETTER ROAD RACERS, OR DO YOU LOOK AT IT AS MORE OF A CHALLENGE SINCE YOU TOOK OFF A COUPLE YEARS AND DIDN'T ROAD RACE?
"I used to look at this place as a potential upside place although the people we were racing were good road course racers as well as oval racers. And the best teams usually are. It's gotten so competitive and the cars have gotten so much less speed differential from the front to the back and the drivers have all gotten good at it that you know, it's a lot tougher. It's a tougher race. And the gas mileage gets to be more and more of a challenge as well. So, it presents different challenges and it's an equal opportunity I think, not to go forward or back but just come here and battle like we do every week."
YOU HAVE GREAT ROAD COURSE RACING EXPERIENCE. BUT AFTER YOUR HIATUS, YOU SEEMED TO STRUGGLE A LITTLE BIT LAST YEAR. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO BRUSH-UP ON YOUR ROAD COURSE SKILLS?
"Well, as we did last year, we did some testing; we did some testing last year as well, but we didn't perform well at either road course last year. And so Hendrick Motorsports has put a lot of effort into raising the level and we're going to find out this weekend if we were able to do that or not. A lot of effort as gone into it by our team as well as all the teams out there that we race against. It used to be two road course races were kind of a throw away for many of the race teams. They didn't want to put a lot into it because it was two races. And now every race team puts everything they have; it's amazing the effort that goes into the two road course races as opposed to 15 years ago."
GIVEN YOUR BACKGROUND, WHERE DID YOUR ROAD COURSE PROFICIENCY COME FROM? DID YOU HAVE TO WORK AT IT OR DID IT JUST CLICK FOR YOU AT SOME POINT?
"Oh, no, it just came naturally. I grew up in the rural areas of Arkansas. I drove a lot of dirt country roads that were curvy and hilly and I drove fast (laughter). It's the same thing. It's no different. Remember me saying staying out of the ditch? I started road racing when I was very young on the dirt roads in Arkansas (laughs). I went as fast as I could and stayed out of the ditch and that's all this is to me. It came very natural. I did, however, have Jack Roush in my corner and Jack was pretty smart. He figured out telling me what to do might not be the best approach so he asked a lot of the right questions. And so I didn't realize he was teaching me but he asked a lot of the right questions. He had some background in road racing and he asked a lot of the right questions of me about the car, the braking, the this and the that. And so subtly, that helped as well. I never really gave him the credit that he was probably due for that because he was pretty wise. He was wise enough that I didn't notice so much what he was doing."
ON FATHER'S DAY AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RACING AND FAMILY
"Obviously I miss my dad enormously. He was a big part of my racing and he was my biggest fan and quite a character. So I really, really miss him and it makes my heart warm when I see Ned Jarrett at the race track when Dale is there or I see Buzzie Reutimann at the race track on the weekend or I see Tony Stewart's dad or Tom Logano. I think that's really, really cool and I try to remind them because I know that they don't realize how special that is because it's happening. But I realize how special it is. And I wish I had more days like that myself. It's something that's really special.
"It's a special time that I was able to spend with my son through his racing because it was different then if he was playing Little League Baseball because I could cheer for him but I couldn’t help him. So through racing we were able to spend some really great quality time where I really felt like I could do something to help him. So we had great times going that and it was good. It was good for our relationship. He quit racing four years ago and I'm able to help him in some other areas today but probably none as much as I was able to when he was racing. That was kind of fun for me."
COMPARING THE FIRST 15 RACES OF LAST YEAR UP AGAINST THE FIRST 15 OF THIS YEAR, THE NO. 5 TEAM IS CLEARLY NOT PERFORMING LIKE LAST YEAR. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS, AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES IN GETTING BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE?
"Well, we're not performing, but we are. We're better in execution than we were a year ago. We're taking what we have and we're finishing better with it than we did a year ago. Had we been doing as good a job last year, as we have this year, functioning in that respect, we wouldn't have been sweating quite as hard about making the Chase. But completion is a moving target. And not only have we had to deal with tires that are different at every race that we go to, but some of the changes to the cars have actually affected the cars more than we realized on the surface. And our competition has either responded or it worked in their favor or both, and elevated them above us in the stack. In this business as a moving target, you can't always be at the top of the stack, no matter who you are. No one ever does.
"And it's just our hope that through our work and through the things that we're starting to see that we're able to work ourselves back up there. And that's pretty much it. Our cars have not been as fast on the race track on average as they were a year ago; although I had the best car I've ever had at Martinsville this year. I had a winning car at Bristol and Martinsville this year. And I had a great race car in California this year. I think all that came before the spoiler change. Two of them were short tracks, which shouldn't have mattered about the spoiler. So there have been some places that we've performed really strong on the race track and didn't necessarily get the finish that we needed but there have been some places where we didn't perform as strong and we've gotten tremendous finished based on great execution and team work."
ON THE SPOILER (QUESTION INAUDIBLE)
"Using those words might not be exactly right because my cars have driven really good this year; really driven good. They just haven't been as fast. Last year they didn't really always drive all that great but they were flying. And that's mostly what I cared about (laughs). And we haven't managed to get them as uncomfortable this year and as fast. We can them uncomfortable; we can't get them as fast. We're working on that."
SHOULD NASCAR HAVE MORE ROAD COURSES?
"I think if you look at the schedule, that's pretty self-explanatory. That's kind of a pie in the sky question, to me because our schedule is full. So how are we going to have more road courses? Take ovals away? That's not a popular answer either so I don't know. I will tell you this. NASCAR has brought the sport to where it is today. Had I been in charge, it wouldn't be anywhere as near where it is today. So, I wouldn’t be the best one to answer that question; they are."
AT WHAT POINT DOES CHASE PREPARATION START IN ERNEST? AND WHAT'S THE DIFFICULT OF BALANCING THAT WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING ON A CURRENT RACE WEEKEND?
"Well it depends on where you're at; whether you're battling to make it or if you're comfortably in. If you're comfortably in, you're going one of two things: Either just refining what you've got in preparation of the Chase, or you're looking for more and you can afford to try some things that are outside of the box because you're in good shape in the points. It all just depends on where you're at. For us right now, we're working really hard on trying to make gains in our competition level and hopefully peak as the Chase gets ready to start. If we hopefully make the Chase and be ready to peak then and it's not like we're holding back right now to do that. We're working hard and I think it's everybody's goal in the garage to do that. That's what we're trying to do."
ON RICK HENDRICK'S INDUCTION TO THE WALL OF FAME
"Well, I'm glad to see it. Rick is such an incredible person first and foremost; and what he's meant to the sport and meant to the people in the sport and what he's accomplished is amazing. So, it's good to see him being recognized here for that."
WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE TO THE NEW DADS IN THE GARAGE?
"Well I think they're all going to be great dads and if their first-time dad's its just awesome. It's a life-changing experience. I'm really enjoying watching first-hand the impact it's having on Matt Kenseth and these guys. It's the experience of a lifetime. It just keeps getting better, too. I congratulate them."
WHAT'S THE TOUGHEST PART OF QUALIFYING FOR YOU AT SONOMA?
"It's hard to day. They're all tough because you're trying to push past the capabilities of your car just a little bit. So some of the high-speed corners it's easy to push hard enough to slip off and you do that and it gets done. But then this last corner down here, it's tough as well because you're pushing the brake as late as possible and you push three feet too far and lock the brakes up and you're done there too. So, it's a tougher qualifying lap than an oval even though an oval can scare you to death, it least it just does it four times (laughter); a lot of chances to mess up here!"
With artificial intelligence tailored to match each film character and NASCAR driver, players will experience each driver's personality, driving style and maneuvers. For example, players will need to watch out for Cole Trickle's reckless, aggressive driving, Rowdy Burns' ruthless, veteran skills and Russ Wheeler's hot head. Days of Thunder: NASCAR Edition features many of the top NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers including Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.
Team Chevy from the Driver’s Seat - Mark Martin - Toyota/Save Mart 350
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET -- 12TH IN STANDINGS: "Infineon is a very demanding course and a demanding race. I think it's difficult for all oval racers. I hadn't been out there for three years until last season, and we struggled a bit. We didn't qualify like I wanted to, and then, halfway through the race, we got caught up in an accident with Matt (Kenseth). Our rear axle was bent, and we couldn't do much with it. Ended up with a much worse finish than we deserved, for sure. This team, all of Hendrick Motorsports, has put a lot of emphasis on its road course program since last season. I'm anxious to get on the track and put it to use. Back when I first started racing, no one seemed to take the road course races too seriously. It was almost like a couple of weekends that you just 'got through.' But today, all the teams take it very, very seriously. You can't afford to have even one off day. The series is a lot more competitive now, and everyone's more on their game. Back in the '90s, only about half as many teams were as competitive on road courses as there are now."
Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Toyota/Save Mart 350
INFINEON VICTOR: Martin, who has competed in 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Infineon Raceway, earned his sole victory at the Sonoma, Calif., road course in 1997. Martin started from the pole position and led all but five laps before taking the checkered flag.
1989 FLIP: Martin had an eventful run at Infineon Raceway in 1989, the first year the Sprint Cup Series competed at the road course. While running third, Martin made a fuel-only stop under caution on Lap 48. He was making his way toward Turn 2 when his car lost the right-rear wheel, hit the tire barrier and flipped. Martin got out of the car and ran to pit road, where his team waited to make the necessary repairs. Martin rejoined the field before the race went back to green, finally crossing the finish line 31st. View video of this incident here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IpoZ7jDe24.
AT INFINEON: Martin averages a 9.6 starting position at Infineon Raceway and an 11.4 average finishing position. Martin, who has scored seven top-five finishes and led 161 laps at the 1.99-mile road course, has earned a top-10 finish in all but six starts there.
POLE MAN: Martin's next Sprint Cup pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner's list. Martin earned a pole position at Infineon in 1997 when he raced from the top starting spot to the win, leading 69 laps on the way. Martin's 9.6 average starting position at Infineon ranks third for him behind Pocono Raceway (8.8) and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (9.1).
ROAD COURSE REPORT: Martin has made 39 starts on the two road course tracks currently on the Sprint Cup schedule. In those 39 races, he has earned four wins, 19 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s. He has led 365 laps combined at Infineon and Watkins Glen.
THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 team has competed in five Sprint Cup races at Infineon Raceway, earning a career best finish of fifth in 2008. Between Infineon and Watkins Glen, the team has competed in nine road course races with Gustafson at the helm, earning one top-five finish and three top-10s.
POINTS: Martin and the GoDaddy.com team are 12th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 30 points behind 10th and 43 points ahead of 13th.
ROAD COURSE CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-608 for the first road course race of the 2010 season. This chassis never has been raced or tested.
HIGH FIVE: Ricky Rudd scored three of his four Infineon Raceway pole positions while driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports from 1990-1992. The record for most Sonoma poles belongs to Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, who has five. Gordon is the only driver in the track's history to have won three times from the pole (1998, 1999 and 2004).
HENDRICK AT SONOMA: In Sprint Cup competition at Infineon Raceway, team owner Rick Hendrick holds track records in the following categories: victories (five), top-five finishes (23), top-10s (33), pole positions (nine) and laps led (517). Jeff Gordon owns all five of Hendrick Motorsports wins there.
HELMET GIVEAWAY: Hendrickcars.com is giving away a No. 5 Hendrickcars.com replica helmet signed by Martin. Race fans can register to win the helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com through Aug. 4. Martin has sported the Hendrickcars.com scheme four times this season: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and most recently at Pocono Raceway.
LUNCH BUNCH: Martin will chat with more than 400 season ticket holders at Auto Club Speedway on Thursday, joining track president Gillian Zucker in an exclusive question and answer session. Before heading north for the Sonoma race weekend, Martin also will present a donation from the track to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital for its efforts on NASCAR Day.
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON HIS 1989 ACCIDENT AT INFINEON.): "The first time I went to Sonoma it was back in 1989, we made a pit stop that was supposed to be for gas only. When I left, though, I turned to go up the hill and the right-rear tire flew off. I spun and turned over. I didn't know, right away, if I had done it or what had happened. We weren't supposed to change tires, but it turned out that the guy ran out there and took all the lugnuts off the right-rear tire. So the tire just flew off. We got back out there and ended up finishing the race. Pretty crazy day for sure."
MARTIN (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ROAD COURSES.): "Back when I first started racing, no one seemed to take the road course races too seriously. It was almost like a couple of weekends that you just 'got through.' But today, all the teams take it very, very seriously. You can't afford to have even one off day. The series is a lot more competitive now, and everyone's more on their game. Back in the '90s, only about half as many teams were as competitive on road courses as there are now."
MARTIN (ON LAST YEAR AT INFINEON RACEWAY.): "Infineon is a very demanding course and a demanding race. I think it's difficult for all oval racers. I hadn't been out there for three years until last season, and we struggled a bit. We didn't qualify like I wanted to, and then, halfway through the race, we got caught up in an accident with Matt (Kenseth). Our rear axle was bent, and we couldn't do much with it. Ended up with a much worse finish than we deserved, for sure. This team, all of Hendrick Motorsports, has put a lot of emphasis on its road course program since last season. I'm anxious to get on the track and put it to use."
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON HOW THE TEAM HAS WORKED ON ITS ROAD COURSE PROGRAM.): "We've done a lot of on-track road course testing. We knew that the team, all of Hendrick Motorsports, needed to improve its road course program. It's something we put a lot of emphasis on since last season. I feel like we've made improvements, but we won't really know until we're out there on the track with other competitors."
GUSTAFSON (ON INFINEON RACEWAY VERSUS WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL.): "The biggest difference is really the average speed. The speed is so much higher at Watkins Glen. Infineon is slower, more technical. Forward drive off of the corners is more of an issue out there. The surface is a little slicker at Infineon, too, so it's harder to get the car to get in the track. It slides around a lot more in Sonoma than it does at Watkins Glen."
GUSTAFSON (ON ROAD COURSE RACING.): "I enjoy road course racing. I don't think these style of cars are very well suited for it, but it's fun. A very big challenge. These heavy cars don't like to change direction very well, so that makes it difficult, but it's still a lot of fun. If NASCAR wanted to add more, I wouldn't be against it, but I don't think there's a real need to have more on the schedule."
Mark Martin Friday Media Visit - Heluva Good! Sour Creme Dips 400
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET, met with members of the media and discussed his thoughts on 2011 and '12, Joey Logano, the state of the racing today, road course racing, and more.
TALK ABOUT COMING BACK TO A TRACK WHERE YOUR DEFENDING RACE CHAMPION
"We've always loved this race track and definitely ran strong both races last year here. I look forward to going to the race track every week with this group. Every week is a new challenge and we are ready to get started."
DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT THE MEDIA SEEMS TO THINK YOU WON'T BE IN THE NO. 5 CHEVROLET NEXT YEAR WHEN YOU HAVE REPEATEDLY SAID YOU WOULD BE AND HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE OF HEART ABOUT OWNERSHIP IN 2012 AND YOUR SCHEDULE?
"I'm not letting it bother me, but, last year, I would say that I checked on what was going on in the racing world every single day and I've stopped doing that. It has affected me to some degree. I'm watching less of it on TV and reading less of it on the internet as of right now. I have to say that options are in the beginning stages of formulating for what '12 would bring with not a very high sense of urgency since I've actually made it clear that I'm going to be driving the No. 5 car next year. It is still real early to talk about '12 and I don't think that anything that we had initially had kind of thrown up in the air works great with me driving the No. 5 car in '11 and me getting involved in some other way with some other team. Although, you never know what might happen.
"For the time being, I've kind of said let's just wait until this time next year. I'll have a more a more clear picture but very well may not have a decision. I'm going to drive something in 2012, it will be what excites me and what motivates me and seems like fun and that may be a team that needs to take a step, or who knows. It might be another deal like the No. 5 car, who knows. I can't say. I've already answered questions before and then looked like a goose so I'm going to be careful and not answer question of what I think I might like to do or whatever because you don't really get to chose these options. They come up and when one comes up and you say, 'Yea, by the way, I think I like that one', that is what I am going to do."
IT IS THE TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF DALE, JR.'S LAST WIN, YOU ARE CLOSE TO THE SITUATION, WHAT IS GOING ON THERE?
"It is really, really hard to win in this series, no matter how well you run. Just look at how well Jeff Gordon has run the first half of the season without getting a win. It is just amazing. I think it's underestimated by so many people how difficult it is to win these races and how little things interrupt. They have run good enough to win some races last year and they've run well in some races this year, many of them have been foiled by one little issue here, one little issue there. They are dug in and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is driving, in my eyes, he's driving harder than any race car driver out there. I can see it clear as day how bad he wants it when I'm on the race track with him. All the stars just haven't lined up to work out yet."
DO YOU FEEL LIKE JOEY LOGANO HAS THE REPUTATION OF BEING TOO GIVING ON THE RACE TRACK AND NEEDED TO KIND OF SHOW A LITTLE MORE MUSCLE AND DID ANYTHING AT THE END OF LAST WEEK'S RACE SURPRISE YOU?
"No, on the first question which is he too giving. He is certainly not. He's a firm, hard competitor that races fair with great intensity. It is unfortunate that he has had multiple run-ins with a couple of different drivers. I'm not sure exactly why that has happened. But, as far as after the race goes, I was surprised to see his ferocity. I loved seeing Tom Logano's reaction and I'm a Dad. And anybody who would criticize that, a lot of them aren't Dads. I have a son that competed, not only in racing, but in hockey too. Heck, I stood up one day, yelled at him, hit him with his stick when he was playing hockey and a kid's dad was standing to me and I didn't care. So, I'm a Dad and I am a Tom Logano fan as well."
ON THE GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED, LAST WEEK IT WAS 20-SOME LAPS TO GO AND THE RACING WAS SO INTENSE; HOW MUCH MORE INTENSE CAN IT GET?
"I think that the finish of the race at Pocono, I'm just going to use rough numbers, we see stuff like that one in every four races today. I think in five years, we'll see one in every other race like that. And in 10 years, every race will be like that. That's where this sport is headed. And that's what we're going to do. When you put that many cars on the lead lap, you're always going to have cautions at the end of these races because we're going to run over one another and once we start that, then it's going to continue until they get the checkered flag out. I think what's most important is the spectator's point of view."
LOOKING AHEAD TO SONOMA, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT MAKES A GOOD ROAD COURSE DRIVER? IS IT EASIER FOR SOME THAN OTHERS TO TRANSITION TO ROAD COURSES?
"It is and I'm not sure why that is. Some guys do better on flat tracks. Some guys do better on banked tracks. Some guys do better on short tracks or long tracks. I don't know why it suits them that way but that seems to be the deal. For me, road racing always was easy because I grew up driving country roads in Arkansas and country dirt roads and my object was to drive as fast as I could and stay out of the ditch, which is exactly what road racing is. So, it just kind of came naturally to me. But the last couple of road courses I've run it didn't look like I knew how to do it. So, who knows?"
I'M A DAD TO AND I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO WANT YOUR SON TO STAND UP FOR HIMSELF. IN CERTAIN REGARDS, IS THAT WHAT WE SAW JOEY LOGANO DO LAST WEEK TO STAND UP FOR HIMSELF? AND IS IT POSSIBLE TO WIN RESPECT IN THIS SERIES WITHOUT STEPPING ON SOMEBODY'S TOES?
"Well, if you want my guess, my guess is the rub with (Kevin) Harvick and the rub with (Greg) Biffle came from Joey racing really hard, not really easy. The rub came from Joey racing really, really, really hard and him being the new face at doing that, tends to get your attention. And it might even irritate you because I've had Joey race around me and run so good that I was irritated because Joey Logano shouldn't be able to run side-by-side with me for 10 laps. You know what I'm saying? So, I think the media needs to make sure they get their arms around that and understand that Joey hasn't been driving soft on the race track and then all of a sudden got run over. Joey's been racing hard on the race track. And eventually he will earn everyone's respect. He has earned my respect by racing hard and causing very little problem. Don't forget, most of the guys that come in here and are new at it and race really hard cause a lot of problems. Accidently; they don't mean to. But they do. And Joey is not. That's something to keep in mind as well. He is earning everyone's respect. It does take time, unfortunately, even for someone as bright as Joey Logano. It still takes him time to build that respect."
ON TONY STEWART'S COMMENT FOLLOWING RACE AT POCONO LAST WEEK THAT IT WAS SOME OF THE WORST RACING HE'D SEEN IN HIS CAREER. DO YOU AGREE?
"I think racing has changed. Tony Stewart is one of my favorite people. And he told you what he thought and what he felt. The racing is changing. Years ago it didn't used to be that way. But it is this way today. Pocono lends itself to being one of the ones that would be more prominent for those kinds of moves and decisions and things. And you will certainly see more of that in the future; not less. And in some ways I'm glad I'm 51 and not 31 because I'm going to enjoy watching these things in the future instead of dragging them in on the hook."
IF YOU WERE KEVIN HARVICK, WOULD YOU THINK THAT JOEY LOGANO IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A SHOT BEFORE THE SEASON IS OVER?
"If I was Kevin Harvick and I didn't know Joey Logano, I would say yes. I think Joey Logano still has enough integrity to continue to try to make that right and make that work without doing it. But I might be wrong. I'm not Joey. But if I'm Harvick, yeah, I'm going to figure out I've got one coming."
ON HOW RACING HAS CHANGED, IS IT SIMPLY OVER THE LAST YEAR YOU'RE SEEING WHAT YOU CALLED A DRAMATIC SHIFT? OR WHY ARE YOU SEEING THAT AND WHAT ARE YOU SEEING MORE OF NOW THAN THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO?
This movement has been gaining momentum but when, through race cars getting more and more equal in speed and the field getting more and more equal in speed, more numbers of cars, same speed, more cars on the lead lap, now with that wave-around rule that really increases. And the double-file restart on top of that really magnifies it. So track position becomes ever more important and you can steal those spots by making a wild and crazy move that works inside the last 10 laps, you're going to see more of it. That's the future of our racing; that's where it's headed."
QUESTION INAUDIBLE
"I don't think so because if you're coming in today you're going to adapt to whatever is needed as you did five years ago or as you did 25 years ago. Twenty-five years ago you needed not to wreck a car because if you wrecked very many, you would get fired. Now, it's different. So you had to drive a certain way and adapt to those circumstances 25 years ago or five years ago or today. And that's one thing that I will say that I've managed to do fairly well. And I'm going to fall right in there with them, you know? This is what we're doing today and I plan to be relevant."
Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Heluva Good! Sour Creme Dips 400
DEFENDING RACE WINNER: Mark Martin won the June 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan in dramatic fashion. As the race wound down, he outlasted the first- and second-place cars on fuel to take the lead. Although Martin ran out of fuel in Turn 4 on the final lap, he coasted across the finish line to take the checkered flag. The victory was his fifth at the two-mile track, which is a personal best for the veteran driver.
POLE MAN: Martin's next Sprint Cup pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner's list. Martin never has earned the pole position at Michigan International Speedway, but did start from the first spot in 1990 when qualifying was rained out.
POCONO CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-523 for Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway. This is the same chassis Martin drove to the win last June at Michigan. The No. 5 GoDaddy.com team has used this chassis twice this season, notably finishing fourth at Auto Club Speedway in February.
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON HIS 2009 WIN AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.): "First, let me say we didn't win that race just on fuel mileage. Our car was amazing that day. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys gave me a really fast race car. And the fuel-mileage game, I never win that. I always come up short. So winning like that, that was a surprise and it was so much fun. Three laps into the final run, I started saving fuel. We needed the points bad last year so we couldn't risk it. I saw the (No.) 48 run out. And I knew the (No.) 16 was close, too. I just held back. When I took the white flag and still had fuel pressure, I just went for it. I saw the (No.) 16 run out on the backstretch, then we ran out, too. Between that and having a battery going dead the whole race, it was so much to overcome. Winning that race was such a surprise, and surprise wins are so much fun."
MARTIN (ON THE ATTITUDE OF THIS RACE TEAM.): "The guys on this GoDaddy.com team, they don't give up. It starts at the top with Rick (Hendrick) and Alan (Gustafson). Those guys are born leaders, and they inspire everyone that works with them. We've had some races this year that have been frustrating, and it would have been easy to throw your hands up and say, 'I don't know what to do.' But no one did that. And we fought back in a lot of those to get top-five and top-10 finishes. Our performances may not be as good as last year right now, but this team is better than it was a year ago. We work together better and the effort is even stronger than before."
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR'S WIN AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.): "We were on the edge of making it on gas, so I remember hounding Mark (Martin) to save gas, but run the best laps he could while saving. I'm privileged to the No. 48 team's information, so I kind of knew Jimmie (Johnson) was in worse shape than we were fuel-wise. So he ran out, which wasn't a terrible surprise to us. Then it was just the No. 16 (Greg Biffle) and us. I didn't know what their situation was, but I knew they had to be close. I didn't know he ran out until we were coming off of Turn 4, because there was so much commotion. Mark was talking on the radio and our spotter was talking. I couldn't follow everything that was happening! By the time we saw Mark out of Turn 4, he ran out and just coasted across the line. It was definitely a surprise, because we didn't know Biffle ran out. That was a lot of fun."
GUSTAFSON (ON WINNING ON FUEL STRATEGY.): "We had a really fast car -- that was one thing that I think was lost in our win. We qualified really bad -- 32nd -- and we drove all the way through the field. There were a lot of green runs, not many cautions at all. So we drove all the way to the front under green. We didn't get a chance to show how good our car was. People who weren't watching us very closely think we won the race on fuel mileage. But I think we could have also won the race by pure performance of the car. The car was really, really fast. And going back there in August and racing how we did again proved that the car was really, really fast."
GUSTAFSON (ON MICHIGAN'S TENDENCY TO COME DOWN TO FUEL MILEAGE.): "From my experience, it's just because there's not a lot of cautions. I don't know that it's necessarily a configuration thing or the track is 'this big' and your fuel window is 'this many laps.' I think it's because there's not a lot of cautions. So you don't get a lot of opportunities to get gas. Then it comes down to who can stretch it, and Michigan is a place where you can really do that. You can back off and not lose a ton of spots and not get lapped. There's a lot of ways you can work fuel mileage there. I think it's the amount of green-flag laps that make it a fuel-mileage race."
GUSTAFSON (ON IF DOMINATING RACES IS BETTER THAN WINNING ON THE FINAL LAP.): "I would rather dominate the whole race, definitely. To have that unknown or to have something drastically change quickly, there's a huge level of excitement. You can't anticipate that you have that emotion, so those last-lap wins are exciting, but thrilling to me is dominating the whole thing. Either way, I would take the win."
Mark Martin - Team Chevy From The Driver’s Seat - Heluva Good! Sour Creme Dips 400
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET -- 11TH IN STANDINGS: "First let me say, we didn't win that race (in 2009) just on fuel mileage. Our car was amazing that day. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys gave me a really fast race car. And the fuel-mileage game, I never win that. I always come up short. So winning like that, that was a surprise and it was so much fun. Three laps into the final run, I started saving fuel. We needed the points bad last year so we couldn't risk it. I saw the (No.) 48 run out. And I knew the (No.) 16 was close, too. I just held back. When I took the white flag and still had fuel pressure, I just went for it. I saw the (No.) 16 run out on the backstretch, then we ran out, too. Between that and having a battery going dead the whole race, it was so much to overcome. Winning that race was such a surprise, and surprise wins are so much fun. The guys on this GoDaddy.com team, they don't give up. It starts at the top with Rick (Hendrick) and Alan (Gustafson). Those guys are born leaders, and they inspire everyone that works with them. We've had some races this year that have been frustrating, and it would have been easy to throw your hands up and say 'I don't know what to do.' But no one did that. And we fought back in a lot of those to get top-five and top-10 finishes. Our performances may not be as good as last year right now, but this team is better than it was a year ago. We work together better and the effort is even stronger than before."
Mark Martin Friday Media Visit - Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 presented by Target
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET met with media and discussed fuel mileage races and situations, the upcoming Michigan race, the new spoiler, and more. Full Transcript:
WE ARE NOW HALFWAY TO THE CUT-OFF TO THE CHASE. CAN YOU GUYS ASSESS WHERE YOU ARE?
"Well, we are sitting tenth I think. You know the good thing is that we are hoping to peak right at the right time. Certainly we have some work to do to be a contender and we are working really hard at that and we feel like we have made some progress recently and know that we have got some more work to do to be a contender."
EVERYBODY WANTS TO COMPARE WHERE YOU ARE THIS YEAR TO LAST YEAR. ARE YOU GUYS BETTER? AND IF SO, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
"We are not better against the competition, but we are better. We are just not better when we measure ourselves against the competition. We are functioning as a team much better. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and I are working together and understanding things much better and we are really, really a strong unit. But you know, the competition is always cyclical and we have had a lot of our competitors step it up........and they needed to......and now it's our turn. We need to now, to be a contender."
DOES IT HELP WITH THE MINDSET THAT ALL YOU REALLY NEED TO DO IS GET INTO THE CHASE AND THEN CAN WORRY ABOUT THE WINS? "It's okay, but you can't just wake up and make the Chase and then decide you are going to run good. That comes over a long period of time. Sometimes longer than others but certainly there is usually a great delay in results versus the effort that goes into trying to get back on top of the competition so that's what makes racing what it is. It never stays the same and it's always a moving target."
THIS IS A RACE THAT CAN EASILY TURN INTO A FUEL MILEAGE RACE. WHAT CAN YOU DO AS A DRIVER TO SAVE FUEL AND HOW EARLY IN THE RACE DO YOU START THINKING ABOUT IT?
"Well the best way to get great fuel mileage is in the garage. At the shop and in the garage. The driver can maybe make a half a lap difference, or a lap difference if he has such a great race car that he can slow down. If you don't have a great race car, you can't slow down and therefore you can only make a very minor difference in fuel mileage so a lot is made of it and people don't really understand it so there is a lot of big deals made out of drivers and what they do and don't do, and you can do this and you can't do that. The bottom line is that if you have a rocket ship of a race car then you are going to be in a position to back off and not use as much fuel. And if you don't have a good car, then you are going to be painted into a box and that box is pretty much whatever mileage your engine package and tune-up package will give you and that is all you can do."
HOW EARLY IN THE RACE DO YOU START THINKING ABOUT FUEL MILEAGE? IS IT ONLY AT THE END? "I have thought about it throughout most of my years but we think about it less now and more toward the last two runs."
WITH MICHIGAN COMING UP, AND SPEAKING OF FUEL MILEAGE, HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR IT AT THAT TRACK?
"It's the same as everywhere else. If you make your car super-fast, then you are in position. We won at the first Michigan race last year because our car was so fast that I could slow down and still stay ahead of people. Therefore I was able to save enough gas to make it all the way. The second race, my car may not have been quite as good and I thought I slowed down plenty and I let people go by me and run off and leave me and I still ran out of gas. So I wasn't so smart the first time, and I was lucky and I wasn't so dumb the second time and I was unlucky I figured."
I WOULD THINK YOU GUYS WOULD THINK ABOUT IT MORE NOW WITH THE POTENTIAL OF THREE GREEN/WHITE/CHECKERED FINISHES?
"The last couple of runs are when I start to think about it. Racing is a lot different even than it was two years ago. You have got wave-arounds, you have got this, you have got that. It's different so I don't know. All I can tell you is I don't think about it all that much until we get down to the last two runs and then it starts to rear its head and you really have to deal with it."
YOU MENTIONED PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME EARLIER. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU GUYS CAN ACTUALLY ATTEMPT?
"You can hope for that and you can say the 48 has done that. And one thing is that they have shown that they can rise to the occasion. And there may be some good fortune or not so good fortune involved in that. Certainly I am not saying with them, but with someone else. We hope to be fortunate enough that all of our hard work and determination culminates all at one time where it's at the right time and it all works out. You can only hope and all you can do is work as hard as you can. You don't control the result nearly as much as you control the effort. So we are working on the effort."
TALK ABOUT CAR CONTROL ISSUES WITH THE SPOILERS FOR SOME DRIVERS AND TALK ABOUT THE SPOILER HERE "The spoiler hasn't changed that much or made that big of a difference. The car control issues......you must be talking about at Charlotte. That wasn't the spoiler. You would have had that either way; it's a function of the asphalt composition and the tire that has to be made to accommodate that asphalt. Makes it very much like that and Darlington, and Vegas. Those three are all very similar in that respect."
SO YOU DON'T EXPECT TO HAVE ANY DIFFERENT RACING WITH IT THAN THE WING LAST YEAR?
"You get great racing just like you had last year and just like you are having again this year. That's all I'm seeing."
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT MICHIGAN OR TO RUN WELL THERE?
It's a huge corner and the straight-aways are long but everybody's got what they got under the hood and you can't make a big difference there. But you can certainly make a big difference about those big corners and so the opportunity is there for excelling. Maybe your car handles and you have lots of options of where to drive it on the race track and finding something that works for you."
YOU WERE WITH ROUSH RACING FOR MANY YEARS. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING ON OVER THERE NOW WITH THEM NOT BEING ABLE TO PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER?
I think they are running great. I think they ran really good last week and I think they have been running much better all year and I think those guys are on track. You know, they have made a lot of progress from last year."
YOU SEE IMPROVEMENT?
"Yes, every week on the race track I see one of them driving by me or more so I think they are running good and have made a lot of progress."
TALK ABOUT CAR OWNERSHIP. HAS YOUR TIME AT HENDRICK MADE YOU MORE INTERESTED IN OWNERSHIP?
"I am not that interested in ownership. You know, I wouldn't make too big of a deal out of that. I am all set in 2011 and am driving the 5 car and about this time next year I will weigh out what the options are for me to do what is exciting and rewarding for me to do and I will pursue that but for now I know what I am going to do next year and I am open to anything that is fun, challenging and exciting in 2012 and on."
Mark Martin – Team Chevy From The Driver’s Seat - Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 presented by Target
MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET -- 10TH IN STANDINGS
"Pocono is one of my top-five favorite racetracks. It's great to race on. And of course it's really, really different than any other track we go to. Pocono has its three distinctly different corners, a good amount of banking, and long straightaways. In order to do well there, you have to have big horsepower under the hood. Your car has to handle well through all three turns, if you can get it that good. It's a big challenge. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one corner in order to get the other two better. It's a tough place to conquer. I've had the fastest car there about five times. I just couldn't get to the start-finish line first! (LAUGHS.) Track position plays a huge role, of course. Then you add in fuel mileage, pit stops, the timing of cautions. So many elements have to go right to win a race. I just haven't been able to put the whole package together there. It's about putting your best foot forward and making your best effort. There's no doubt that this team will do that this weekend."
Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 presented by Target
EVERYTHING BUT A WIN: In 46 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Martin has scored 19 top-five finishes, 32 top-10s and three pole positions. Pocono, where Martin has an average start of 8.7 and average finish of 10.8, is one of only four active tracks where he has yet to visit Victory Lane. He also has yet to take the checkered flag at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Martin's average start at Pocono is a personal best for him at an active track.
SO CLOSE: Martin has finished in the runner-up position at Pocono six times -- a stat that ties his six second-place finishes at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Martin has visited Victory Lane at Darlington and Dover.
POLE SITTER: Martin's next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner's list. He has earned three pole positions at Pocono.
THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 team has competed in 10 events at Pocono, earning one top-five finish and three top-10s. In their first race together at the triangular track in 2005, Gustafson and the No. 5 team rebounded from a 38th-place starting spot to finish fourth -- the team's best Pocono finish to date with Gustafson.
GUSTAFSON TOPS: Gustafson was named the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race for his team's fourth-place performance at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Sunday. The crew chief of the race is chosen by crew chiefs Todd Berrier and Frank Kerr along with television commentator and former crew chief Jeff Hammond.
POINTS: With a fourth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Sunday, Martin and the No. 5 team advanced one position to 10th in the Sprint Cup championship standings. Martin is just 13 points behind ninth place and 97 out of fifth.
POCONO CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Chassis No. 5-582 for Sunday's race at Pocono. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a 16th-place finish at Darlington Raceway last month.
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON POCONO RACEWAY.): "Pocono is one of my top-five favorite racetracks. It's great to race on. And of course it's really, really different than any other track we go to. Pocono has its three distinctly different corners, a good amount of banking and long straightaways. In order to do well there, you have to have big horsepower under the hood. Your car has to handle well through all three turns, if you can get it that good. It's a big challenge. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one corner in order to get the other two better. It's a tough place to conquer."
MARTIN (ON NOT WINNING AT POCONO.): "I've had the fastest car there about five times. I just couldn't get to the start-finish line first! (LAUGHS.) Track position plays a huge role, of course. Then you add in fuel mileage, pit stops, the timing of cautions. So many elements have to go right to win a race. I just haven't been able to put the whole package together there. It's about putting your best foot forward and making your best effort. There's no doubt that this team will do that this weekend."
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE DIFFICULTIES OF POCONO.): "Recently, the corners at Pocono have changed even more. Turn 1 is very rough. Turn 2, they've added that big curb to it, which plays into it some. Then Turn 3, they paved the patch there, so that's smoother and has more grip than the other two. So, it's more than the shape of the track that makes it difficult. For a crew chief, you can't see much either, the cars are so far away. It's very difficult to read the car. Sometimes you can see things visually with the car, but you can't there. It's a tough track, but I like the challenge about it. It's one of those places, too, that if you're not good, you can change everything and you're not going to gain much. If you're off, it's hard to get it right."
GUSTAFSON (ON PIT STRATEGY AT POCONO.): "The lap times at Pocono are so long that you can look at strategy a little different than anywhere else. You race Pocono like a road course, that's a common saying pit strategy-wise. The thing that makes it that way is that the lap times are so long. Pitting under green isn't that big of an issue because you don't get lapped. You can pit early or off sequence, have a clean track that makes you run faster and when the sequence cycles around, you've actually made up time. I actually think Pocono is a little easier on track strategy than other tracks, because the negative side isn't as bad. If you make a bad call or take a gamble, either way, if you stay on the lead lap, the repercussions aren't a big deal. You have more cushion. Pit strategy can have a big impact on the race at Pocono. It's a little easier to find a sweet spot or an advantage in pit strategy there. With that in mind, this is also a big fuel-mileage track. You can short pit and gain time on the track if your fuel mileage is good enough. Fuel mileage will always play into the pit strategy."
GUSTAFSON (ON WHICH TURN IS THE HARDEST.): "Turn 1 is the toughest. It's the most loaded corner. It's the toughest on these bump-stop, short-travel cars. With the old cars, before the patch, Turn 3 was the most difficult. It was rough and flat. Now with the paved patch, it's made that corner easier, especially the exit. Turn 1, with the load we get down there and the amount of brake there, it's tough. It's possible to have all three turns good at the same time. It's more difficult to line the corners up here, but you can get them all pretty good. The guy who wins the race is going to have all three corners really good."
GUSTAFSON (ON THE TIMING OF THE POCONO RACES.): "We don't race at Pocono for so long. The two races are so close together that it's almost like we race there once. We come to Pocono, and it's been almost a year, and so much changes in a year. There's no other track that we can use as a reference for Pocono. You are kind of going off of instinct instead of past experience. So much has evolved since the last time we raced there, you have to just put all that together and take your best guess at what works. There's no good reference point. All of that makes practice very important and practice at Pocono is really difficult. The lap times are so long, and getting in and out of the garage is lengthy there, too. Getting up to speed takes a long time. Very few teams make long runs there, if you make a 15-lap run, you're looking at 20 minutes with getting in and out of the garage. So that's a huge time out of your practice session."
Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Lenox Industrial Tools 301
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