Other celebrities that kicked off their soles for the auction include Brooke Burke, Paris Hilton, Matthew Morrison, Chelsea Handler, Tom Brokaw, Joan and Melissa Rivers, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Nick Harper, Maria Menounos, Billy Bush, Kenny Rogers, Bill Engvall, Maria Sharapova, Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington, Stephen Merchant, Jason Bateman, Guiliana Rancic, Ryan Seacrest, Chace Crawford, Brian Williams, the cast of Law and Order, Jimmy Fallon, Quest Love of "The Roots," Lance Bass, NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordan, Tony Stewart, and Mark Martin, NHL players Alex Ovechkin, Zach Parise, Zdeno Chara, Ryan Getzlaf, and Chris Pronger, the Eureka cast, Jillian Michaels, Camille Grammer, Margaret Cho, Alison Sweeney, Curt Schilling, Phil Mickelson, Wayne Gretzky, Jennie Finch, Stacey Dash, and Jonah Hill.

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - STP 400
Hendrick Motorsports
May 31, 2011

MARTIN AT KANSAS

Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, has earned one victory, one pole position, two top-five finishes and four top-10s in 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway. Martin holds a 12.6 average finish at the intermediate track and has led 152 laps there.

LOOP STATISTICS

According to NASCAR’s loop statistics, which were compiled during the last six races at Kansas, Martin ranks fifth or better in four categories. He has the third-best average finish (9.2), fourth-most laps led (150 laps), fifth-best average running position (11.593) and fifth-most laps run inside the top 15 (1,124 laps). He also has the sixth-best driver rating of 97.3.

LAST TIME AT KANSAS

In 2010, the No. 5 team was forced to change engines following practice on Friday. Martin and the team overcame their 40th-place starting position to finish 14th.

POLE SITTER

Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will place tie for eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. He earned his first career pole at Kansas last year in 2009.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

Martin and the No. 5 team are currently 14th in the Sprint Cup standings, 19 points outside of the top 10.

CHASSIS CHOICE

Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-656 for Sunday’s race. This is the same car Martin drove to a 19th-place finish after cutting a tire at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May.

HENDRICK AT KANSAS

In the 10 Cup races that have been held at Kansas, Hendrick Motorsports has scored three wins, 12 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s in 43 starts at the 1.5-mile speedway. Jeff Gordon has two of those victories and is ranked tied for first in the win column. He leads all other drivers with seven top-five finishes and eight top-10s.

CHEVROLET AT KANSAS

Chevrolet has reached Victory Lane in six of the 10 Cup events at Kansas, and Hendrick Motorsports has accounted for half of those victories. Jimmie Johnson scored Hendrick Motorsports’ most recent win at the 1.5-mile speedway in 2008.

APPROACHING 200

With Johnson’s win on April 17 at Talladega, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 196 Cup victories. The organization ranks first in NASCAR’s modern era for wins and second all-time behind Petty Enterprises, which has 268 victories.

QUOTES

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON KANSAS SPEEDWAY)

“It’s a great racetrack, a really great racetrack. I’ve raced a lot in Springfield and even up at I-70. I get a lot of hometown kind of fans there, and it’s fun and exciting. It’s one of the closest tracks we have to Batesville (Ark.), too, so it seems like I have a lot of support there. I’ve always really enjoyed racing there, and this year we get to do it twice. It’s crazy keeping up with how the schedule has changed and where we’re going each week. I just get there, get in the car, and drive.”

Team Chevy From The Driver's Seat - Mark Martin - STP 400
May 31, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 FARMER’S INSURANCE/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – 14TH IN STANDINGS

“Kansas is a great race track, a really great race track. I’ve raced a lot in Springfield, MO and even up at I-70 and stuff like that. You get a lot of homefolk kind of fans there and it’s fun and exciting. Being that it comes at a different time of year, it’s kind of a blur. Most of the competitors right now are sort of in a blur of just trying to meet their schedules and they’re looking at their calendar and seeing where they’re at now and where they’re going next.”

Mark Martin Post Qualifying Notes and Quotes - Showdown
Team Chevy
May 20, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 35 FARMER’S INSURANCE “THROWBACK’/GO.DADDY.COM CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 5TH

“The car was good. The car was very good today. It was a good run and I’m looking forward to the All-Star race, man, it’s going to be great. A big shout-out to Sprint for having this race, and also a big shout-out to all our Farmer’s Insurance agents out there. The car looks great and the guys were awesome on pit road. They ripped off a great pit stop and made up for all the lost time I might have had anywhere else on the track. It was a great pit stop right there and it made up for the lost time that I had anywhere on the race track. Good run. Look forward to the All-Star Race. Man, it is going to be great. Racing never gets old, but this All-Star event is really special. The fans. Kudos to Charlotte Motor Speedway and the fans, they really make this special.”

Mark Martin Press Conference Transcript - Showdown
Team Chevy
May 20, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 25 FARMER’S INSURANCE/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET met with media and discussed past Sprint All-Star events, strategies, the upcoming race at Kansas and more. Full Transcript:

ON THE ALL-STAR

“I’ve said many times, in my opinion; this is the coolest venue in the world. I’ve always loved this race track. I think it’s a great facility. The track is great to race on. It represents our sport well. And I love the fans here and their enthusiasm. So it’s great that we race here and it’s really great to have the Sprint All-Star race here. There is no better place for it.”

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND IS A BIG WEEKEND FOR AUTO RACING WITH THE INDY 500 AND THE COCA-COLA 600. THE AVERAGE FAN CAN GOT OUT AND HIT A GOLF BALL OR HIT A SOFTBALL, BUT THEY CAN’T DRIVE A RACE CAR. HOW DIFFICULT IS THAT, FOR 600 MILES?

“Well, I’m an average fan and I can’t go out and hit a golf ball (laughs). It would be harder for me to hit a golf ball than it would be to drive a race car. There’s a physical aspect to what we do that is not really common knowledge, just like the aspect to golf or drag racing or anything else that I don’t necessarily acknowledge because I have no great interest in that so I don’t look at it and analyze it that close. But I think that anything you do on a professional level that the Indy 500 is or the Coca-Cola 600, anything you do on a level like that is extremely intense, physically and mentally, in different ways. For the folks that aren’t interested I’m just like them about other sports.

“And for the ones that are, most of them realize that if they’ve ever done the Petty Driving Experience or anything else, they always say they have a whole new appreciation for what you guys do. They don’t realize that, that last three seconds, which doesn’t sound like much, but when you go from running 35 seconds around this place to 32 seconds, that’s where it’s all at. A 35 second lap around here is like absolutely nothing compared to a 32-second lap. It may get really, really, really fast and run a 35-second lap they think they’ve set a world speeding record. It’s just all relative. It’s what you encounter when you compete on this level. It’s intense, physically and mentally.”

HOW MUCH OF AN APPRECIATION DO DRIVERS HAVE FOR THE SACRIFICES THAT FANS ARE MAKING TO BE HERE IN A TOUGH ECONOMY?

“Well, we love the fan which is why we’re able to race on this level. And for most all of us, we came up through the ranks where there might be 1000 or 1500 fans in the stands on a given night of racing. When you start having 150,000 fans at a race, it’s pretty overwhelming for us to really comprehend how you can reach out and tough so many people. The fans are what drives this sport. We’re all grateful for their loyalty.”

WHERE DO YOUR ALL-STAR VICTORIES RANK WITH YOUR CAREER ACHIEVEMENT, AND HOW BIG WERE THEY FOR YOU?

“I don’t have a good way to rank those things, other than which ones do you remember. I vividly remember both those All Star wins. I only have a small handful of wins that I vividly remember. None which are any more clear to me than those two wins. Both of them were dramatic in some fashion.

“Jeff Gordon ran out of gas on the last lap. I had no idea I was going to win the race until I won it, which was really fun and exciting. That’s the coolest way to win a race. And then a 2005 win with the red, white, and blue paint on it was really a major throwback and it was at the point in my career when I was afraid that I wouldn’t ever see another checkered flag. And to go out and earn that one the way we earned it flat-out, a lot of times I feel like my car wins my race for me, and I had a good car that night. But I feel like I made a real solid contribution to being able to pull that one off. I was very lucky. Every single move I made all night was the right move. And that never happens (laughs). I’m lucky to get 50/50 usually, so that was a real special night.”

YOU HAVEN’T EXACTLY BEEN LIGHTING IT ON FIRE THIS YEAR, BUT HOW CLOSE DO YOU THINK YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE TO BREAKING THROUGH AND GETTING CONSISTENT FINISHES AND COMPETING FOR A WIN?

“I don’t really know. I don’t know. We had a really fast car at Dover and a really fast car at Richmond and at California. We had a really fast car at Martinsville, but Dover is the only place that we wound up getting a really great finish. So it hasn’t been a matter of having a slow race car, although we do need to pick it up some more. We would like to pick it up some more. It would make things a little bit easier. But we’ve found ourselves at the tail end of the lead lap a lot this year with a car that could do what we did at the end of Dover. And so unfortunately we finished 12th to 18th with cars at times that could have pulled off a top five under the right circumstances; or a top 10 under a little bit better circumstances than what we might have had. It’s hard for me to predict what the rest of the season will bring but the effort is fantastic. We have a great team; a strong team. And at least we’re not dealing with really slow race cars that we don’t know how to get going. We’re working hard to improve but I am very encouraged by the performance of the cars.”

IS THERE ANY ALL-STAR FORMAT THAT YOU LIKE MORE OR LESS HERE?

“It’s been so long that it was dramatically different, that pretty much what I remember is the 10-lap thing. Back in the day, I wanted the best car to be able to win the race. And this format’s not about that, and it shouldn’t be. Because if you want to stir it up for the fans, and you want to make it crazy and exciting and sparks to fly and everything else, this is the format for that. So if I’ve got the fastest race car here tomorrow night, I’m wishing it wasn’t this format. But if I don’t I’ve still got a chance. So, it is about the fans, 100 percent. That’s why there’s a million dollar check out there is because it’s for the doggone fans and that’s what it’s for, you know? It’s not for us. It’s not for the competitor. It’s not for the guy with the fastest car. It’s about a loud and crazy shootout. And I think it’s a great format for that.”

WITH THE FORMAT OF THE RACE, DO YOU ACTUALLY MAKE A PLAN OR STRATEGY, OR DO YOU LITERALLY JUST WAIT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS?

“I wait and see what happens. But I do that all the time. If you make a plan, as soon as the green flag comes out, your plan usually doesn’t fit. So you have to look at all the things that are in front of your and take all that in; everything that’s in front of you, and make decisions based on everything that’s in front of you. And all that changes as soon as a caution comes out or circumstances of any kind that can rear their head. The way the tires perform, you name it, puts you in a position to adjust your strategy. The best strategies are made based on every bit of information that it in front of you. And all that information in racing changes, so you’ve got to move with it.”

THE WAY THIS RACE IS MARKETED IS THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO WRECK EACH OTHER FOR THE MILLION DOLLARS, ETC. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, HOW MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE IS THE FIELD WILLING TO BE IN THIS RACE BECAUSE IT’S NOT A POINTS RACE.?

“A little bit, but not as much as you think because we race all-out all the time. It’s hard to try harder at everything you’ve got. You can’t win if you wreck. And for me, if I’m trying to pass somebody, I’m trying to, right up to the limit of me losing control too. If I wreck somebody, it’s going to be by accident. It’s not going to be on purpose and I might do it. It has happened in racing. It doesn’t have to be the All-Star race. But for me, it’s hard for me to push any closer to the edge because I’m already like every time I get in the race car and I get behind somebody and I’m trying to make a competitive pass, I’m pushing it right to the limit of what I think I have the skills to hang onto all this. You can be somewhat more aggressive with your strategies or risky with a move that might work but might not work. It might yield you a pass or it might cost you five spots or you might get one so you’re going to try it now, which you wouldn’t try, you know. You can do some things like that.

“I still have not seen anyone intentionally wreck somebody to win this race. I still think that we all have enough integrity to race hard and yet we all are capable of making mistakes and it doesn’t have to be the All-Star race to make a mistake. It is a ‘gloves off’ kind of race, but it’s not like daylight and dark difference between the 600 and this race. It’s a shorter format and if something does go bad, it doesn’t really matter. But we still all have integrity.”

ON THE UPCOMING RACE IN KANSAS, WHEN YOU GO THERE AT A DIFFERENT TIME OF YEAR, DOES THAT CHANGE ANYTHING?

“I haven’t thought that far ahead. It’s a great race track, a really great race track. I’ve raced a lot in Springfield, MO and even up at I-70 and stuff like that. You get a lot of homefolk kind of fans there and it’s fun and exciting. Being that it comes at a different time of year, it’s kind of a blur. Most of the competitors right now are sort of in a blur of just trying to meet their schedules and they’re looking at their calendar and seeing where they’re at now and where they’re going next.”

OVER THE YEARS, HAVE YOU SEEN PAYBACK COMING OUT OF THE ALL-STAR RACE? HAVE DRIVERS BEEN UPSET ENOUGH IN A NON-POINTS RACE TO AFFECT A POINTS RACE?

“I’ve never seen payback in an All-Star race. I don’t remember. Must not have been too big a deal or it would have left an impression in my mind. So, I don’t recall.”

IS THE REASON YOU REMEMBER THOSE TWO ALL-STAR RACES SO VIVIDLY BECAUSE THERE ARE NO POINTS ON THE LINE AND THE ADRENALINE IS SO HIGH AND ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THAT DASH FOR THE CASH?

“I’m not sure that’s what it is. No, like I said the coolest wins or the most exciting wins I’ve ever had are when I didn’t know I was going to win until the last lap; like Michigan in ’09 when the other two guys ran out of gas. That was cool. In the ’98 thing, Tommy Ellis ran out of gas on the last lap at Myrtle Beach in 1987 in a Nationwide race. Those, I don’t know why. It’s just wow! It’s just crazy. I don’t know why. But I think it just has more to do with the circumstances. I do remember winning the 600 here in 2002 as well because I thought I might be done seeing checkered flags as well. Listen, there is no driver in that garage that wins races, that when they win, someday when they win, that’ll be the last one they ever win. And none of them know when that ever is. So, I’ve learned to appreciate that; all the way back to 2002, so that’s going back quite a while.

And just a reminder guys, talking about 2005 and that being a throw-back paint job, of course we’ve got a little bit of a throw-back looking car here this weekend that’s not really mine, but it’s very nostalgic for me. It reminds me a lot of Benny Parsons and Tim Richmond. Red No. 25 on our car means an awful lot; and I think that was Papa Joe’s car and it means an awful lot. It’s a very cool-looking car and we’re excited to welcome Farmer’s Insurance as a major sponsor and it’s going to be four more races going forward.”

About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Showdown
Hendrick Motorsports
May 18, 2011

NO. 25 THROWBACK

In honor of the 25th year since its debut, Martin will drive Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 25 Chevrolet in Saturday night’s all-star race. The No. 25 has a long history at Hendrick Motorsports, starting in 1986 with driver Tim Richmond and crew chief Harry Hyde. That season, the duo won seven races and eight pole positions. Richmond finished third in the standings.

NO. 25 WINNERS

Of the 12 different drivers who’ve piloted the No. 25 for Hendrick Motorsports, six of them have taken the number to Victory Lane in a Cup event. Those drivers include Tim Richmond, Ken Schrader, Jerry Nadeau, Joe Nemechek, Brian Vickers and Casey Mears. Schrader, Nadeau, Vickers and Mears earned their first career Sprint Cup wins in the No. 25.

ALL-STAR WIN

If Martin can reach Victory Lane in Saturday’s exhibition event, he will be the first Hendrick Motorsports driver to do so from behind the wheel of the No. 25 Chevrolet. In its last 16 appearances in the all-star race, the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has scored 10 top-five finishes and 11 top-10s.

MR. HENDRICK’S RIDE

The No. 25 is the first car number that Rick Hendrick drove for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup series, and it has a special place in the organization as the car first owned by Hendrick’s father, “Papa Joe.” Rick Hendrick made his Cup debut on Nov. 8, 1987, at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. He lined up the No. 25 Chevy from 21st, but was scored with a 33rd-place finish after a transmission issue.

MOST RECENTLY

The last time the No. 25 was on the track was at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2009. Brad Keselowski drove the Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish in its most recent outing.

NASCAR NUMEROLOGY

The No. 25 has made a total of 1,320 starts in NASCAR Sprint Cup history. This is the 13th-most of any number in the sport. The No. 25 has recorded 21 wins overall with owners Don Rogalla, Dalley Moyer and Hendrick.

MOST STARTS

The 2011 Sprint All-Star race will be Mark Martin’s 22nd start in the non-points event, which is the most for any driver locked into this year’s field. Martin’s first start in 1990 resulted in a third-place finish. He finished 17th in the 2010 event.

TWO-TIME WINNER

Martin is a two-time all-star champion. Martin’s first victory occurred in 1998 after he started fifth and led 31 laps. He also won in 2005 after starting from the outside pole position and leading 24 laps. He is one of just six drivers to post multiple all-star victories.

ALL-STAR FINISHES

Along with his two victories, Martin has posted seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in the exhibition event. While he has yet to secure the pole position, he lined up on the front row in 2000 and 2005.

THE NO. 25 ALL-STAR PIT CREW

The No. 25 pit crew will compete in Thursday’s NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge at Time Warner Cable arena in uptown Charlotte. The pit crew consists of front-tire changer Adam Emmert (McCall, Idaho), front-tire carrier Ben Fischbeck (Waynesville, Mo.), jackman Jeff Kerr (China Grove, N.C.), rear-tire changer Kip Wolfmeier (Kingdom City, Mo.), rear-tire carrier Matt Myers (Ford City, Pa.) and gas man Chris Fasulka (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.). The team is led by pit crew coaches Mark Mauldin (Spencer, N.C.) and Walt Smith (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and strength and conditioning coach Mark Morrison (Loveland, Col.).

CHALLENGE DRIVER

Matt Martin, son of Mark Martin, will get back behind the wheel of the race car for Thursday’s Pit Crew Challenge. Matt previously raced quarter midgets, trucks in the FASCAR Series, and the southern tour of the ASA Late Model Series. Matt ended his racing career in 2008.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

With their runner-up finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway last Sunday, Martin and the No. 5 team advanced to 11th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, just four points outside of the top 10.

ANOTHER TOP-10

Martin’s runner-up finish last Sunday was his 432nd top-10. This places him third on the all-time top-10s list for the Sprint Cup Series. He trails second-place Bobby Allison, an inductee for the 2011 Hall of Fame class, by just 14 top 10 finishes.

RUNNER-UP RECORD

Martin’s second-place finish last Sunday also gave him the most career runner-up Sprint Cup finishes - 60 - of any active driver. Martin now has the fourth-most top-two finishes - 100 total between wins and second-place results - in the history of the sport. With 100 top-two finishes in 805 starts, Martin averages a first or second place finish in nearly every eight races.

CHASSIS CHOICE

Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-646 for Saturday’s All-Star race. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a 19th-place finish earlier this month at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway after cutting a tire.

HENDRICK IN THE ALL-STAR

In 75 all-star entries, Hendrick Motorsports has scored six wins, 28 top-five finishes, 41 top-10s and led 565 laps. The team has started from the front row a combined nine times, with three of those times from the pole position. Each of Hendrick’s four current drivers have at least one career all-star victory.

QUOTES

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 25 FARMERS INSURANCE “THROWBACK”/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON DRIVING THE THROWBACK PAINT SCHEME)

“I remember racing against this No. 25 back in the earlier days of my career. Tim (Richmond, driver) was a great guy, and it’s cool to kind of be wearing his same firesuit and taking his car out this weekend. There have been some great drivers behind the wheel of this car, including Rick (Hendrick, team owner). There’s just a lot of history here that I’m real proud to be a part of. The last time I won the All-Star race was in a throwback paint scheme for the No. 6 car. Maybe it’s a good luck thing.”

MARTIN (ON THE ALL-STAR RACE)

“This is usually one of those throw-down, exciting races that leaves a lot to be talked about on Sunday morning. I love this race. It’s all kind of out there on the line. No points. Just the win. It’s a great race, too, because everyone brings their family out for it. It kind of reminds me of those Saturday night races we were all in as kids. There’s just an excitement to it.”

MARTIN (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PIT CREWS)

“When I started, the pit crew guys that performed the pit stops were the mechanics on the race team, and that was their main concern. And although they did practice a little bit, it’s not nearly like it is today. So they were doing four tires in 20 seconds and as the speeds got down to 13 or 14 seconds, they took the second jack away and the third air wrench away to slow it down, and that knocked it back down again. Now you’re seeing 12-second pit stops again. It’s amazing how much athletic ability that these guys have. How much they train, physically train, and the practices they do to do these pit stops. What they do is more critical than ever, because the cars are closer to the same speed on the track, making it harder to pass. So the pit stops have become one of the more critical aspects of what we do.”

LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 25 FARMERS INSURANCE “THROWBACK”/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PIT CREWS)

“I really can’t overemphasize the importance of the pit crew. Up and down pit road, all of the crews are so good that if you make one slip, five cars will pass you on pit road. All it takes is one little mistake, and it is so costly. On the flip side, if you have a great pit stop, you’ll gain those five spots that are so hard to make up on the track now. A good pit crew and consistently good pit stops are crucial.”

McGREW (ON THE PIT CREW CHALLENGE)

“From a pit picking standpoint alone, the pit crew challenge really doesn’t affect a whole lot. But from a confidence standpoint it is absolutely a big deal to those six guys and everyone on the team. A good showing Thursday night can really jack the guys’ confidence up, and that is so important week in and week out. It’s not all physical ability. The mental aspect of this sport, and specifically what these guys do, is such a huge part of it. Being able to get your mind right before you jump over the wall is half the battle.”

McGREW (ON THE ALL-STAR RACE)

“This race is very exciting. I love it. I love the energy of Charlotte Motor Speedway - especially at night. There’s a certain intensity yet freedom to not racing for points and being flat-out wide open for the win the whole event. I can’t wait until Saturday night. I look forward to this race from the time the season starts.”

Mark Martin Post Race Press Conference Transcript
May 15, 2011

Mark Martin Scores Runner-Up Finish at Dover; Team Chevy Drivers Hold Seven of Top-12 in Race to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Standings

DOVER, Del (May 15, 2011) - In what seems to be trending toward the norm near the end of a race, Mark Martin’s crew chief, Lance McGrew, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, took advantage of track position with a pit call to stay out when the final caution flew for the final time on lap 363 of the 400-lap race today at Dover International Speedway.

On the restart, Martin was the leader as the field took the green flag but had to give way to race winner Matt Kenseth with just 369 laps to go. The pair pulled away from the field and perennial fan favorite brought home the runner-up finish in the 400-lap/400-mile FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.

Martin now sits 11th in the standings with 11 of 36 races in the record books.

Clint Bowyer powered the No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet from the 22nd starting position to finish in sixth place. He was credited for leading once for a total of 29 laps and moved up one place in the standings to eighth position.

Five-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, led nine times for a total of 207 laps when the no-tires, two-tires, four-tires strategy played out on the final stop as the field came off pit road. Johnson is second in the standings, 24 points out of the top-spot.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, also took four tires on the last stop and finished in 10th place to give Team Chevy four of the top-10 finishers. Harvick remains fifth in points.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 AMP Energy Sugar-Free/National Guard Chevrolet, also had a strong run the majority of the race and finished 12th to remain fourth in the point standings.

Ryan Newman, No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, is seventh in the standings after battling handling issues that put him 21st in the final order.

Tony Stewart, No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, is 10th in points to give Team Chevy seven of the top-12 Chase contending drivers. He finished 29th in today’s race.

Next weekend, the series takes a mental break from running for points to compete in the Sprint All Star Race for a $1 million prize at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night, May 21, 2011.

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET - FINISHED 2ND

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

THE MODERATOR: We welcome into the media center Mark Martin. Mark, this is your first top five of the season. Talk a little bit about the race today.

MARK MARTIN: It was another great race at Dover. Golly, I love this place. I always get excited about coming here to race. You know, we had a really fast racecar. Today we finally got a finish. Looked like we were going to get 15th again with a really fast racecar. We’ve had a racecar this good a lot this year. Seems like for some reason or another we wind up in the back of the pack and we just don’t have enough to climb our way back to the front.

This was a good race for us, great call by (crew chief) Lance (McGrew), great teamwork. We’ve had great teamwork all year. I’m proud of this race team. I’m proud of these guys.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions for Mark Martin.

Q. Mark, Lance made the call to stay out. How good was your car after the green flag compared to how you expected it might have been?

MARK MARTIN: It was good. I feel like it could contend. I had enough speed to be right there without tires. We’ve had great teamwork all year. I’m proud of this race team, I’m proud of these guys.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Mark, Lance made the call to stay out. How good was your car after the green flag compared to how you expected it to be?

MARK MARTIN: It was good. I feel like it could contend. Matt had two tires there and had a little advantage on us for a little bit. Then after a little bit, we seemed to start breaking even. I know he had a little bit left. But I had enough speed to be right there without tires. All the guys behind me were dropping off.

You know, we’ve had racecars this good this year. Every time we turn around, something goes against us.

It was nice to have things go our way.

Q. Did you have a chance to discuss the call or was it just his?

MARK MARTIN: Next question.

Q. Mark, talk about how hard it was to catch somebody who is out in front?

MARK MARTIN: Well, like I said earlier this week, all the cars are almost the same speed, so it’s incredibly difficult. This is the era of NASCAR racing that we have today. Twenty years ago, there weren’t so many cars the same speed and passing and overtaking was easy. Not so easy now because you have the world’s greatest drivers, 40 deep, 40 darn good racecars out there, too. That’s to be expected.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Thanks very much for coming in this afternoon.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

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Team Chevy From The Driver's Seat - Mark Martin - FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks
Team Chevy
May 11, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET -14TH IN STANDINGS

Well, I love it (Dover). I loved it the first time I went there, and I remember the track record being set at that first race 144 miles an hour (chuckling). I think that’s 25:40 or something like that, I think it was 25:40 was the lap time. And since then, we have seen lap times down into the 21-second bracket. A lot of things have changed there, but one thing that’s stayed the same is it’s a wonderful place to race. Wonderful racetrack, one of my favorite places to go. It’s the only concrete track that I really love. And I loved it even more when it was asphalt, but I still love it. It’s one of my top-of-the-list favorites.

Mark Martin - NASCAR Teleconference
NASCAR.com
May 11, 2011

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to our NASCAR CAM video teleconference in advance of Sunday's FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. Our guest is Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Mark is currently 14th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings. At Dover, Mark has some very impressive statistics: Four wins and a track record 22 Top-5s and 30 Top-10s in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Mark, you are heading back to a track where you have enjoyed some great success. What's your outlook for this weekend?

MARK MARTIN: Our team has done a really good job with our race cars, especially the last four or five races, and I really like the way things are going, and I look forward to going to the track and working with these guys every week.

Q. Just wanted to ask you, Dale Junior indicated in the race the other night he was going to have a team meeting to apologize to his crew for his pit road mistake; is that a new side that we have not seen before, and can you kind of comment on what you've seen this year from him?

MARK MARTIN: I've seen a lot of new stuff, new sides to Junior this year. You know, I don't think anybody is working harder to have success right now. I don't think any driver is working harder than Dale Junior to have success.

I'm very impressed with how much he's engaged, and you know, I'm real happy to see the results coming from that. Nobody deserves it even more than Dale Junior.

Q. I also wanted to ask you about Regan Smith, you worked with him at DEI; seeing him get that win, does that validate some of the things you've thought about him all year?

MARK MARTIN: You know, he's a great race car driver, and a really fine young man. I was really happy to see that happen. They have been making really serious progress with that team for over a year now. And you know, it's just a real nice success story for Regan, as well as, you know, the whole team, the whole Furniture Row team, you know, being out of Colorado and everything, that's a real success story.

Q. Pit crews have been in the spotlight quite a bit lately. Can you talk about what you've seen the progression from when you started to how athletic they have become since when you started?

MARK MARTIN: Sure, when I started, the guys, the pit crew guys that performed the pit stops were mechanics of the race team. And although they did practice a little bit, not regular practices, you know, for pit stops. So they were doing four tires in 20 seconds and gas, and you know, as the speeds got down to -- you know it, got to 13 or 14 seconds, they took the second jack away and the third air wrench away to slow it down, and that knocked it back down again.

Then now you are seeing 12-second pit stops again. So it's amazing how much athletic ability that these guys have, how much they train, physically train, and practice to do these pit stops.

It is more critical than ever, because the cars are closer to the same speed. So it's harder to pass than ever before. There's more of them on the racetrack that are the same speed. So the pit stops have become one of the more critical aspects of what we do.

Q. As mentioned, you've had a lot of success at Dover, it's amazing to me, I look back and see your first race there was in 1982. Do you remember anything about that, what it was like coming to Dover back then or the race itself?

MARK MARTIN: Well, I love it. I loved it the first time I went there, and I remember the track record being set at that first race 144 miles an hour (chuckling). I think that's 25:40 or something like that, I think it was 25:40 was the lap time. And since then, we have seen lap times down into the 21-second bracket.

Yeah, a lot of things have changed there, but one thing that's stayed the same is it's a wonderful place to race. Wonderful racetrack, one of my favorite places to go. It's the only concrete track that I really love. And I loved it even more when it was asphalt, but I still love it. It's one of my top-of-the-list favorites.

Q. Certainly has been a lot of speculation about what you're going to do and going into next season, how much have you turned your attention to 2012 at all and is there any time frame of when you're hoping to get things shored up.

MARK MARTIN: Well, lucky for me, I don't -- I don't need a job, so I don't have to worry about it. If I was 20 years younger, I would be concerned about it.

But I'm in a good position right now, you know, being able to wait it out and let things play out the way they will.

Something really, really fun and exciting is going to work out for me, something that will be very rewarding, and I'm in no hurry to force that to happen. I'll just wait until it sort of falls in my lap, just like the 5 car did. I wasn't looking for a job when the 5 thing fell into my lap.

So I'm in a good position where I don't have to -- you know, people still -- the only thing that people in the garage will talk to me about, or the only thing they want to me about, is driving the race cars. And that's okay.

You know, but sooner or later, maybe I'll get a chance to do something else in the sport, as well. I want to be a part of this sport for a long, long time, but they keep running at me about driving their stuff, so we'll just wait and see what happens.

Q. Your thoughts with Kyle Busch one behind you on the Nationwide all-time list; how special is it to be that all-time leader, and do you have any plans to run more Nationwide races? You've held him off with your one win so far this year.

MARK MARTIN: Yeah, it's an inevitable thing. It's like Jack Ingram saw it coming when I was coming along; it's inevitable.

And it's been fun. I've had a lot of great times and a lot of success in the Nationwide Series, and Kyle passing my mark up won't change any of that. He's going to pass it up and I think he's already talked to me about this weekend, this is a good weekend for that to happen. He's running Dover and Charlotte, so he stands a good chance. And he's already invited me, if he wins this weekend, he's already invited me -- he wanted me to come to victory lane.

So you know, Kyle has shown an awful lot of respect to the people who have been here in the sport and that came before him. I really admire that. He's a young man who didn't really even know who Sam Ard was, and has acknowledged Sam probably more than any of us, and helped Sam and his family out.

So I respect Kyle for the way he has shown respect for the people that were in the sport before him that were successful.

Q. Do you have any more Nationwide races scheduled this year?

MARK MARTIN: I have two on the schedule, in the dollar general Turner motorsports car, yes.

Q. Which two, can you tell us?

MARK MARTIN: Kentucky and Michigan.

Q. So you can keep fighting him off.

MARK MARTIN: Well, you know, we did manage to get a big win for those guys, first win for Turner Motorsports there in Vegas, so it was really cool, because we had done that back with Junior, and got Junior his first win there at Vegas, as well. So that's pretty cool. Those things don't happen every day, especially when you get to this point in my career.

So I've enjoyed them and we'll give them our best shot every time we climb in that thing, and you know, I don't know what the future holds. We may run some more in 2012 in the Nationwide Series, and then we may not. But either way, with the exception of making a little fun out of it, there's no holding Kyle Busch back.

Q. Dover, that's where you got your first Nationwide win, were you referring to that a few minutes ago, or the Winston Cup? Can you remember that first Nationwide win at Dover?

MARK MARTIN: Well, I do now that you bring it up. But I didn't even know that that was where I got my first Nationwide win. But I do now, because Brett Bodine and Tommy Ellis -- I was running third and Brett and Tommy tangled, two hard heads out there on the racetrack tangled and I slipped right by the two of them and got the win.

Q. Obviously your first year at Hendrick you had five wins and were second in points and then 13th in points last year, and now 14th in points so far this year. Curious if the last couple of years have impacted what you plan to do in the future. Have you gotten any more frustrated, or does it add more desire or how has that impacted your attitude, per se?

MARK MARTIN: It really has not changed things a whole lot. Of course, in 2009, the fun factor was pegged. You know, I am still the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. I appreciate the opportunity that I have to be a part of the sport that I love so much.

And, you know, in having, you know, all of the people that support me and the sponsors, the multiple sponsors that support me, the incredible fan support that I enjoy; and the team members, and the team work that goes on, I am definitely enjoying -- I have enjoyed the last five years more than, you know, all of the other years prior to that combined.

I'm at a good place in my life, and I certainly appreciate the opportunity that I have today, much more than I appreciated when I was younger and didn't have a full understanding of what was going on. I was just focused on racing and winning, and that was all I could think about.

And now, you know, I'm involved and appreciate so much more the team work that's involved, the people that I get to work with. I'm one of the most fortunate people in the whole country. I'm doing exactly what I want to do, and what I love. And not everyone can say that. So I consider myself very lucky.

And like I said a little while ago, I'd be happy to talk to, you know, anyone in motorsports about doing anything. But all they want to talk to me about is driving race cars, so now I consider myself lucky that they want to talk to me about that.

Q. You sound a lot happier than a guy who has three Top-10s in ten races this year. Do you think your team is better than that, or do you feel like you're struggling?

MARK MARTIN: I don't think that -- you know, I don't think we are struggling. We haven't had, you know, the best of luck and good fortune on the racetrack. We have had a couple of poor runs, but we have had a number of really good runs that we didn't get as good of finishes as we might have.

We certainly are working hard to try to pick that up, pick the performance up. We are not where we would like to be, but we have shown great promise in a lot of races: Really fast car at Richmond, and Darlington, and you know, a lot of places. We've had good race cars. We are working to get better, just like everyone else. There's 40 cars out there that think they can run in the Top-10 and only ten of them can, each week, anyway.

Q. With all of this talk of feuding drivers over the past week or so, it gets lost sometimes that a lot of guys in the circuit like yourself and Jimmie Johnson are always able to show tremendous self-control inside and outside of the car. And I wonder how you built that in a sport where you come up in short tracks where it's all aggression, all of you to the front; where does self-control come from and what role does it play in helping you do your job?

MARK MARTIN: Well, I think a lot of it is your personality. It's the way you're genetically inclined. It's the way you were raised. It's the way you grew up. It's the experiences you had. You know, it's all those things. It's how long you've been around.

And how many times you've done something and looked back on it and wish you would have handled it differently, and maybe learned from that. It's all those things. Everyone's different, and the way everyone reacts to any given circumstance is different.

Q. Do you have any specific episode in your background that led you to that, or is this something you've developed over time?

MARK MARTIN: You know, I think what I just said, I can say again, exactly the same thing again. I mean, you know, you're born pre-disposed to be a certain way, and then you learn as you grow, and the more things you experience, the more you earn, the more you develop.

And you know, some people are inclined to have a very short fuse, and some people are inclined to have a very long fuse. And some people never blow up and some people do blow up and there's all in between. And I think everyone's different, you know. I'm just me.

Q. You mentioned earlier that Kentucky Speedway is one of the places where you'll also be running the Nationwide car. Curious, did you do much testing at Kentucky in the past, and if so, how beneficial on top of that -- how beneficial will the time you get on the track before the Cup race be?

MARK MARTIN: I felt like I was one of the most limited-experience drivers that's going to Kentucky. I've only tested there twice and never raced a Nationwide car or truck or anything there.

So that was one of the races I wanted to target to run in the Nationwide car and try to get a feel for the tires and the trends of the racetrack and get a little extra time with the place, so I would be as ready as anybody.

Q. May obviously is a big racing month, and I'm curious if you're one of those guys that always kind of pays attention to the Indianapolis 500, and if you had kind of what you consider a classic moment or favorite memory or race from the Indy 500 as it celebrates its 100th this year.

MARK MARTIN: Oh, absolutely. I keep an eye on what goes on at Indy, for sure. I think Danny Sullivan's spin-and-win was pretty awesome. That was -- we had Miller was the sponsor on his car, and I think they were a sponsor on my asa late model at the time, as well, so we had a little kinship in that respect.

But that was pretty incredible to be able to spin like that and keep going and not hit anything and manage to come back and win the race.

Q. And you mentioned, it's kind of something you do keep an eye on, I assume; is it's hard I imagine with all of the things you have going on to watch the race, but do you try?

MARK MARTIN: Yeah, I watch part of the race. I usually don't get to see the finish because it's the driver's meeting and then a couple of activities. But I certainly get to watch the start of the race, and a lot of times the first half, usually that's the last part of it.

Q. I wanted to ask you more about that record with the Nationwide Series and Kyle creeping up on that. As you look back and remember your days in that 60 car when you were kind of reeling off wins week-in and week-out, what do you remember that might be parallel to what Kyle is experiencing right now, and what do you think is different?

MARK MARTIN: One of the things that's very similar, is when we would unload that 60 car, most everybody in the garage figured they were racing for second. I think that's how they feel like about Kyle and the 18 car.

You know, the times have changed and cars have changed. And the racing has changed somewhat, too. But the bottom line was, we had a very dominating kind of spell there in the Nationwide Series for several years there, and we only raced a limited schedule. We would run 12 or 14 races each year, where Kyle's running them all. He's reeling them off a lot quicker than they were able to, because we would only run a dozen races or so each year.

Q. Did you have a sense of almost invincibility that the race was going to be yours if everything went well for you?

MARK MARTIN: No, absolutely not. No. You know, I've been racing -- it doesn't matter what -- the fastest car does not always win these races, and you know, I've had more things go wrong, and lost a lot more races than I thought we could win than we actually won.

So we had a lot more of them actually slip away that we could close the deal on. To me, it's never -- I never expect anything but 100% effort. I don't expect results. I let the results take care of themselves. I just expect an effort from my team and myself.

Q. Do you think fans sometimes misunderstand the complexity about your on-track and off-track duties of a NASCAR star? And what is more tiring for you, your work on the track or the activities off the track?

MARK MARTIN: You know, that's different. The demands physically and mentally are different on and off the racetrack.

But equally is taxing, just in different ways. And it depends on your level of success; the more successful you are, the harder you have to go off the racetrack.

You know, so it's what we love, and it's what we want to do, and all that stuff that happens off the racetrack is very important to what happens on the racetrack and to giving you the opportunity object on that racetrack. And when you're in the middle of it and when you're in the fog, a lot of times you don't see all that and you don't appreciate the whole picture.

But when you get to a point to where you can stand back and you look at it and you realize that we are some of the luckiest people in the world being able to do what we do, and nobody gets to do exactly what they want to do every minute of the day.

So some days, you've got to do something -- as a race car driver, some days you just have to do some things that you'd rather be doing something else. You'd rather be meeting or talking with your crew or driving a race car, but you need to be doing, you know, something else that supports that whole thing. So it's definitely a full-time job.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you everyone for participating today, and Mark, thank you for your time today and best of luck this weekend at Dover.

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Showtime Southern 500
Hendrick Motorsports
May 4, 2011

RACE WINNER

Mark Martin won the 2009 Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, his second win of five that season. After starting 12th, the No. 5 team battled back from a loose lug nut during a pit stop on Lap 162 and led the final 46 laps of the prestigious race. It was his second Southern 500 victory. His first win at the historic racetrack happened on Sept. 5, 1993, when he led 178 laps.

MARTIN AT DARLINGTON

Along with his two career victories, Martin has earned 17 top-five finishes and 26 top-10s in 44 Sprint Cup starts at the short track. He has led 801 laps at Darlington and has finished all but three Cup events he’s entered there.

LOOP STATISTICS

Martin has the 10th-best average running position -13.287 - in the last six Darlington races, and he’s transferred that into a fourth-best average finish of 9.8 during that time.

POLE SITTER

Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will tie for eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. He has earned two career poles at Darlington - the first on April 2, 1989, and the latest on March 22, 1998.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

Martin and the GoDaddy.com team advanced to 13th in the Sprint Cup standings, six points behind 12th-place Juan Pablo Montoya and 19 points outside of the top 10.

CHASSIS CHOICE

Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-656 for Saturday’s race at Darlington. This is a brand new chassis that never has been raced or tested.

RUNNER-UP RECORD

Martin is tied with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for the most career runner-up Sprint Cup finishes - 59 - of any active driver. Both Martin and Gordon are tied with Cale Yarborough for the fifth-most runner-up finishes in the history of the sport.

HENDRICK AT DARLINGTON

In 48 events (146 starts) at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 13 wins, 39 top-five finishes and 63 top-10s.

APPROACHING 200

With Jimmie Johnson’s win on April 17 at Talladega, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 196 Cup victories. The organization ranks first in NASCAR’s modern era for wins and second all-time behind Petty Enterprises, which has 268 victories.

QUOTES

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE CHALLENGES OF DARLINGTON RACEWAY)

“Darlington is known as one of the tougher tracks on the circuit. All the drivers like it because it’s a track that really puts the race into the driver’s hands. It’s intense for sure. I’m a driver who likes to slide my car all around the racetrack, but that’s impossible at Darlington. If you slide at all, you’re going to end up in the wall for sure. I really have to work on my driving style for this race, and Lance (McGrew, crew chief) and the guys will really have to work on a setup that gives me the best of both worlds. It’s tough. It’s only a two-day weekend, but it’s a grueling one. It’s the kind of challenge that I look forward to.”

MARTIN (ON THE TENACITY OF THE GODADDY.COM TEAM)

“I’m telling you, when the chips are down, this team gets it done. I’m sitting on pit road during the Richmond race last week with a torn-up race car and I thought for sure we were going to go a lap down. We must have pitted seven or eight times under that caution. Those guys worked fast, but they worked right. The car was fixed so it wouldn’t affect the handling. I was amazed. Our left rear seized up in the last 15 or 20 laps but that was nothing of their doing. We fought back for a 14th-place finish, which is good for us to save what could have been a real costly points night.”

LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE CHALLENGES OF DARLINGTON RACEWAY)

“Darlington is called ‘Too Tough to Tame’ for a reason. The drivers are right on the edge out there every lap. If they get into that corner just a little bit deeper they’re going to hit the wall. It’s so difficult, when you’re out there on the track, to remember to race the racetrack and not the guy next to you. You’ll get in trouble every lap if you forget that at all.”

McGREW (ON THE KEY FACTORS OF DARLINGTON)

“Tires aren’t as big of a player as they used to be, but they are still a player. Tire management has always been important, but just as important is self-control. It’s important to keep the side of your car intact because every time you touch the wall your car gets a little bit worse than it was before. It doesn’t take too many ‘Darlington Stripes’ to take you out of contention for the win.”

Team Chevy From The Driver's Seat - Mark Martin
Showtime Southern 500
May 3, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET - 13TH IN STANDINGS

“Darlington is known as one of the tougher tracks on the circuit. All the drivers like it because it’s a track that really puts the race into the driver’s hands. It’s intense for sure. I’m a driver that likes to slide my car all around the race track, but that’s impossible at Darlington. If you slide at all, you’re going to end up in the wall for sure. I really have to work on my driving style for this race and Lance (McGrew, crew chief) and the guys will really have to work on a setup that gives me the best of both worlds. It’s tough. It’s only a two-day weekend but it’s a grueling one. It’s the kind of challenge that I look forward to.”

Team Chevy From The Driver's Seat - Mark Martin
Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400
April 26, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET - 14TH IN STANDINGS

“I love racing at Richmond. There aren’t too many drivers out there who won’t say that. It’s a great little short track. It’s small, but it has a lot of racing room out there. There’s multiple grooves, and it really lends itself to some great side-by-side racing and awesome finishes. Racing at night is always good, too. I think it throws in a little extra excitement.”

Farmers Insurance partners with Hendrick Motorsports
April 19, 2011

PROGRAM FEATURES FIVE-RACE PRIMARY SPONSORSHIP, INCLUDING SPECIAL ALL-STAR PAINT SCHEME

CONCORD, N.C. (April 19, 2011) - Farmers Insurance has joined Hendrick Motorsports as a five-race primary sponsor of the Chevrolets driven by Mark Martin in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with plans to kick off the relationship by fielding a special “throwback” paint scheme.

The agreement secures primary placement for Farmers Insurance in five events and associate-level sponsorship on Martin’s cars throughout the remainder of this season. The NASCAR team sponsorship is the first for Los Angeles-based Farmers since February 2009, when it executed a one-race program at Fontana, Calif.

“This partnership makes a lot of sense for Farmers,” said Paul Patsis, president of Enterprise Marketing for Farmers Insurance. “NASCAR fans are among the sports world’s most loyal and passionate. This is a great opportunity to show them why Farmers is an industry leader, just like Farmers customer and world-class driver Mark Martin.”

At the May 21 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Farmers Insurance will launch its program with a special No. 25 Farmers Insurance Throwback Chevrolet. The paint scheme will resemble the red No. 25 cars fielded by Hendrick Motorsports for the first time in 1986 - 25 years ago. That season, the combination of driver Tim Richmond and crew chief Harry Hyde won seven races and eight pole positions.

Returning to his customary car number, Martin also will drive the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet in four points-paying Sprint Cup Series races: June 5 at Kansas Speedway, June 12 at Pocono Raceway, June 26 at Infineon Raceway and Aug. 27 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

“We’re excited about this new partnership with Farmers and the opportunity to represent its nearly 24,000 employees and more than 50,000 agents,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s an innovative company with very strong corporate values, and I’m confident that we’ll continue to work together for a long time to come.

“When you have a partner that’s essentially new to the sport, kicking off a program with a nod to the past is a unique approach. The No. 25 was my dad’s car, and it’s always held a special place in our history. Farmers choosing this paint scheme for its first race with Mark and Hendrick Motorsports means a lot, and I think our fans will really like it.”

Martin has an impressive record at each venue on the Farmers schedule, having earned points-paying Sprint Cup victories at Charlotte (4), Bristol (2), Kansas (1) and Infineon (1). The Batesville, Ark., native is a two-time winner of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and has posted 33 top-10 finishes at Pocono, a personal best for the veteran driver at any track.

“I’m proud to be associated with Farmers Insurance,” said Martin, 52, a 40-time Sprint Cup race winner. “I’ve been a customer for more than five years - my agent is in Searcy (Ark.) - so I know it’s a terrific company that offers the highest quality products and services.

“Bringing back that No. 25 paint scheme is something cool for the fans, and it fits really well with the Farmers colors and how the company embraces its own history. I remember watching what Hendrick Motorsports accomplished in ’86, and I just hope the 25th anniversary of the 25 brings us a little magic.”

In addition to the Hendrick Motorsports relationship, the professional sports properties of Farmers Insurance include naming rights to the planned professional football stadium in Los Angeles, the PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and the ATP World Tour Farmers Classic held on the campus of UCLA.

ABOUT FARMERS INSURANCE:

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is the country’s third largest insurer of both personal lines passenger automobile and homeowners insurance, and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.

Farmers is a trade name and may refer to Farmers Group Inc. or the Farmers Exchanges, as the case may be. Farmers Group Inc., a management and holding company, along with its subsidiaries, is wholly owned by the Zurich Financial Services Group. The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders, and managed by Farmers Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information about Farmers, visit its website at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:

Since 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 196 race victories and a record 10 car owner championships in NASCAR’s premier division, the Sprint Cup Series. The organization fields four full-time Chevrolet teams on the Sprint Cup 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. For more information, please visit www.HendrickMotorsports.com, www.twitter.com/TeamHendrick and www.facebook.com/HendrickMotorsports.

Mark Martin Interview: Most People Aren't Going To Remember Me
By Jeff Gluck - Motorsports Editor
SBNation.com
April 20, 2011

Apr 20, 2011 - SB Nation's driver interview series continues this week with veteran Mark Martin of Hendrick Motorsports. Martin, perhaps the most respected driver in the garage, sat down with us at Texas.

SBN: Who is the most underrated driver in NASCAR?

MM: Oh...uh, probably (AJ) Allmendinger.

SBN: Really? Why's that?

MM: Listen - you're asking me questions that I haven't put science into. I want to answer your question, but I'm not prepared to be Mr. Analyst. I don't analyze those things. I answered your question, but I haven't looked at it so deep. That's what comes to my mind. I'm just not good at that. I don't live in that world.

SBN: I know what you mean. Somebody tried to reverse these questions on me last year, and I had trouble coming up with answers on the spot, too.

MM: Exactly. You know?

SBN: What's a race you didn't win that still bothers you?

MM: '97, I think it was, at Indy - the year Ricky Rudd won the Brickyard. We had had such poor luck with fuel mileage (early in his career). We'd run out of gas so many times. Jack (Roush) said we could make it, and the caution came out and he said "stay out."

But we decided to pit - because we were racing for points - and Ricky stayed out and won the race. If we would have had enough gas, I feel that we gave that one away.

SBN: But you'll never know.

MM: I'll never know. But all I know is I ran out of gas probably 20, 25 times in 10 years. That's all I know. I didn't have a good track record at that point (with fuel mileage).

SBN: If you could pick any three teammates aside from your current teammates, who would you pick?

MM (quietly): Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr.

SBN: You wouldn't pick any different ones?

MM: This is by far the best combination I've ever experienced.

SBN: What driver did you want to model yourself after when you were growing up?

MM: I had heroes every step of the way - from dirt tracks on up. From Wayne Brooks to Larry Phillips to Bobby Allison to Darrell Waltrip. But I didn't dream of emulating them; they were my heroes.

SBN: Can you recall a memorable post-race escape from the racetrack that you could share?

MM: I don't think so. We did have a multi-car accident leaving a test one day, going back to the hotel.

SBN: Was this a racing accident?

MM: It didn't start out that way.

SBN: Who is someone famous you'd like to meet who you haven't met yet?

MM: There's a bunch. I'd like to meet Dr. Dre. I'd like to meet John Mellencamp.

SBN: Musicians, mostly?

MM: Yeah...I think it would be fun to hang out with Steve Harvey, too. There's a couple guys who have senses of humor that would be really fun to hang with. Steve Harvey is certainly one of them.

SBN: Last year, we saw two types of seasons: Jamie McMurray won some huge races but didn't make the Chase; Jeff Gordon made the Chase but didn't win any races. If you had to pick one type of season, which would you rather have?

MM: Jamie McMurray's. I'm a little beyond really worrying about points, myself. I'm more about performance than being consistently pretty good. I points race because that's what our team and our sponsor are geared to do.

SBN: Where does your motivation to win come from? Of course you want to win, but what drives you?

MM: I would want to win for my team. I've won plenty. I don't need that to complete me. What would be overwhelming to me would be to see the excitement and enthusiasm in these guys' faces – and all of our supporters. That's what it's more about.

I thought you would have probably noticed that from the Vegas Nationwide win. It was more about (crew chief) Trent Owens and those guys than it was about me. They were so excited, you know? It wasn't my first win, so I wasn't quite as excited. It was exciting, but it wasn't quite as exciting as it was for those guys.

It was Trent's second win as a crew chief, but still...he hasn't had a pile of 'em. (Wins) are very electrifying; early on, especially.

SBN: How different is your personality from inside and outside the car?

MM: I don't know. You'd have to ask other people. I can't answer that question. But I've always said that each driver has a "driving personality." When you race with them, you come to know what to expect.

Sometimes it's a little difficult when somebody starts running good that you've never raced with before. You don't know how they're going to react to certain situations.

SBN: If you could switch places with another athlete in a different sport, who would you switch with?

MM: The thought has never crossed my mind. Never. It's never crossed my mind.

SBN: Let's say you could take a year completely away from NASCAR and then come back, knowing you had a job. Would you want to do that?

MM: I almost did that. I kind of did that for two years; I did my version of that. I certainly wouldn't want to do it now, because it's too late to be doing that. But I did it when I needed to do it. And it revitalized my passion for the sport. So it was good for me.

SBN: When you eventually hang up your driving shoes someday, what would you want your retirement story to say?

MM: Most people aren't going to remember me, you know? There will be some people that I touched their lives in a positive way and there will be only be a few of those – a small portion – who will remember that. And I think everybody will move on.

There's not any big dramatic, 'I want to be remembered like blahbity blahbity.' I mean, the guys I remember are Pearson and Yarborough. Well, there were a lot more of 'em out there (on the track) than that. And there were a lot more great ones. But for some reason, those two guys stand out in my mind. They must have touched me and influenced me and made some kind of impression in my mind that was stronger than others.

I admired them an awful lot. I also admired Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip – and many others, too. But the two I really thought were cool were those two. So that just tells you.

I think that's a little overdone, that 'How do you want to be remembered?' It's a little overdone.

SBN: If you're going to win the championship at Homestead, would you rather have it clinched before the final race begins or win it on the last turn of the last lap?

MM: I'd rather have it clinched. That'd be a lot of pressure to take it down to the last corner of the last lap. It'd be a lot of heavy weight on you.

SBN: Thanks for your time.

The interview ends, and I start to walk out of Martin's No. 5 hauler. I pause for a moment at the back of the hauler to chat with his public relations representative, and all of the sudden, Martin comes back out.

MM: I thought about your retirement story question and I have another answer for you.

SBN: OK, go for it.

MM: They will remember me the way they want to remember me; not the way I want 'em to. That's what I think. They'll remember me they want to remember me - if they do.

SBN: But my question was how do you want them to remember you?

MM: I know, but I'm not going to answer that! (laughs heartily) Get the arrogant guys to answer that one.

SBN: Well, I already try that every week.

Mark Martin Post Race Notes and Quotes - Aaron's 499
Team Chevy
April 17, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET - Finished 8th

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RACING TODAY?

"Well, it was a little bit like Daytona. It is restrictor plate racing. That’s what we got. I actually enjoyed it. He (Jeff Gordon) had a bad day; I had a pretty good day. I had a chance to win. Jeff and I were leading on the white flag lap and man, you couldn’t ask any more than that. We had a crack at it and didn’t manage to pull it off. But I had a good time today."

THIS WASN’T YOUR FAVORITE RACE TRACK, SO EXPLAIN HOW YOU HAD A GOOD TIME

‘It’s crazy man, and I was running there and I finally said, ‘Who’s leading?’ because I thought Jeff might be. I couldn’t see. The No. 99 (Carl Edwards) and somebody else were in front of him. I could never see him. I never saw him. So, I’m pushing Jeff and I’m thinking, ‘Maybe we’re leading’! That was with about five (laps) to go. So it was a great effort and I just really want to comment (crew chief) Lance McGrew and everyone on this CARQUEST Auto Parts/GoDaddy.com team."

The Monster Mile - Mark Martin to appear in Dover’s Monster Mile Club on May 15, 2011
Release date: April 14, 2011
Contact: Gary Camp
Dover Int'l Speedway PR

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will be the special guest of a hosted question-and-answer session in the Monster Mile Club at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 15, 2011.

The Monster Mile Club, an all-inclusive hospitality option including driver appearances, an opportunity to walk on the track before the race, and unlimited food with beverages, is available for $ 99 and can be added on to any Sunday race ticket.

Martin currently sits in 15th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, and has amassed 40 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during his storied career. He has four wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Monster Mile.

The Monster Mile Club opens at 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 15 with a continental breakfast. Trackside tours begin at 8:30 a.m. and the hosted question-and-answer session with Martin will follow later in the morning, at approximately 10:15 a.m. An all-you-can-eat lunch will be served at 11 a.m. prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at 1 p.m. Monster Mile Club ticket holders will also receive a souvenir gift and a race program.

Admission to the Monster Mile Club costs $ 99 and can be added to any May 15 or Oct. 2, 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race ticket by calling the Dover ticket office at 1-800-441-RACE or by clicking here. The deadline to purchase is April 29, 2011.

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Aaron's 499
Hendrick Motorsports
April 13, 2011

CARQUEST RETURNS

CARQUEST Auto Parts, a major partner on the No. 5 team since 2005, will adorn the hood of the No. 5 Chevrolet this weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The red, white and blue paint scheme will be featured in a total of eight races this season.

TALLADEGA WINNER

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 CARQUEST Auto Parts/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, is a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner at Talladega Superspeedway. In April 1995, he started third and defeated now teammate Jeff Gordon. Two years later, Martin started 18th and beat Dale Earnhardt across the line. Martin also has 11 top-five finishes and 23 top-10s at the 2.66-mile track.

MOST RECENTLY

Last October, Martin started 30th at Talladega and led two laps before finishing 11th.

SUPERSPEEDWAY HISTORY

Martin has made 98 career superspeedway starts in Sprint Cup competition at Talladega and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The veteran driver has earned a combined two wins—both at Talladega—20 top-five finishes and 41 top-10s. He has completed 15,751 laps between the two tracks and has led 581 of those.

TALLADEGA VS. DAYTONA

Between NASCAR’s two restrictor-plate tracks, Martin is more successful at Talladega. Both of his superspeedway wins have occurred at the Alabama racetrack. He has 11 top-five finishes at Talladega, two more than at Daytona, and five more top 10s with 23. He’s led 69 more laps at Talladega, even though he has six fewer starts there than at Daytona.

POLE SITTER

Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will tie him for eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin has started from the top spot twice at Talladega, both times in 1989.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

Martin and the No. 5 team are currently 15th in the Sprint Cup Series standings, 67 points behind leader Carl Edwards and 24 points outside the top 10.

CHASSIS CHOICE

Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-632 for Sunday’s race at Talladega. This is the same chassis that Martin drove from a three-lap deficit to a 10th-place finish in this year’s Daytona 500.

RUNNER-UP RECORD

Martin is tied with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for the most career runner-up Sprint Cup finishes - 59 - of any active driver. Both Martin and Gordon are tied with Cale Yarborough for the fifth-most runner-up finishes in the history of the sport.

HENDRICK AT TALLADEGA

In 54 Cup events (170 starts) at Talladega Superspeedway, Hendrick Motorsports has 10 wins, 42 top-five finishes, 63 top-10s and has led 1,970 laps.

BOWTIE BONANZA

Chevrolet has won 34 of the last 54 Cup events held at Talladega, and Hendrick Motorsports has accounted for 10 of those victories. Gordon most recently went to Victory Lane there, sweeping the 2007 events in April and October.

APPROACHING 200

With Gordon’s win in February at Phoenix International Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 195 Cup victories. The organization ranks first in NASCAR’s modern era for wins and second all-time behind Petty Enterprises, which has 268 victories.

TOP 10 AGAIN

Hendrick Motorsports has had at least one driver finish in the top 10 during the last 19 Sprint Cup races. The last event when a Hendrick Motorsports driver did not finish in the top-10 was at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 21, 2010. Gordon was the highest finisher with an 11th-place result.

QUOTES

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST AUTO PARTS/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON RESTRICTOR-PLATE RACING)

“Everyone knows I’m not a huge fan of this type of racing. But, I will say, that I actually enjoyed it a lot more at Daytona this year than I have in a long time. I’d rather do those two-car tandems all day than run in one big 35-car pack like we used to. There’s a lot that goes into this now. There’s a lot of trust that factors in with your partner. A lot of strategy on who to work with. Then you have your spotters working together because one of them will spot for both cars. And you have that team on your team’s radio. It’s a whole new deal out there that everyone is still sorting out and getting used to. It’s interesting for sure. I loved it.”

MARTIN (ON PICKING DRAFTING PARTNERS)

“Well you’re always going to work with your teammates, of course. Then you just find the guys that you work well with in practice. Whether you love each other or hate each other, you’ve got to completely work together in that moment that you’re pushing and leading each other out there on the track. All of that other stuff is forgotten in that moment, all you’re thinking about is getting to the front.”

MARTIN (ON DOING “THE SWITCH” WITH HIS DRAFTING PARTNER)

“Like anything else, you get better as you do it. In Daytona it was just finding the right place on the track and the right timing so as not to get in the way of others. The key to it, really, is just doing the switch faster than everyone else does theirs. The less time you spend switching, the faster you’re catching back up. A little bit of it is luck, of course, and in a restrictor plate race I’d always rather be lucky than good.”

Team Chevy From The Driver's Seat - Mark Martin - Aaron's 499
Team Chevy
April 13, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 CARQUEST/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET - 15TH IN STANDINGS - HAS TWO (2) WINS AT TSS (’95,’97)

“Everybody’s got horsepower. I want some luck (at Talladega). You can’t see where you’re going if you’re the pusher (in the two-car draft). If you’re in front, sometimes you wish you couldn’t see where you were going. Sometimes you run up on stuff—it’s pretty tough on you sometimes when you’re running up traffic and you have a guy pushing you that doesn’t really see that. It’s something else. It’s about equal either way. We have to trust each other—we have to. Like them or not, you have to. Everyone knows I’m not a huge fan of this type of racing. But, I will say, that I actually enjoyed it a lot more at Daytona this year than I have in a long time. I’d rather do those two-car tandems all day than run in one big 35-car pack like we used to. There’s a lot that goes into this now. There’s a lot of trust that factors in with your partner. A lot of strategy on who to work with. Then you have your spotters working together because one of them will spot for both cars. And you have that team on your team’s radio. It’s a whole new deal out there that everyone is still sorting out and getting used to. It’s interesting for sure. I loved it.”

Mark Martin Post Races Notes and Quotes - Samsung Mobile 500
Team Chevy
April 9, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET - Sidelined in a multi-car accident on lap 215

"There was just a big pile-up in front of us. I think Martin (Truex Jr.) got put in the wall and a couple of others. It’s just racing."

WHAT HAPPENED?

"I don't know. I didn't see. They just started wrecking in front of me and I piled in it. Couldn't stop."

IT LOOKED LIKE A HARD HIT, WAS IT?

"Yes, it was real hard. But, I'm fine, everything is good. We were kind of having a tough night there and it ended up short."

YOU SAID EARLIER THIS WEEK IT’S NOT THE SPEED THAT’S INVOLVED IN THESE CRASHES, BUT YOU’RE FEELING A LOSS OF CONTROL. WAS THAT THE CASE TONIGHT?

"Yeah, I didn’t have any steering after the first hit, so I hit the outside and hit the inside twice. That’s what you have sometimes when you race, you know? But we were having a tough night and then it ended up short for us."

Mark Martin Press Conference - Samsung Mobile 500
April 7, 2011

DOES YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BUILDING RACE CARS HELP YOU WITH TODAY’S NEW TECHNOLOGY IN THE RACE CARS?

“It matters a whole lot less now.”

IS IT MORE FEEL TO THE RACE CAR?

“There’s so many layers of information and technology and people that work specifically on areas instead of one guy that works it all from the aero to the shock to the setup to the spring and the whole thing. You have all that stuff and all the simulation and everything and it is critical that you give good feedback about what you feel in the race car and what you need to help you go better. That’s what’s critical. Before, years ago, you told them specifically - raise the panhard bar, put a rubber in the right rear, stop in the right front, needs a smaller bar. You don’t do that anymore and you can’t do that anymore. Crew chiefs can’t do that anymore without the boxes and the engineer - there’s a lot of layers to it.”

HOW CHALLENGING WILL IT BE TO ADJUST FOR THIS NIGHT RACE WITH DAY PRACTICES?

“It’s been dark before when we’ve finished this race - multiple time and really dark before. It is what it is - the same for all of us. I’m glad we’re racing on Saturday night myself. We will have Sunday off and that will be great.

WHO IS THE BEST CLOSER IN THE CUP SERIES RIGHT NOW?

“Hard to go against Jimmie (Johnson) and Chad (Knaus, Johnson crew chief).”

WHY THEM?

“Results. They’re past results. It would be hard to go against those guys.”

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE LUCK OR HORSEPOWER AT TALLADEGA?

“Everybody’s got horsepower. I want some luck.”

IN A SHORT PHRASE, DESCRIBE TALLADEGA

“Big.”

WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE TO RACING AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?

“I think of this place as Texas - it has its own personality. It is fast and it’s flat for as fast as it is. It doesn’t have a lot of banking in relation to the speed that you’re able to make around it. It’s amazing. It’s a great place to race. The location as well as the facility. They put a lot of money into this place and I think it represents our sport well.”

CAN YOU FEEL THE SPEED AT TEXAS?

“It’s the same as Martinsville. You’re almost a wreck at Martinsville and you’re almost a wreck here. If you’re not almost a wreck then you’re not driving fast enough. The miles an hour isn’t what scares you, it’s the loss of control.”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNING AND RUNNING 20TH WITH THE CURRENT COMPETITION?

“Very little really. There’s a little bit in speed and a little bit in track position, but the cars are relatively close nowadays. You squeeze every ounce of time out of every single component in the whole sport. You can’t leave anything alone. You’ve got to squeeze every bit of it from pit road speed to pit stops to restarts to handling and everything.”

HOW WOULD YOU RATE WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE SEASON?

“I think that our race team is really strong. I feel like we’re doing some really great work in the garage sorting through our race cars and getting the race cars fast. We’ve been pretty darn fast the last three races. Where we are right now, we still have a little bit of room to improve on speed, but the communication is outstanding. I really think that it wouldn’t take hardly anything for us - we haven’t had a better finish than we ran in these last three races. We’ve had a worse finish than we ran, but not a better. If we hit a spell where we get some better finishes than we run and we run as good as we’re running right now - we’re a top-five in that category. Hopefully, we can continue to build strength to where we can run there and not have to have a good day to get that.”

IS THERE A TIME OF YEAR WHERE YOU FEEL YOU HAVE WHAT YOU’VE GOT?

“I feel like I know what we’ve got, which is a pretty doggone solid speed race car. Terrific communication and lots of opportunity - we just have to hit on something that I really, really like in the race car and if we do that, where we are right now if we do that - we’ll be strong, really strong.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE IN QUALIFYING AT TEXAS?

“I have no idea - hadn’t even thought about qualifying. We have a bunch of practice and race setup stuff to do. Qualifying hasn’t really made an impression on my mind. It is what it is - we’ll get ready to do it when the time comes. Not time to be contemplating that right now. We’re really contemplating race setup.”

HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE PRACTICES AT TEXAS?

“It’s a tough schedule to be honest with you. I don’t know why we’re even practicing today. We should do the whole thing tomorrow. We’re doing the best that we can to try to maximize the practices and the short set of tires - I don’t really like the one less set of tires to get ready to race on. It doesn’t give us enough and for all that we spend - one set of tires per race is not very much. It would make it a lot less difficult on the teams and a lot less guesswork. We’ll try to maximize the practice and the sets of tires that we have for the whole thing.”

DO YOU PREFER DAYTONA OR TALLADEGA AND WHY?

“No.”

IN THE TWO-CAR DRAFT, WOULD YOU RATHER BE THE PUSHER OR THE LEAD CAR?

“Well, I don’t care. As long as we’re going fast.”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING THE PUSHER AND BEING THE LEAD CAR?

“You can’t see where you’re going if you’re the pusher. If you’re in front, sometimes you wish you couldn’t see where you were going.

“Sometimes you run up on stuff - it’s pretty tough on you sometimes when you’re running up traffic and you have a guy pushing you that doesn’t really see that. It’s something else. It’s about equal either way.”

DO YOU HAVE TO REALLY TRUST YOUR DRAFTING PARTNER?

“We have to trust each other - we have to. Like them or not, you have to.”

IS THERE A TRACK YOU HATE GOING TO?

“I can’t answer that one for you.”

HAVE YOU HAD A BETTER CAR THAN WHERE YOU’VE FINISHED?

“I didn’t really say that. I just said that we haven’t finished better than we ran yet. Which you knew and some days you finish worse than you run. We finished worse than we ran in California. Certainly at Bristol and Martinsville we didn’t finish better than we ran. I’m not complaining about our finishes. I’m just saying that we’ve had a pretty fast car the last three races is what I was saying. My point being that and the difference between finishing 10th at Martinsville and fifth is nearly nothing. That’s all I was saying. I don’t know what you were getting at - that’s all I was saying.”

DO YOU LIKE THE ATTITUDE OF YOUR TEAM?

“We’re good. We finished poor in California because of the speed and we lost three spots at the end of Martinsville because of me - not because of them or not because of the car. I would say that I didn’t get on it just right in either of those occasions and we had fast race cars and I think we’ve had good, strong finishes this year. We finished well wrecked three times this year. Took wrecked race cars and finished well. I think this race team is strong and solid. They definitely have thick skin. They went through what they went through the last couple years and they’ve got thick skin. Certainly, I am their cheerleader, but it’s not really necessary. They don’t need that specifically. What we need is to have a day where when I go this way, it turns out to be the right way. When I go this way, it turns out to not be the right way. That’s what I was saying, that’s what I meant about those finishes. It’s more like on the last shuffle, if everything went right then it could look different with the kind of speed that we’ve had in our race car, which has got to get better yet, but it really coming. The last three races, I’ve been really pleased with. I think we’ll continue to get better, stronger as we learn what really is working for me with this tire and this nose and everything always changing. I’m still looking for that thing that sets me on fire that I really like. Once we get onto that then we’ll be stronger every week.”

IS THAT SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR ALL YOUR TEAMMATES?

“It’s a little different. It’s a little different.”

HOW DOES BEING CALMER HELP YOU TO GET BETTER RESULTS?

“You must see more of that then I do - I don’t see much of that which you just described as far as people messing up the closing deals. When you have a restart at the end of the race, for example, and you choose to do something, what everybody else does determines if that was the right thing or the wrong thing. Not what you chose to do—what they chose to do made it right or wrong. I see racing happening where things turn out to work good and things turn out to not work in their favor - whoever it is.”

HOW MUCH DOES YOUR MIND WORK ON YOU IF YOU ARE UPSET IN THE RACE CAR?

“You can hinder yourself and your team if you get too frustrated. That’s obvious. Most of the time most of the guys get composed fairly quickly. Some of the time it takes longer. It takes longer, it’s harder to recover in that race run.”

DOES AGE AND MATURITY MAKE THE RECOVERY ANY QUICKER?

“It can in general, but not in every situation. It can in general. You can take an old guy and put him in a situation and have him go bad and it be as frustrating as a young guy who was in a situation who has never experienced a win and had it go bad. In general, maturity helps you with all those kind of things. There can still be exceptions to the rule. In general maturity helps, time helps.”

HAVE YOU GOTTEN MAD LATELY?

“I haven’t gotten mad enough to throw everything away.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE GUYS THAT HAVE TO VENT ON THE RADIO?

“Most of the guys recover from that fairly quickly. I have been one. I’ve done the same thing. Less now than when I was younger, but it still happens. Most of the time the recovery is within a short—these races are long. There’s enough time to get over it and get back to business.”

Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview - Samsung Mobile 500
Hendrick Motorsports
April 6, 2011

ONCE A COWBOY

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, wore the famed cowboy hat in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway on April 5, 1998. Martin started seventh and led just 37 laps, earning his second of seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins that season.

MARTIN AT TEXAS

Along with his 1998 victory at Texas, Martin has earned seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 20 career starts. He’s led a total of 208 laps at the Lone Star track and has a 12.4 average finish.

POLE SITTER

Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will tie him for eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Texas Motor Speedway is one of only six active tracks where Martin has not yet started from the top starting spot.

MOST RECENTLY

Last time at Texas Motor Speedway, Martin started ninth and led 36 laps en route to a third-place finish.

LOOP STATS

According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Martin has the sixth-best average running position - 13.640 - in the last 12 races at the 1.5-mile racetrack.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

Martin is currently 10th in the Sprint Cup standings, 38 points behind the leader Kyle Busch and 23 points outside the top five.

CHASSIS CHOICE

Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-647 for Saturday’s race in Fort Worth. This is the same chassis that the team finished 20th with at Auto Club Speedway last month.

RUNNER-UP RECORD

Martin is tied with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for the most career runner-up Sprint Cup finishes - 59 - of any active driver. Both Martin and Gordon are tied with Cale Yarborough for the fifth-most runner-up finishes in the history of the sport.

HENDRICK IN 2011

All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are ranked in the top 12 in the championship standings going into Saturday’s event at Texas. Jimmie Johnson ranks third, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is eighth, Mark Martin is 10th and Gordon is 12th.

HENDRICK AT TEXAS

Hendrick Motorsports has recorded at least one top-10 finish in all but one of the 20 Cup events run at Texas Motor Speedway. During that stretch of 81 starts, Hendrick has earned three wins, 20 top-five finishes and 32 top-10s. Gordon most recently went to Victory Lane there in April 2009.

APPROACHING 200

With Gordon’s win in February at Phoenix International Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 195 Cup victories. The organization ranks first in NASCAR’s modern era for wins and second all-time behind Petty Enterprises, which has 268 victories.

TOP 10 AGAIN

Hendrick Motorsports has had at least one driver finish in the top 10 during the last 18 Sprint Cup races. The last event when a Hendrick Motorsports driver did not finish in the top-10 was at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 21, 2010. Gordon was the highest finisher with an 11th-place result.

QUOTES

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON MOVING THE RACE TO SATURDAY NIGHT)

“Who doesn’t like a good night race? I’m excited about it. It’s our first one of the season, and I think that everyone, the drivers, the fans, the sponsors, gets pumped up for night races. I think it’s a good call by the track and am looking forward to it.”

LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON RACING AT NIGHT IN TEXAS COMPARED TO A TYPICAL DAY RACE)

“The biggest difference between Saturday night’s race and the ones we typically run on Sunday afternoon at Texas, will be the track temperature. At night, when the track surface cools off, all the cars will have a lot more grip. More grip means faster lap times. So you’ll see a much faster race than what we typically have there.”

McGREW (ON ADJUSTING FROM DAY TO NIGHT CONDITIONS DURING A RACE)

“It’s definitely a challenge to continue adjusting your car to the changing conditions; every team faces that in races like these. The race starts at 6:30 p.m. (local time), so we’ll be chasing the track as it continues to get cooler all night. This means that we’re going to have to make adjustments on every stop, no matter how good the car feels to Mark at that very moment. If the track temperature is changing, then the car’s handling is changing, too.”

Team Chevy From The Driver's Seat - Mark Martin - Samsung Mobile 500
Team Chevy
April 6, 2011

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET - 10TH IN STANDINGS - HAS WON ONCE (1) AT TMS (’98)

“Who doesn’t like a good night race? I’m excited about it. It’s our first one of the season, and I think that everyone, the drivers, the fans, the sponsors, gets pumped up for night races. I think it’s a good call by the Texas track and I am looking forward to it.”