For someone who won’t cop to running for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, Mark Martin sure has the look and makings of a champion.
Not only is he at the top of his game in his first full season back in the Cup Series, Mark exudes a newfound energy and lightheartedness he didn’t possess before his two-year respite from a full schedule, a characteristic that could go a long way toward securing his place in the NASCAR history books.
I have always viewed Mark as incredibly energetic but since he returned from a partial schedule, it seems the energy level has amp’d up and the pressure totally dissipated. All previous expectations he may have imposed upon himself are gone and he is driving for the sheer love of the sport and nothing else.
However, this shift in attitude didn’t stop the rest of us from forcing our own set of expectations on Mark when his fulltime run for Hendrick Motorsports was announced last year. The entire NASCAR world declared this to be the driver’s best shot at a Cup championship and while I don’t know whether he senses that pressure, he certainly doesn’t act like a guy carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Mark reminds me of those gentlemen who quickly emerge from retirement to bag groceries or work at the local hardware store because they love people and weren’t yet truly ready for retirement. He appears so energized just to be a part of the sport and that boisterous enthusiasm has carried over to his team. You couldn’t wipe the smile off Mark’s face in Victory Lane at Darlington, a far cry from the Mark Martin of years past who didn’t smile often and constantly belittled himself and his performances. He went on and on Saturday night about what a great time he’s having, and that appreciation and happiness were evident – very similar to that of giddy Joey Logano who had just led his first laps at historic Darlington as an 18-year-old. Sure, the 50-year-old is having an incredible year, but the clearest proof of his unbridled affinity for racing is the fact he already announced he’s returning fulltime in 2010.
