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Sprint Cup
CUP: Hendrick Still Sees Fire In Martin’s Eyes
Hendrick Looks To Get Martin Back On Track...
Mark Martin,(Left) driver of the #5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, stands by his car on the grid as he talks with team owner Rick Hendrick. (Right)
Mark Martin might be a lame duck, but his boss figures he’s still got at least one more good year left in him, if he can get the right equipment under him.
Martin, the 51-year-old Batesville, Ark., native, stunned the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage last year with a stirring charge to a second-place points finish behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
This year, though, has been a struggle. Early on, Martin started strong, with top-five finishes in two of the first three races, but as the year went on, his performance declined noticeably.
In a 16-race stretch that extended from the first Pocono race in June until Kansas three weeks ago, Martin earned just one top-10 finish, a seventh at the second Pocono race.
And while the results have frustrated Martin, crew chief Alan Gustafson and the rest of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports squad, the team seems headed in the right direction again thanks to some new and improved cars.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said he thinks Martin will have another big season next year, his last with the Hendrick organization.
“With Mark Martin, you know that when he straps in that race car, you’re going to get all he’s got,” said Hendrick. “And you know what he’s got is as good as there is out there. He’s a phenomenal driver, and he’s even more phenomenal in his conditioning. I really think he’s 35 years old. I think he fakes being 50 whatever.”
Martin had a big run at Auto Club Speedway two weeks ago, when he led 41 laps and finished sixth, his best result since coming home fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
“I cannot begin to tell you how good Sunday felt out in California,” Martin said after the ACS race. “To lead that many laps; to know that we had a winning race car — that's what we've been fighting for. You know we have tried so many things and really went through a rough time. The past three weeks have proven to us that this hard work is going to pay off. We're building new cars and getting better every week. Sunday was exactly what we needed to prove that we are going in the right direction. This is a winning race team and we're going to be winning again soon.”
Hendrick is counting on that.
“We got off-track this year and we’re getting it back,” Hendrick said of Martin. “Now let’s go win races. How cool would it be for him to win a championship in his last year? Most of the time when you lose a driver, it’s not a championship-type situation. In this case it is.”
And Hendrick said the last thing he’s concerned about is a letdown from either his driver or crew next year.
“He’s such a professional, that doesn’t enter your mind,” said Hendrick. “What you do is you take one year at a time. You say, ‘Hey, we can win a championship with Mark Martin next year.’”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
Martin, the 51-year-old Batesville, Ark., native, stunned the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage last year with a stirring charge to a second-place points finish behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
This year, though, has been a struggle. Early on, Martin started strong, with top-five finishes in two of the first three races, but as the year went on, his performance declined noticeably.
In a 16-race stretch that extended from the first Pocono race in June until Kansas three weeks ago, Martin earned just one top-10 finish, a seventh at the second Pocono race.
And while the results have frustrated Martin, crew chief Alan Gustafson and the rest of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports squad, the team seems headed in the right direction again thanks to some new and improved cars.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said he thinks Martin will have another big season next year, his last with the Hendrick organization.
“With Mark Martin, you know that when he straps in that race car, you’re going to get all he’s got,” said Hendrick. “And you know what he’s got is as good as there is out there. He’s a phenomenal driver, and he’s even more phenomenal in his conditioning. I really think he’s 35 years old. I think he fakes being 50 whatever.”
Martin had a big run at Auto Club Speedway two weeks ago, when he led 41 laps and finished sixth, his best result since coming home fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
“I cannot begin to tell you how good Sunday felt out in California,” Martin said after the ACS race. “To lead that many laps; to know that we had a winning race car — that's what we've been fighting for. You know we have tried so many things and really went through a rough time. The past three weeks have proven to us that this hard work is going to pay off. We're building new cars and getting better every week. Sunday was exactly what we needed to prove that we are going in the right direction. This is a winning race team and we're going to be winning again soon.”
Hendrick is counting on that.
“We got off-track this year and we’re getting it back,” Hendrick said of Martin. “Now let’s go win races. How cool would it be for him to win a championship in his last year? Most of the time when you lose a driver, it’s not a championship-type situation. In this case it is.”
And Hendrick said the last thing he’s concerned about is a letdown from either his driver or crew next year.
“He’s such a professional, that doesn’t enter your mind,” said Hendrick. “What you do is you take one year at a time. You say, ‘Hey, we can win a championship with Mark Martin next year.’”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
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