CUP: Martin – Another Year, Another Car

Sprint Cup

CUP: Martin – Another Year, Another Car

Mark Martin says his goal is to help MWR get stronger…

Mike Hembree | Posted January 29, 2013 Charlotte, NC

Mark Martin is a veteran of Sprint Cup garages. (Photo: Getty Images)

This season will be the 31st in which Mark Martin has flipped a switch to fire the engine in a Sprint Cup race car.

And, in typical Mark Martin fashion, he already is analyzing the new Gen-Six race car (after being one of a handful of drivers who has raced three other “generation” cars).

“The appearance of the car is the biggest change, and it’s a huge improvement – manufacturer identity, but the basic mechanical stuff of the car is relatively close,” Martin said. “They did some things to take some skew – to keep the cars from running as crooked – and they gave us something else to compensate for that, so, at the end of the day it was not going to be dramatically different.

“It’s not reinventing the wheel. It’s not like going from the ’79 big cars down to the notchback cars. That was dramatic. And going from the car to the COT. That was a dramatic change. This was a subtle improvement in everything except the aesthetics.”

Martin, 54, will run a part-time schedule again this year for Michael Waltrip Racing. He played a key role with the team last season as MWR put its other two drivers (Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer) in the Chase and its third car in the top 15 in owner points.

Having arrived near the top, the MWR goal is to stay there.

“This year will judge whether you really get your position up there with the very top teams in the sport – owners and teams,” Martin said. “If we’re able to come back and do what we were able to do last year or more, then I think we’ll be seriously considered like the Roushes and the Hendricks, the very top teams.”

Will it work for another year?

“I think it’s possible,” Martin said. “I mean, I think that we didn’t luck into what we did last year. I think that Scott Miller (executive vice president of competition) and I both – we’re like, ‘Is this really happening?’ We know. We’ve been part of tremendous organizations – he with RCR (Richard Childress Racing), for example, and me with Roush (Fenway Racing).

“When we went through years that we didn’t perform on that level and we had everything that it takes to do it, but it’s just really, really hard. There’s so much competition and so many smart people out there, but, yeah, certainly we can do it. The thing is that there’s just not a lot of turnover. There hasn’t been hardly any turnover in the organization from last year, and I know people like working there and maybe the other organizations haven’t tried as hard as they may in the future to raid the camp. That’s always a problem – was always a problem when I was at Roush. You’d have a good year, and you’d lose those people to other top teams because they would just work so hard at recruiting them. That hasn’t happened so far. I think a good, great working atmosphere is a big part of that. Everybody loves what they’re doing.”

For a driver – and almost-certain first-ballot Hall of Famer – who’s been making laps for so long, Martin always faces the question of when he’ll make the last run. He said he doesn’t expect to be back in the MWR No. 55 next season.

“That’s not my goal,” he said. “My goal is to see Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and the 55 car race for a championship driver-wise, as well as owner. This year, we’ll do everything that we can to try to win races and perform, but I want to help Rodney achieve his ultimate goal, which is to be a champion crew chief.

“I’ve really felt comfortable at MWR – very, very comfortable. It’s such a great working atmosphere, so I might – I’ll still be around. I just don’t know. No need in worrying about what’s next. What’s next is my 25 races that we’ve got on board this year and having fun and being a part of the organization and hopefully continue to get stronger and build a stronger organization.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 31 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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