NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Martin To Drive For MWR In 2012
Mark Martin will replace David Reutimann at Michael Waltrip Racing next year...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted November 01, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Mark Martin is leaving Hendrick Motorsports at season's end. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Multiple sources have confirmed to SPEED.com that Mark Martin will drive a partial schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing next year, replacing David Reutimann in the team’s No. 00 Toyota.

SPEED will have more on this story at 6 p.m. on NASCAR Race Hub.

A MWR team spokesman declined comment, but Martin will join the team next year after three seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, including a 2009 campaign when he finished second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship standings to teammate Jimmie Johnson.

MWR will announce Martin as the new team member during a press conference Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Martin had been adamant about running only a part-time schedule next year and it appears that MWR will run less than a full campaign with the No. 00. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip likely will race the No. 00 at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

The 52-year-old Martin, the oldest full-time driver on the Sprint Cup circuit, made his first start more than 30 years ago at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina.

In 827 career Cup starts, he has 51 poles, 40 victories, 266 top-five and 438 top-10 finishes. He has finished second in the points standings five times. Although he nearly won the championship in 2009, Martin has failed to make the Chase in the last two seasons. He is 20th in points right now after finishing 13th in 2010.

Martin has driven for 12 different owners in the Cup series, with his longest tenure being with what is now known as Roush Fenway Racing, where he drove from 1988-2006. He was expected to retire after 2005, but Jack Roush talked him into staying an extra year to replace Kurt Busch. Martin then spent two seasons driving part-time for Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. before joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2009.

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.
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