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Sprint Cup
CUP: Mark Of Stamina
Mark Martin had his best finish of the season at Martinsville...
Mark Martin finished 2nd in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Score one for NASCAR’s senior division.
Mark Martin, who has struggled through a hugely disappointing second season with Hendrick Motorsports, made an amazing run at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday to finish second behind Denny Hamlin in the Tums Fast Relief 500.
It was the best finish of the season for Martin, who last year won five races and ended the campaign second to Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
The finish was anything but easy.
Martin and AJ Allmendinger made contact at exit of Turn 4 on Lap 226, with Martin’s Hendrick Chevrolet going into the frontstretch wall and suffering substantial damage. But Martin used the Lucky Dog free pass to great advantage as he charged through the field.
In the closing laps at Martinsville, Martin made a ferocious charge, passing teammate Jimmie Johnson to take fifth on Lap 476 and then getting by Kyle Busch for fourth on Lap 481.
On Lap 487, Martin took third from Jeff Burton, who faded in the closing laps and finally, with five laps to go, Martin wrested second-place from Kevin Harvick, and that’s where he finished, despite a beat-up car that looked like a New York City taxicab after the race.
“When the car was working like mine was working today, that was really fun,” said Martin, who picked up one spot in points and is now 14th. “We had a spectacular race car at the end. Seemed to get better throughout the race. We had to run it harder. We weren't running it real hard before we got wrecked and tore up, lost the laps we lost. We had a flat tire under the green and lost two laps, too. But we had time to get them back.”
One of the keys to Martin’s success is that the final caution flag period ended on Lap 402. The long green-flag run at the end helped him greatly.
“That last 50 laps was unbelievable,” said Martin. “Man, that was fun. I love long, green-flag racing. I don't like these 10-lap sprints, all that crazy junk. I love long runs. When I don't have a good car and we get a long run, we suffer miserably. When we have a great race car like California or here, that's to me what racing is all about and always has been.”
Add it all up, and it was a big day for Martin, who needed one badly.
“You know, it's not a gimme,” said Martin. “You don't get this stuff. You're not owed it. You're lucky if it happens. That's the way I look at it. I feel darn lucky to have been in that seat today. ... Great success for us.”
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.
Mark Martin, who has struggled through a hugely disappointing second season with Hendrick Motorsports, made an amazing run at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday to finish second behind Denny Hamlin in the Tums Fast Relief 500.
It was the best finish of the season for Martin, who last year won five races and ended the campaign second to Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
The finish was anything but easy.
Martin and AJ Allmendinger made contact at exit of Turn 4 on Lap 226, with Martin’s Hendrick Chevrolet going into the frontstretch wall and suffering substantial damage. But Martin used the Lucky Dog free pass to great advantage as he charged through the field.
In the closing laps at Martinsville, Martin made a ferocious charge, passing teammate Jimmie Johnson to take fifth on Lap 476 and then getting by Kyle Busch for fourth on Lap 481.
On Lap 487, Martin took third from Jeff Burton, who faded in the closing laps and finally, with five laps to go, Martin wrested second-place from Kevin Harvick, and that’s where he finished, despite a beat-up car that looked like a New York City taxicab after the race.
“When the car was working like mine was working today, that was really fun,” said Martin, who picked up one spot in points and is now 14th. “We had a spectacular race car at the end. Seemed to get better throughout the race. We had to run it harder. We weren't running it real hard before we got wrecked and tore up, lost the laps we lost. We had a flat tire under the green and lost two laps, too. But we had time to get them back.”
One of the keys to Martin’s success is that the final caution flag period ended on Lap 402. The long green-flag run at the end helped him greatly.
“That last 50 laps was unbelievable,” said Martin. “Man, that was fun. I love long, green-flag racing. I don't like these 10-lap sprints, all that crazy junk. I love long runs. When I don't have a good car and we get a long run, we suffer miserably. When we have a great race car like California or here, that's to me what racing is all about and always has been.”
Add it all up, and it was a big day for Martin, who needed one badly.
“You know, it's not a gimme,” said Martin. “You don't get this stuff. You're not owed it. You're lucky if it happens. That's the way I look at it. I feel darn lucky to have been in that seat today. ... Great success for us.”
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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