Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Martin Highlights Team’s Togetherness
Mark Martin credits his team and its ability to work through setbacks together with his runnerup finish in 2009...
SceneDaily.com  |  Posted December 06, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Mark Martin at the podium during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions week in Las Vegas. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin never has been the kind of guy trying to grab credit for accomplishments. So it's really no surprise that he involves his entire team when talking about his NASCAR Sprint Cup success this season.

While Martin's year ended on a high note, it didn't start out that way.

Martin and his team had a top finish of 16th in the opening trio of races, a stretch marked by three finishes of 31st or worse. After that, though, Martin and his team rallied with four consecutive top-10 finishes that culminated in the win at Phoenix.

Things remained a bit inconsistent through the next stretch, but by August the group had become a weekly contender for wins and top-five finishes. Martin didn't lock up his berth in the Chase For The Sprint Cup until the 26th race at Richmond, but he and his Alan Gustafson-led team hit their stride from that point on. Despite flipping late at Talladega Superspeedway, Martin led the standings for four weeks and was never worse than second in the standings in the Chase.

He finished the year second in points with five victories, his first multiwin season since 1999 with what is now Roush Fenway Racing.

Not bad for a first-year partnership of driver and crew.

The veteran experience of Martin, 50, and the respect his team held for him helped them through that initial stage of the season.

So too, says Martin, did the fact that they never cast blame on one another. Instead, they took their setbacks and their successes with equal grace and shared responsibility.

"We support each other 100 percent,” he says of his team. “That's a mature team, and I, through all the years, have some maturity as a driver, and whenever things turn bad for either one of us we're there for each other. Never a group that would point fingers at one another. We're all in it together."

And that helped the team both survive and rally from that opening stretch.

Martin, a 20-plus year veteran of Cup racing, has certainly seen the ups and downs the sport can offer. After two seasons of racing on a part-time basis, he returned to full-time competition with one of the most powerful organizations in sports.


Page 1 of 2
Prev
12
Next
scenedaily_com's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SceneDaily.com

SceneDaily.com

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.