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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Martin, Johnson Have A Date With History
One way or another, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin will make history at Homestead-Miami Speedway...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted November 22, 2009   Homestead, FL
Mark Martin (left) and Jimmie Johnson (Right) are the only drivers that have a chance to win the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

They are as different as different can be, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin.

Johnson is the slick, seemingly emotionless superstar who grew up racing dirt bikes in Southern California, and Martin, the impossibly humble senior citizen of NASCAR who cut his teeth on the hardscrabble dirt tracks of Arkansas when he was barely big enough to see over the wheel.

In terms of their public images, Johnson comes across as slick, sophisticated and emotionally reserved, Martin as aw-shucks country, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, his face betraying his emotions even when he keeps his mouth shut.

Johnson loves Metallica and has plenty of quirky superstitions, like setting his alarm clock to 48 minutes on the hour. Martin is a devotee of gangster rapper Gucci Mane and flying his own airplane.

And yet these two men, different as they each are, stand to make history today at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Johnson, the Teflon autopilot, can break what was thought to be one of NASCAR’s most unassailable records by becoming the first driver in the 61-year history of the Sprint Cup Series to win four consecutive championships. That feat alone would vault him into the conversation about where he belongs among the all-time greats of the sport.

Martin, on the other hand, could end years of frustration by claiming his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship after finishing second to Dale Earnhardt in 1990 and ’94, second to Jeff Gordon in ’98 and second to
Tony Stewartt in 2002. If Martin ends today in second again, he will have finished behind four drivers who collectively have a staggering 17 championships.

You all know the numbers by now — Johnson leads Martin by 108 points and will win the title if he finishes 25th or better, or 27th and leads at least one lap. And given that he’ll start from the pole, Johnson has a great chance of leading a lap early.


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