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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Martin Solid Again In So. Calif.
Mark Martin finished fourth at Auto Club Speedway...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted February 21, 2010   Fontana, CA

Mark Martin prepares to race at Auto Club Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 500. (Photo: Getty Images)

Mark Martin can sleep well tonight.

RESULTS: Auto Club 500

That's because Martin's second season driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS already has gotten off to a much better start than last year did.

On Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, the 51-year-old Batesville, Ark., native followed up his 12th-place run in the season-opening Daytona 500 with an even better effort, finishing fourth in the Auto Club 500 behind his race-winning teammate Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton.

Most importantly, he avoided last year's nightmare scenario, when a blown engine in this race left him in 41st and kicked off a string of three consecutive bad races caused by two engine failures and a tire explosion.

By the time he left Atlanta Motor Speedway last year, Martin was 34th in points just four races into the season and was forced to race like a madman just to crack the top 12 in points and qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup at the end of NASCAR's 26-race regular season.

Now, after two races, he's sixth in points and a much happier and more relaxed man as a result.

Martin qualified 10th for the Auto Club 500 and ran well pretty much all race long. Like all the teams and crew chief Alan Gustafson were severely challenged by the ever-changing weather conditions at the 2-mile Southern California oval. The afternoon was unseasonably cold, with the weather going back and forth all race long, with everything from bright sunshine to heavy clouds and light rain.

Still, the team was able to be consistent, even if Martin had nothing for the top three at the end of the race. “My car was really good with the sun out, and the last run, we didn't make a big enough adjustment,” said Martin. “And there we were. Really great run. I love driving this car.”

Like many of his fellow drivers, Martin enjoys racing at ACS, an exceptionally wide and flat oval that affords drivers multiple racing lines and the ability to go four-, five- and even six-wide without wrecking.

So it's no wonder he left the track with a big smile on his face.

“Alan (Gustafson) and everybody on the GoDaddy.com Chevy did awesome,” said Martin. “They gave me a great race car. It was fun, man. What a great race track to race on, man. There was a lot of racing going on out there and a lot of passing and side-by-side and fighting. I had a blast today.”

RESULTS: Auto Club 500

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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