NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Clock Ticking For Martin
Mark Martin is 35 points behind Clint Bowyer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 19, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Mark Martin continues to hover around the Chase bubble. (Photo: Getty Images)
Father time may not have caught up with Mark Martin, but the clock is ticking on Martin nevertheless.

At age 51, the Batesville, Ark., native is the oldest full-time driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, yet he continues to perform at a high level with Hendrick Motorsports. That said, he will have to reach deep over the next three races if he hopes to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup for a second consecutive season.

Last year at this time, Martin was on the Chase bubble in 12th place. In the final three races of NASCAR’s 26-race regular season in 2009, he finished second at Bristol Motor Speedway, fifth at Atlanta Motor Speedway and fourth at Richmond International Raceway to secure a Chase berth. He went on to finish second in points behind teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Martin will need a similar run this time around over the next three races. Right now, Martin is 13th in points, 35 behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer. Barring a complete collapse by the drivers ahead of Bowyer and Martin, or a miracle charge from those behind, it looks as if those two will be the primary contestants for the final Chase spot.

Bristol, site of Saturday night’s Irwin Tools Night race, is a good track for Martin. He is tied with Cale Yarborough for most career Bristol poles with nine and won the August race here in both 1993 and ’98. As noted, he was runner-up in this event a year ago and swept the poles in both Bristol races last year.

In 43 Cup starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Martin has posted two wins, 16 top-five finishes and 23 top-10s, leading 1,199 laps in the process.

Despite his success at Bristol, the 0.533-mile high-banked track is something of a wild card. Anything can happen here, a fact Martin is keenly aware of. In the spring race, he was attempting to pass his former teammate Greg Biffle for fifth-place when he got nudged into the wall, triggering a flat tire and subsequent huge pile-up. Martin finished 35th in that race, something he can ill-afford this weekend.

“Bristol is a tough one because you can't count on anything, and you can't count anything out,” he said. “This team witnessed that first-hand when we were there in March. We had an awesome race car, possibly the best one we've had all season. We had a chance to win that race and lost it all when we were pushed into the wall by another car. And last year, we led a lot of laps and came up just one position short in the fall race there. All we can do is run the best race we can. It's a great race and we all look forward to it. I think we'll be really good, you just can't count out something crazy happening at Bristol.”
NASCAR's ruling to penalize Clint Bowyer and his team was delayed. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Despite a disappointing race last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, where he finished 28th, Martin insisted his Hendrick Motorsports squad is on the right track.

“It obviously didn't show, but we did have a good car at Michigan,” he said. “I got a little too aggressive early in the race and that didn't help us at all. The guys did what they could and brought home the best finish we could. We've been testing a lot and actually will continue to do so.”

And Martin likes the scrappiness of his squad.

“One thing about this No. 5 team, no one gives up,” he said. “Ever. It's impressive. Just like on Sunday, these guys had so much fight in them. It wasn't the day anyone wanted, but no one complained or gave up on anyone else. That's what makes teams survive tough times and get better from them. This points race is going to be a battle that's for sure. We're doing all we can do. We're working hard as a team to get back on the level we were on last year.”

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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