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Sprint Cup
CUP: The 12th Man – Martin Vs. Bowyer
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer are battling for a place in the Chase...
Mark Martin (Right)is 35 points behind Clint Bowyer (Left) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
With four races to go to the Chase cutoff, the difference between making a lot of money and potentially making a ton of money is dramatically small between drivers Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer.
Martin currently sits in the last-chance 12th spot in the Sprint Cup standings. If he stays there – or advances, he’ll be in the fortunate dozen who begin the search for the Sprint Cup championship Sept. 19 in Loudon, N.H.
As matters now stand, Martin holds that 12th position by a scant 10 points over 13th-place Clint Bowyer.
For Martin, it’s sort of like holding a gold piece that’s been covered in grease.
Nice to have, but slippery.
“We knew this was going to be a fight for us,” Martin said. “And it’s definitely not over. We gained points in Pocono, and we gained again in Watkins Glen. We have got to keep doing that.
“This team is improving every week. We just have to keep that going in Michigan this weekend. It’s a good feeling to be back in there [the points top 12], but it’s not at all a relief. We have four races to go. Anything can happen. We can’t slip up. We can't have a bad day. We've got to keep moving forward.”
For Martin, the landscape this week couldn’t be much nicer. He has won five times at Michigan International Speedway, and he seemingly has done so across generations. He scored his first victory at MIS in 1990 and repeated in ’93, ’97, ’98 and 2009.
Sunday’s Carfax 400 will mark his 50th MIS start.
“I think if you look back at how we improved at Indianapolis and how we improved at Pocono, that we have to look at Michigan as another track where we can build momentum and gain some points,” Martin said. “We're taking the same car this weekend that we took to both of those tracks. It’s my favorite car in the whole Hendrick stable.
“So that gives me a little confidence, too. Anything can happen though, and we need to be prepared for those ‘anythings’.”
Bowyer, in his fifth full season in Sprint Cup, has no wins at MIS. He has had a dizzying points ride since mid-April as he has floated in and out of the top 12.
“Michigan has been one of those tracks that we’ve always run well at,” Bowyer said. “We always have some ups and downs as far as crazy, off-the-wall things that happen to us. We had a top-10 run going last time, but we pitted while others stayed out. We ended up in the fence and had a horrible finish.
“You never know how these races will shake out. These multiple attempts at green-white-checkered allow guys to get two laps back, put tires on, race their way into the top 10 and knock you out of the way in the process. There are a lot of things that are happening and you have to play your cards right throughout the whole race, not just half of it. If we can do that, we’ll be successful.
“Michigan is a track that we can run well at. We just have to get there, get a feel for our race setup in practice, lay down a solid lap in qualifying and be there at the end.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Martin currently sits in the last-chance 12th spot in the Sprint Cup standings. If he stays there – or advances, he’ll be in the fortunate dozen who begin the search for the Sprint Cup championship Sept. 19 in Loudon, N.H.
As matters now stand, Martin holds that 12th position by a scant 10 points over 13th-place Clint Bowyer.
For Martin, it’s sort of like holding a gold piece that’s been covered in grease.
Nice to have, but slippery.
“We knew this was going to be a fight for us,” Martin said. “And it’s definitely not over. We gained points in Pocono, and we gained again in Watkins Glen. We have got to keep doing that.
“This team is improving every week. We just have to keep that going in Michigan this weekend. It’s a good feeling to be back in there [the points top 12], but it’s not at all a relief. We have four races to go. Anything can happen. We can’t slip up. We can't have a bad day. We've got to keep moving forward.”
For Martin, the landscape this week couldn’t be much nicer. He has won five times at Michigan International Speedway, and he seemingly has done so across generations. He scored his first victory at MIS in 1990 and repeated in ’93, ’97, ’98 and 2009.
Sunday’s Carfax 400 will mark his 50th MIS start.
“I think if you look back at how we improved at Indianapolis and how we improved at Pocono, that we have to look at Michigan as another track where we can build momentum and gain some points,” Martin said. “We're taking the same car this weekend that we took to both of those tracks. It’s my favorite car in the whole Hendrick stable.
“So that gives me a little confidence, too. Anything can happen though, and we need to be prepared for those ‘anythings’.”
Bowyer, in his fifth full season in Sprint Cup, has no wins at MIS. He has had a dizzying points ride since mid-April as he has floated in and out of the top 12.
“Michigan has been one of those tracks that we’ve always run well at,” Bowyer said. “We always have some ups and downs as far as crazy, off-the-wall things that happen to us. We had a top-10 run going last time, but we pitted while others stayed out. We ended up in the fence and had a horrible finish.
“You never know how these races will shake out. These multiple attempts at green-white-checkered allow guys to get two laps back, put tires on, race their way into the top 10 and knock you out of the way in the process. There are a lot of things that are happening and you have to play your cards right throughout the whole race, not just half of it. If we can do that, we’ll be successful.
“Michigan is a track that we can run well at. We just have to get there, get a feel for our race setup in practice, lay down a solid lap in qualifying and be there at the end.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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