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With this victory, Mark Martin has won in all three NASCAR series on four different tracks. (Photo: Getty Images) » More Photos
Mark Martin won a wild John Deere 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday, overcoming an early overheating problem, a rival's illegal pass and two last-lap crashes to win his fifth race of the season in just 10 NCTS starts.
The race was the first time the Truck Series ever raced at the newly repaved 2.66-mile Alabama Superspeedway, and by all accounts, it was a rousing success, with clean, hard racing until the event's final lap.
"I think the guys did a spectacular job," said Martin, who now has won Truck, Busch and Cup series races at four different tracks - Talladega, Bristol, California and Dover. "It was a really, really great race. It was a clean race. The pavement worked well. I was really concerned about it and the drivers did a spectacular job today. … They didn't get over their heads or get too aggressive."
Martin started from the pole but early on encountered problems when a windshield tear-off caught on the grille of his Roush Racing Ford F-150, sending his engine temperatures soaring. He had to pit on Lap 9 to have it removed and fell a lap down. Martin got the "Lucky Dog" during the first caution on Lap 24, a critical break
Todd Bodine made the pass on Martin on lap 84, but was black flagged for dropping below the yellow line. (Photo: Getty Images) » More Photos
Once back on the lead lap, Martin was able to work back to the front, taking the lead again on Lap 59. But even though he had a stout truck, Martin appeared to be a sitting duck to Germain Toyota teammates Todd Bodine and Ted Musgrave, who were glued to the bumper of Martin's truck and were poised to double-team the lone Ford up front as the laps wound down.
Bodine passed Martin to take the lead on Lap 86 of the 94-lap race, but he went under the yellow line on the frontstretch apron, which is illegal. Bodine was black-flagged by NASCAR and had to serve a pass-through pit road penalty. Instead of taking the lead, Bodine fell back to 27th place, the last truck on the lead lap.
"NASCAR has a rule that you can't pass below the yellow line, and the leader is not going to give that inside line up," Martin said. "Todd got a big run and I wasn't going to give him the inside. He wouldn't have for me. I've raced with Todd for a long time. … He evidently went below the line. He's the points leader. He has to think about things like that. When you race for points, you have make considerations when you make decisions like that."
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