AVONDALE, Ariz. - Here he goes again. Now that he's climbed back into the top 10 in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings, Mark Martin is taking another break.
For Martin fans, this may be the most frustrating season in a career marked with hair-pulling moments. Not only is Martin sticking with his plans to run a limited schedule in the shared No. 01 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, but he's also turning in an outstanding performance every time he sits behind the wheel.
Martin led the points when he turned the car over to rookie Regan Smith for the Bristol and Martinsville races. He returned to the top 10 just in time to now step aside for the race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Amazingly, though, he remains on track to make the Chase For The Nextel Cup field.
Whether that's a tribute to Martin himself or to the underrated Ginn team he joined remains a source of debate, but it doesn't really matter. Martin will not be racing at Talladega Sunday, but he's certainly been a factor everywhere he has run.
At Phoenix International Raceway Saturday night, his first race in the car of tomorrow, Martin overcame early struggles and managed to finish 12th. That leaves him with an average finish of 6.16 in the six races in which he's competed this season.
"That was a pretty hard race tonight," Martin said. "We never really did get a handle on the car, and we just weren't able to get it going all night. ... We still have work to do on our car of tomorrow program, but we'll keep plugging away and get better.
"Still, [crew chief] Ryan [Pemberton] did a great job calling the race and the pit crew was once again awesome. When you don't have it all together and still finish 12th, that says something about the quality of this team."
For Martin fans, this may be the most frustrating season in a career marked with hair-pulling moments. Not only is Martin sticking with his plans to run a limited schedule in the shared No. 01 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, but he's also turning in an outstanding performance every time he sits behind the wheel.
Martin led the points when he turned the car over to rookie Regan Smith for the Bristol and Martinsville races. He returned to the top 10 just in time to now step aside for the race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Amazingly, though, he remains on track to make the Chase For The Nextel Cup field.
Whether that's a tribute to Martin himself or to the underrated Ginn team he joined remains a source of debate, but it doesn't really matter. Martin will not be racing at Talladega Sunday, but he's certainly been a factor everywhere he has run.
At Phoenix International Raceway Saturday night, his first race in the car of tomorrow, Martin overcame early struggles and managed to finish 12th. That leaves him with an average finish of 6.16 in the six races in which he's competed this season.
"That was a pretty hard race tonight," Martin said. "We never really did get a handle on the car, and we just weren't able to get it going all night. ... We still have work to do on our car of tomorrow program, but we'll keep plugging away and get better.
"Still, [crew chief] Ryan [Pemberton] did a great job calling the race and the pit crew was once again awesome. When you don't have it all together and still finish 12th, that says something about the quality of this team."
