Mark Martin To Make Milestone 600th Consecutive Cup Start This Weekend - Martin holds current longest active steak in NASCAR Nextel Cup, fifth all-time longest streak: Mark Martin will make his 600th consecutive Cup start this weekend when the green flag drops on Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway. The run is currently the longest running streak in NASCAR and the fifth longest of all-time. Ironically, Martin made his 500th consecutive start in 2003 at New Hampshire in September. Martin's streak dates back to Feb. 14, 1988 when he first teamed with Jack Roush in the Daytona 500. Martin finished 41st that day; humble beginnings for what would become one of the most successful partnerships in NASCAR history. Nineteen years, 35 wins, 41 poles and 366 top-10 finishes later, Martin is scheduled to make his 600th consecutive start this Sunday. Martin ran his first Cup race in 1981, running a total of five races, while winning two poles and earning a pair of top-10 finishes. The following year he ran a full season. Martin was unable to find adequate sponsorship and ran only a handful of Cup races from 1983-87, before hooking up with Roush in 1988. "The first thing that comes to mind is that I've been around for a long time," laughed Martin. "But really, I've been fortunate in a lot of ways. I've never had a sick day. I've never had big enough tragedy to keep out of the seat and I've been able to go to work and do my job for a long time.
Also: Martin could return to Cup part-time in 2007: #6-Mark Martin, who was expected to retire from racing full-time in Nextel Cup after this year, says that he hasn't determined his schedule for next season yet and could be interested in running more Nextel Cup races. Martin originally planned to retire from full-time Cup competition in 2005, but after Kurt Busch announced plans to leave Roush Racing at the end of 2006, team owner Jack Roush asked Martin to forego his plans and return for a 19th year with the Ford Cup team. Busch eventually left Roush at the end of the 2005 season. This season Martin has been quiet about his 2007 plans, saying that he's learned to never rule out anything after announcing and then changing his plans in 2005. Martin, who is currently sixth in the Cup point standings, has plans to race full time in the Craftsman Truck Series next year. Asked about his goals for his final season during a teleconference from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Martin offered a surprising answer Monday. "I haven't made the final determination on what [the] 2007 race schedule is going to look like for me," he said. "Roush Racing hasn't presented me with the truck contract yet, although if they would have I would have signed it and that would be done. I know what they're doing and so I would consider doing a limited Cup schedule if it was with the right team and if I did so, to answer your question, the Brickyard would be on that, the Daytona 500 would be on that, races like Michigan and Dover and some of those races that might be in conjunction with the truck racing or whatever."(SceneDaily.com)
Also: Martin could return to Cup part-time in 2007: #6-Mark Martin, who was expected to retire from racing full-time in Nextel Cup after this year, says that he hasn't determined his schedule for next season yet and could be interested in running more Nextel Cup races. Martin originally planned to retire from full-time Cup competition in 2005, but after Kurt Busch announced plans to leave Roush Racing at the end of 2006, team owner Jack Roush asked Martin to forego his plans and return for a 19th year with the Ford Cup team. Busch eventually left Roush at the end of the 2005 season. This season Martin has been quiet about his 2007 plans, saying that he's learned to never rule out anything after announcing and then changing his plans in 2005. Martin, who is currently sixth in the Cup point standings, has plans to race full time in the Craftsman Truck Series next year. Asked about his goals for his final season during a teleconference from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Martin offered a surprising answer Monday. "I haven't made the final determination on what [the] 2007 race schedule is going to look like for me," he said. "Roush Racing hasn't presented me with the truck contract yet, although if they would have I would have signed it and that would be done. I know what they're doing and so I would consider doing a limited Cup schedule if it was with the right team and if I did so, to answer your question, the Brickyard would be on that, the Daytona 500 would be on that, races like Michigan and Dover and some of those races that might be in conjunction with the truck racing or whatever."(SceneDaily.com)
