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Mark Martin goes into this weekend's New Hampshire 300 trailing leader Sterling Marlin by only nine points in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings. Below are some tidbits regarding Martin's previous championship battles.
* The last time Mark Martin led the point standings was following the DieHard 500 at Talladega on April 16, 2000 -- after the ninth race of the season. Martin posted a sixth-place run that afternoon and grabbed the lead by 24 points from Bobby Labonte, who finished 21st. Labonte regained the points lead the following week at California and held it the rest of the season to win his first NASCAR Winston Cup championship.
* The last time Martin was this close entering the final 10 races of the season was in 1998 when he trailed Jeff Gordon by 67 points with 10 races remaining. Gordon went on to earn the championship by 364 points after winning four of the final 10 events. Martin won twice during that decisive stretch and had seven top-five finishes overall.
* The last time Martin led the point standings with 10 races or less left was in 1997 when he held a 13-point lead over Gordon with 10 events remaining. In what ended up being the closest three-way battle in NASCAR Winston Cup history, Gordon prevailed by 14 points over second-place Dale Jarrett and 15 points over third-place Martin.
* The latest Martin has ever held the top spot in a points race was in 1990 when he led Dale Earnhardt by 45 points with only two events remaining. Earnhardt went on to win at Phoenix and take a six-point lead into the final race in Atlanta, where he finished third. Martin's sixth-place effort that day meant a runner-up spot in the standings by 26 points.
This could be the year sheds his "best to never be champ" crown and dons a well deserved WC crown. Mark has never won at NHIS but he carries the 4th best average finish of all active drivers. The Winston Cup circuit has run 11 times at New Hampshire and Mark has been in them all, finishing outside the top ten only 3 times.
* The last time Mark Martin led the point standings was following the DieHard 500 at Talladega on April 16, 2000 -- after the ninth race of the season. Martin posted a sixth-place run that afternoon and grabbed the lead by 24 points from Bobby Labonte, who finished 21st. Labonte regained the points lead the following week at California and held it the rest of the season to win his first NASCAR Winston Cup championship.
* The last time Martin was this close entering the final 10 races of the season was in 1998 when he trailed Jeff Gordon by 67 points with 10 races remaining. Gordon went on to earn the championship by 364 points after winning four of the final 10 events. Martin won twice during that decisive stretch and had seven top-five finishes overall.
* The last time Martin led the point standings with 10 races or less left was in 1997 when he held a 13-point lead over Gordon with 10 events remaining. In what ended up being the closest three-way battle in NASCAR Winston Cup history, Gordon prevailed by 14 points over second-place Dale Jarrett and 15 points over third-place Martin.
* The latest Martin has ever held the top spot in a points race was in 1990 when he led Dale Earnhardt by 45 points with only two events remaining. Earnhardt went on to win at Phoenix and take a six-point lead into the final race in Atlanta, where he finished third. Martin's sixth-place effort that day meant a runner-up spot in the standings by 26 points.
This could be the year sheds his "best to never be champ" crown and dons a well deserved WC crown. Mark has never won at NHIS but he carries the 4th best average finish of all active drivers. The Winston Cup circuit has run 11 times at New Hampshire and Mark has been in them all, finishing outside the top ten only 3 times.
