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Martin content with team's performance
By Rupen Fofaria
ESPN.com
Mark Martin is not a young gun. And spare me the Viagra jokes.
The 43-year-old driver of the No. 6 Viagra-sponsored Ford is not a member of the youth movement which has taken NASCAR by storm this season, but he's been able to do some damage of his own in his 15th Winston Cup season. And though he has the experiences of three tight title races in his career to fall back on, he's ready to tackle the year's final three events and make a bid for his first championship with a fresh approach.
Martin decided weeks ago that he wasn't going to let himself get caught up in the madness and excitement of a title chase. He'd done that before and gotten burned.
This year, Martin has taken an I'm-already-proud strategy to the last portion of the season, and it seems to be working. Unlike three points races he lost in the 1990s, Martin has not nose-dived to the finish of the year. He's just posted two straight top-10s after a little slip three weeks ago at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
He's second in the standings, 146 points out, and heading to a track where he's ran well.
"We have three (races) left and it's important that we run well at all three," Martin said. "I'm real proud of this team. They've just dug in and done what it takes to win the championship. Whether we win or not, it doesn't matter to me because the effort has been spectacular by this team."
It was a refreshing rebound from last year, when all of NASCAR Nation was wondering what happened to Martin. He struggled with just three top-five finishes and a 12th-place effort -- his worst championship finish since his rookie year of 1988.
Mark Martin collected his first victory since 2000 when he won this year at Charlotte.
But with 10 top-fives and 19 top-10s, as well as a victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May, Martin's back in the hunt. And the hunt takes him to Rockingham, N.C., where the circuit travels to compete on the 1.017-mile North Carolina Speedway.
The No. 6 team has had a bit of a down swing at the track, and the memory of the terrible outing during the spring race is fresh on everyone's minds.
"We had one of our worst races of the season in the first Rockingham race, so it will be a challenge to go there again and prove that we can run well there," said Ben Leslie, Martin's crew chief. "We've rebounded as a team and posted two straight top-10s. Hopefully, we can get back in the top-five with a strong run at the Rock this weekend."
Although Martin understands the mental challenge coming back to the place of such a disappointing run presents, he embraces it. He knows he's followed six straight top-10 finishes at this track -- including two victories -- with three straight runs outside the top-20. But Martin believes his team is up to the task of running smoothly -- and he knows they have to if they want to win it all.
"Rockingham's a great track and it's a good race where you can run anywhere on the track," Martin said. "We struggled there in the spring, but we just didn't have a good car that day. ... It's been kind of tough at times and it's a great challenge to me. It can be very challenging to get set up for and be good on the long run, but that is the same with most all of the tracks. ... I'm looking forward to getting out there on the track again this week and we'll just have to see what happens."
Martin's confidence stems from a love affair he formed with the track back when he first started his career. Martin notched his first-ever victory at The Rock.
"It was well overdue, when we finally got it," Martin said of the 1989 win. "We had run second several times and it finally all came together at the right time. I'm reminded of (the first win) more by the media than anything else. I've had a lot of success there -- a lot of Busch success. It's a track that has been good to me."
When Martin peruses the rest of the schedule, he feels the same way. He knows Tony Stewart, who leads the standings, is great at the remaining tracks, too. But he feels comfortable with his odds. After all, it's like he's said so many times before: He's already accomplished what he set out to.
"After last season, we just wanted to bounce back and show people that we still had it," Martin said. "I've had some good runs at Rockingham over the years and I really like racing at Phoenix and Homestead. Overall, I'd say I really like the races we have coming up and I look forward to each of them."
Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for The Raleigh News & Observer and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
It could happen,If you believe,And I do.
By Rupen Fofaria
ESPN.com
Mark Martin is not a young gun. And spare me the Viagra jokes.
The 43-year-old driver of the No. 6 Viagra-sponsored Ford is not a member of the youth movement which has taken NASCAR by storm this season, but he's been able to do some damage of his own in his 15th Winston Cup season. And though he has the experiences of three tight title races in his career to fall back on, he's ready to tackle the year's final three events and make a bid for his first championship with a fresh approach.
Martin decided weeks ago that he wasn't going to let himself get caught up in the madness and excitement of a title chase. He'd done that before and gotten burned.
This year, Martin has taken an I'm-already-proud strategy to the last portion of the season, and it seems to be working. Unlike three points races he lost in the 1990s, Martin has not nose-dived to the finish of the year. He's just posted two straight top-10s after a little slip three weeks ago at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
He's second in the standings, 146 points out, and heading to a track where he's ran well.
"We have three (races) left and it's important that we run well at all three," Martin said. "I'm real proud of this team. They've just dug in and done what it takes to win the championship. Whether we win or not, it doesn't matter to me because the effort has been spectacular by this team."
It was a refreshing rebound from last year, when all of NASCAR Nation was wondering what happened to Martin. He struggled with just three top-five finishes and a 12th-place effort -- his worst championship finish since his rookie year of 1988.
Mark Martin collected his first victory since 2000 when he won this year at Charlotte.
But with 10 top-fives and 19 top-10s, as well as a victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May, Martin's back in the hunt. And the hunt takes him to Rockingham, N.C., where the circuit travels to compete on the 1.017-mile North Carolina Speedway.
The No. 6 team has had a bit of a down swing at the track, and the memory of the terrible outing during the spring race is fresh on everyone's minds.
"We had one of our worst races of the season in the first Rockingham race, so it will be a challenge to go there again and prove that we can run well there," said Ben Leslie, Martin's crew chief. "We've rebounded as a team and posted two straight top-10s. Hopefully, we can get back in the top-five with a strong run at the Rock this weekend."
Although Martin understands the mental challenge coming back to the place of such a disappointing run presents, he embraces it. He knows he's followed six straight top-10 finishes at this track -- including two victories -- with three straight runs outside the top-20. But Martin believes his team is up to the task of running smoothly -- and he knows they have to if they want to win it all.
"Rockingham's a great track and it's a good race where you can run anywhere on the track," Martin said. "We struggled there in the spring, but we just didn't have a good car that day. ... It's been kind of tough at times and it's a great challenge to me. It can be very challenging to get set up for and be good on the long run, but that is the same with most all of the tracks. ... I'm looking forward to getting out there on the track again this week and we'll just have to see what happens."
Martin's confidence stems from a love affair he formed with the track back when he first started his career. Martin notched his first-ever victory at The Rock.
"It was well overdue, when we finally got it," Martin said of the 1989 win. "We had run second several times and it finally all came together at the right time. I'm reminded of (the first win) more by the media than anything else. I've had a lot of success there -- a lot of Busch success. It's a track that has been good to me."
When Martin peruses the rest of the schedule, he feels the same way. He knows Tony Stewart, who leads the standings, is great at the remaining tracks, too. But he feels comfortable with his odds. After all, it's like he's said so many times before: He's already accomplished what he set out to.
"After last season, we just wanted to bounce back and show people that we still had it," Martin said. "I've had some good runs at Rockingham over the years and I really like racing at Phoenix and Homestead. Overall, I'd say I really like the races we have coming up and I look forward to each of them."
Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for The Raleigh News & Observer and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
It could happen,If you believe,And I do.
