The quotes in this article are fictional.

7. Mark Martin — Martin matched his season best with a third place at Long Pond, his fourth third place of the year. It was another strong day for Roush racing, as teammate's Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards came home first and fourth, respectively, with Rusty Wallace disturbing an all-Roush top three with his runner-up finish.

"I guess the old dogs can still run with the big dogs," says Martin. "And I'm pretty sure we could drink them under the table. You know, you could take the number of years of NASCAR experience I have, and that number would be more than the ages of half the guys out here. I don't know if that makes me feel proud, or just old."

In any case, it should go a long way in Martin's decision to return for another year with Roush.

In his first sixth outings at Indianapolis, Martin finished top six or better five times. Since then, he's only seen the top 10 once.

M6M's personal comment here.... Regarding Pocono - I know Mark did have an "idiot" in front of him at one point that was.... let me see ..... two laps down ? ;) Get outta the way !!!! hehehe

TNT eavesdropped on the radio audio from Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin, who finished second and third, during the last three laps of the race.

Wallace to Martin: "Let's take it easy out here."
Martin back to Wallace: "I'm not going to wreck you, but I've got some idiots behind me."
Parsons: "Sometimes these guys aren't politically correct."

Another personal comment... not too crazy about McMurrary stepping in for the 6 car. Or how did Mark put it Sunday about the bumps or whatever on the track? "Whoop Dee Doo" Think that's how I feel about McMurray. Too bad, huh? ;) Whatever the case may be, good luck guys. - M6M

Jamie McMurray on whether he's talked to future teammate Matt Kenseth, who knocked him out of last weekend's race in New Hampshire: "No, we haven't talked yet. He tried to call me on Monday but I was so upset I figured I'd wait a week or so before I talked to him.

Kenseth on his relationship with McMurray: "I'm going to be the senior member of the team at Roush Racing after Mark's (Martin) gone and you know I never got asked or anything about who they should put in there (Martin's car), I learned about it on NASCAR online. You definitely want to have a teammate you can work with, (and) work things out. He is going to need as much help from me, and the 16 (Greg Biffle), 99 (Carl Edwards) and the 97 (Kurt Busch) as we're going to need from him. Hopefully we can work it out. If we can't, we can't. I did my part, I tried."

NASCAR driver Mark Martin races his car down the front stretch during the Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Sunday, July 24, 2005. Martin, who will retire at the end of the season, finished third in the race. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Martin Runs to Third-Place Finish at Pocono
No. 6 Viagra® Team scores sixth top-five finish of 2005
Mark Martin and the #6 Viagra® Racing Team
Pocono Raceway/July 24, 2005

LONG POND, PA. - Mark Martin and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team turned in one of their strongest performances of the season on Sunday at Pocono Raceway, running inside the top-five for all but two of the race's 203 laps in route to a third-place finish. The finish is Martin's 27 career top-10 at Pocono and his fifth top-10 in the last eight races. The performance kept Martin in seventh place in the Nextel Cup point standings, but moved him 118 points in front of 10th place and the last cut-off spot with six races left before the 'chase'.

"My car was just awesome today," said Martin. "It was good on the restarts and it was good on the long run. It did everything. It qualified really well on Friday; it was just a fast race car. The next-to-last set of tires I could pull away from the field at anytime. I could run however fast I wanted to run. The last set of tires didn't work quite as well so we wound up third. Still we ran inside the top three for most of the day, so you can't ask for much more. It was a good day for this Viagra® Racing Team."

Martin started third after a strong qualifying session on Friday and worked his way into second by lap 17. He eventually took the lead on lap 139 and led the next 25 laps before giving up the lead in the pits on lap 164. In one of their more solid efforts in recent memory, the No. 6 pit crew turned in a stellar over-the-wall performance, while crew chief Pat Tryson's skillful management on pit road put the No 6 Viagra® Ford in solid position for a win.

Martin restarted in third position after the day's fifth caution on lap 132. Three laps later he passed Rusty Wallace for second place before eventually taking the lead from Roush teammate Greg Biffle on lap 139, just seconds before caution six was issued. Martin would hold the lead until the team came into pit under caution on lap 164. Four cars opted for two tires and Martin returned to the field in fifth place, the first car on four fresh tires due to a sild 13.8-second stop. Kurt Busch, who eventually won the race, had the fastest car on the day and passed Martin for position on lap 168.

Martin moved back up to fourth place by lap 176, before taking over third place from Carl Edwards on lap 181. Martin closed in on the second place No. 2 car of Rusty Wallace on two separate occasions, but four cautions in the final 20 laps would halt Martin's progress as he moved on the third-place finish, his 18th top-five career run at Pocono Raceway.

"We hope to go to Indy and have just as fast of a race car," added Martin. "We had a great points day today and we put a little breathing room between us and 10th, so we're already excited about going to Indy and seeing what we can do in a couple of weeks."

Martin was one of three Roush cars to finish in the top four, joining Busch and Carl Edwards who finished fourth.

After an off week, the No. 6 Viagra® Team will return to action in two weeks at the famed Indianapolis 500 for the Brickyard 400.

MARK MARTIN - No. 6 Viagra Taurus (Finished 3rd) - "We had a really good car today. I want to thank the Viagra team. They really had this Ford hooked up. The next-to-last set of tires, man, I could pull away at will. It's just how fast did I want to go, but the last set of tires we were a little looser on. But it was a great run for us. At every restart we could hold our own. We stayed right up in the top three just about the whole race, so I guess I couldn't ask for much more."

A SOLID TOP FIVE.

"It was a good run for us. It's just a joy to drive these kind of race cars."

WHAT ABOUT RACING WITH RUSTY?

"We could have done a little bit more, but they had all those cautions."

MARK MARTIN PRESS CONFERENCE - DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING FOR RUSTY?

"Not with all those cautions. Our car was pretty good, but we can't seem to wind one of these races up without about six or eight cautions nowadays. I don't have anything to complain about. My car was just awesome. It was good on the restarts. It was good on the long run. It did everything. It qualified good. It was just a fast race car. The next-to-last set of tires I could pull away from the field at anytime. I could run however fast I wanted to run. The last set of tires didn't work quite as well so we wound up third. It was a good day for us."

ARE SECOND AND THIRD SATISFYING FROM A CHASE STANDPOINT?

"For me, not only did we lead the race in convincing fashion on the next-to-last set of tires, which felt really good, and we had great pit strategy, great pit stops, and a good car - but we also finally got just a touch of breathing room behind us. So if we can do this again next week at Indy, we'll be looking good. I know our car will be this fast next week, and if we can get the same kind of result - I love this place. I love to race here - another top five."

WHY NOT COME BACK NEXT YEAR?

"I'm 46, but I've got more miles on me than Rusty."

AT ONE POINT THERE WERE FIVE STRAIGHT DEBRIS CAUTIONS.

"One of those debris cautions was a drink bottle, and it laid out there for 20 laps. I was like, 'Please, don't throw a caution for that green bottle.'"

SOME WERE BRAKE ROTORS.

"And that was really dangerous, and they do a good job of spotting brake rotors."

ON DEBRIS.

"There were chunks of rubber. I've never seen a chunk of rubber hurt anybody. I don't know. I'm old school. I loved all that green-flag racing earlier in the race. I'm old school, so I'm a big complainer about major debris cautions."

IT SEEMS LIKE AERODYNAMICS TURN RACING INTO A FREEWAY DRIVE AND GUYS DON'T GET RACY UNTIL THE END.

"So you're calling guys getting racy wrecking. Is that what you mean? Nobody wrecked for a long time, so the racing wasn't good? Because at the end there were wrecks and you're saying at the end everybody was racing, so I don't know."

MORE ON THE RACE.

"I will say that no matter what, you're gonna have races that are barnburners and you're gonna have races that are yawners and you can't panic when you have a yawner. If that's what you're calling this one today, Rusty and I think it was a great race. You have runaway points and you have close points, that's racing and you can't fix that and you shouldn't even worry about it."

CAN YOU QUANTIFY WHAT CLEAN AIR MEANT?

"I think Rusty hit on it today, too. A lot of people were really off on their setup today. Usually the cars are more equal, but you had a number of cars that could really pull away today. I'm sure Rusty experienced it too. I know whenever I got behind a reasonable running car it was sure hard to pass 'em."

WHAT DID YOU STRUGGLE WITH FOR 120 LAPS?

"My brakes. I was pumping 'em again. I pumped 'em the whole race last time here, and I pumped 'em most of this race. Right at the end, Rusty and I have been doing this stuff a long time, we're trying to make the chase, rather than force the issue and slam brakes on and have nothing but rear, I was happy to finish it off. I wish that they wouldn't have had all the cautions there at the end. We did have a good enough car to get up there, I think, and get by Rusty, but we couldn't run with Kurt on that last set of tires. We restarted in front of him and he passed us and went on. We had what we had. It was a great run. The brakes are taking more abuse everywhere we go now because of the gear rule."

WHAT ABOUT THE TUNNEL TURN TODAY?

"I would be sorely surprised if they didn't try to take that bump out of there, unless they just want to put a ski jump in the front straightaway, too. It's pretty rough over there."

HOW MUCH DID TODAY AFFECT YOUR DECISION ABOUT COMING BACK?

"None. I still have my decision. I'm still gonna be where I am for I don't know how long, so I really don't even like talking about it because I want to go truck racing next year. We are working on trucks and we're gonna go test later this year, and we're gonna put that deal together as if that's what I'm gonna be doing next year, but we don't know. I don't know."

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE MORE MODERN RULES PACKAGE?

"I like the short spoiler and the tires, too, because it puts more a premium on handling and that's how Rusty and I grew up. That's how you won. You beat people on handling and we like that. That suits both of our driving styles because that's what we've done forever."

DOES SOMEONE LIKE CARL EDWARDS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE BY NOT HAVING MUCH EXPERIENCE HERE? HE NEVER SHIFTED IN THE PAST LIKE YOU?

"That's a good question. I don't think it's the shifting yes or no. There are certain things that we'll struggle with giving a fair shot sometimes based on our history. The young guy that doesn't no better, once in a while, will go ahead and give a shot and it will work, where Rusty and I might think it wouldn't work and give it a fair shot. So there are some instances where these young guys have an advantage in that. Over the long haul they're gonna make more mistakes than we do on picking things. But Carl Edwards is an incredible driver - flat out. That's the end of it."

ON HISTORY

"Hey, when Rusty and I first came in 1982, if they would have gave us Richard Petty's or Cale Yarborough's or one of those guy's cars to drive, set up and everything, we might have run a little bit better than we did, too."

WITH THE POINTS RACE ARE YOU GUYS POINTS RACING?

"We both were points racing. We didn't have a car to win and we didn't see any need in running over each other for five points. But every race is like that. When we were short track racing in 1977, third always paid better than fourth and you tried to get it, but you didn't tear your stuff up to do it."

IS IT GRATIFYING TO SEE RUSTY DOING SO WELL?

"We got 25 years of history or so, I haven't counted 'em up but it's a ton. Rusty and I have always been friends and we've always got along and we've never once had a problem, and I think everybody knows that. That speaks volumes. I can't say that about Matt Kenseth. I've been friends with him for six to eight years and I've had a problem with him, and he's a great guy. That tells you what kind of relationship we've had over the past 25 years."

CARL CALLED JACK AND ASKED IF HE COULD PASS YOU BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE MIGHT BE FASTER. YOUR THOUGHTS?

"Well, he wasn't (laughter). I don't know what to tell you about that."

MARK MARTIN - NO. 6 VIAGRA TAURUS (QUALIFIED THIRD)

"I was kind of surprised because I thought he was gonna call out a really slow time there, but it's gonna be a fairly decent starting spot. That's a product of a fast race car, I guess. It didn't feel good at all. It certainly didn't seem to be a very good lap, but it's a very good car."

WHAT ABOUT YOUR LAP?

"I really thought it was terrible. The car felt pretty bad. I got really loose across the tunnel and wasn't very good in Turn 3, but somehow or another we managed to find a second of speed there from yesterday's lap. I thought he was gonna tell me it was worse than yesterday's mock-up run, but that's a product of a fast race car thanks to Pat Tryson and the Viagra Ford team. The car has been really strong and yesterday I just drove the car as fast as it felt and didn't try to get more because it was such a good car. After it was all said and done with, I knew today I was gonna reach for a little bit more and we did, so we've got a great car for the race."

MARK MARTIN PRESS CONFERENCE

WHAT IS THE TRICK HERE?

"I was shocked that the time was so good because we made a mock run yesterday afternoon and we ran a 54.53 I think it was. That run felt horrible compared, so I thought it was like a 54.90 and Pat came on and said, '53.45,' and I thought, 'He's got the numbers all mixed up. It might have been those numbers, but they're misplaced or something.' It just surprised me. The trick about getting around this place for me is making the car handle and that's what the guys at Roush Racing excel at. I've been fortunate to drive great handling cars and work with great people all through the years."

IS THIS WHERE GUYS ON THE FRINGE OF THE CHASE HAVE TO MAKE A RUN?

"Yeah, for the guys from 10th to 16th or so it's crunch time and it can be done. We were about 15th around this time last year and we made it in, but every year is a little bit different. Right now, this year, the points are tighter from where I think Kurt and I are to 15th than they probably were last year. One bad race at this point could be the one that we could not overcome. For the 6 car, we've had four wrecks this year and, beyond that, we've had great performance and a lot of good things going on the race track. We just hope to keep the mechanical things squared away and stay out of the wrecks and keep the performance going."

IS IT MORE COMFORTABLE BEING LOOSE?

"I've got my car set up feel-wise the same as the other 26 [top 10 finishes at Pocono]. For me, last time here I was real pleased with my car. I think we finished third. My chassis setup is looser this time, but the car feel is not looser, so qualifying I was so loose last time that I couldn't hardly stand it. This time my car was actually better. It wasn't as loose as last time here, but for race setup I'm still doing the same thing as always. We were not good enough to win here last time. We brought the same car back. We typically expect the race track to be looser in the second race and having to tighten the car up, but we had to go the other way with the car to get it back to about the normal feel. Our car has been spectacular so far."

WHAT ABOUT THE CHANGES THEY MADE IN TURN 2?

"I don't think the curb last time caused the flat tires, so I hate that they messed with that but they did. And while they did that, they didn't even take the bump out, so I don't know about that. I will tell you, and I think Kurt would say the same thing, I would much rather have the old curb than the new curb."

"Talking about the camber, too. I think the race teams learned. You see, the vital signs on the right-front tire will give you warnings that you are pushing the limit. There are no vital signs on the left-front to give you any warning, so it caught everybody blinded. Then they went right up to Michigan and blew tires out in practice at Michigan, which has never been done. Then as the teams learned that they have to not be as aggressive we'll have less trouble, although someone surely is gonna have trouble we'll have a lot less, I think, in this race. The thing that concerns me about the new curb is if someone crowded you across the curb before you wouldn't wreck. You probably wouldn't run over the guy who crowded you over. It may not be the same outcome now. If, for some reason, you run way over that new curb, it may throw you up in the air like a road course curb does and throw you out against the car on the outside of you, and then both of you go in the wall. Of course, the cars behind aren't gonna have an opportunity to maybe miss it. The biggest concern I have is that there is a potential for more of an accident than before."

WILL THEY LAST 500 MILES?

"They did last time, but you did notice that Biffle had brake problems last time. At a race where no one ever used to have brake problems, there was at least one car that did last time. In New Hamsphire, where no one has really ever had brake problems recently, one car - Jeff Gordon - had problems last week. So everywhere we go it's harder on brakes this year."

IS THAT JUST WEAR?

"It's heat and wear. The heat causes more wear and, here, it was wear on Biffle's. He wore his pad out far enough that the piston popped out of the caliper."

IS IT GOING TO BE THE SAME AT INDY?

"For me, testing at Indy I used a lot of brake. I don't know that we'll have brake problems, but I told the guys that it was really noticeable how much more brake I used in the test."

IS THIS YOUR LAST CUP START HERE?

"I wish I knew."

Questions swirl around Martin in '06
Ford Racing: News
July 22, 2005

Long Pond, Pa. — Mark Martin, driver of the No. 6 Viagra Taurus, is seventh in the point standings going into Sunday's Pennsylvania 500, but the main topic of conversation continues to be his status for 2006. He spoke about his plans for 2006 and how he hopes the situation with Jamie McMurray is resolved.

DOES IT DISTRACT YOU MUCH KNOWING YOU MIGHT BE BACK HERE NEXT YEAR IN A CUP CAR?

"There's a lot of distractions right now with that only being one of them."

FELIX SABATES SAID HE WAS GOING TO PICK UP JAMIE'S OPTION FOR NEXT YEAR. YOUR THOUGHTS?

"That's what I'd do if I was them."

THAT WOULD PROBABLY PUT YOU BACK IN THE CAR NEXT YEAR.

"Well, I think we have to wait and see what happens. That's what I think."

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING ASKED TO MAYBE STICK AROUND ANOTHER YEAR?

"I committed to do it, so I guess that's what everybody is wanting to know."

WHAT WOULD YOUR IDEAL PICTURE FOR NEXT YEAR BE?

"Jamie McMurray in the 6 in '06. Jamie is, in my opinion which doesn't mean much, probably the most sought after driver in the Cup garage, and we're fortunate enough to have him signed up for '07, that's where we're at. We'll see what happens. If it's '07, then it's '07 and I'll drive the car."

DOES THE SALUTE TO YOU TOUR CONTINUE INTO NEXT YEAR?

"We're gonna continue doing exactly what we're doing. It could be opening day at Daytona that I step out of the seat in February. You don't know. Nobody knows. All I know is it's easier for me to do this for the team, who has really been responsible, and for Jack Roush, who has stood by my side when I built my NASCAR career. He and I did it together. We made the 6 car together and I'll hand it over to Jamie McMurray."

THERE WERE A RASH OF TIRE PROBLEMS IN JUNE HERE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT DAY?

"Left fronts went flat. We had the same problem at Indy last year, but people didn't notice as much. We had the same problem back at Indy in '04."

WHY DO YOU THINK IT HAPPENED?

"It's harder to tell on left fronts. On right fronts you can see it coming with temperature and with air-pressure—you can see it coming. You don't see it coming on left fronts, but, obviously, it's from being aggressive with your tires."

ARE YOU CONCERNED IT WILL HAPPEN THIS WEEKEND?

"We didn't have any trouble, so maybe I should be concerned but I'm not."

Martin Finishes 15th at Loudon
Mark Martin and the #6 Viagra® Racing Team
New Hampshire International Speedway/July 17, 2005

LOUDON, N.H. (July 17, 2005) – Mark Martin and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team ran to a 15th-place finish in Sunday’s New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Martin picked up his final position with only seven laps to go in route to his 12th top-15 finish this season. After 19 races Martin is currently seventh in the Nextel Cup point standings, 27 points out of fifth place and 352 out of first.

“That's really all we had today,” said Martin. “The guys did an awesome job and that's all I could do. I'm proud of our team. They were awesome on pit road. We ran a smart race and we got 15th. That's better than we could have done, so we'll keep on marching."

Martin and the team started 19th and struggled to find speed for the majority of the day, but a solid effort in the pits and determined driving by the wily veteran helped take the No. 6 Ford to a solid finish. By lap nine Martin had dropped to 23rd place. He eventually worked his way back to 20th, where he was running when the day’s second caution was issued on lap 26. The team came in for two tires and fuel and returned in 23rd place as the first eight cars elected to stay out.

Martin had dropped back to 24th place by lap 57 when caution number four was called for rain fall. A lightning fast 12.89-second stop by the Viagra® over-the-wall crew helped gain Martin six positions up to 18th when green flag racing resumed on lap 67.

The team used another fast stop of 13.76-seconds after the day’s fifth caution on lap 115 to help gain Martin three spots up to 16th. Martin got up to 15th, before the car’s handling became loose and he fell back to 18th.

Martin was still running in 18th position when caution was issued for the seventh time on lap 217, giving the team the opportunity to come into the pits for the fifth and final time of the day. The team was once again relentless under pressure, reeling off a 13.37-second stop that put Martin back out in 15th place with 80 laps to go. Martin would be forced to fight for the spot, eventually dropping back to 16th on lap 245, before coming back and taking the spot with just seven laps to go.

The team will return to action next week at Pocono, where Martin finished seventh last month. Martin will be looking for his first career win at the track where he has posted six second-place finish.

MARK MARTIN - NO. 6 VIAGRA TAURUS (FINISHED 15TH)

"I'm just as sorry as sorry can be for running into Elliott [Sadler]. It was just an accident. That's all we had today. The guys did an awesome job and that's all I could do. I'm proud of our team. They were awesome on pit road. We ran a smart race and we got 15th. That's better than we could have done, so we'll keep on marching."

WHAT HAPPENED WITH ELLIOTT?

"They were banging off each other down the backstretch and then going into [Turn] 3 my car had been pretty good going into the corners and he got out of it early. That caught me off guard and I slammed the brakes on. I just hate it. They know I wouldn't race anything like that. I ran square into the back of him. It wasn't even like I was trying to pass him. It just caught me off guard and I really hate it for those guys. They didn't deserve that, and I feel bad about it."

2005 Mark Martin New Hampshire Fast Facts
#6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Ford Taurus
New England 300/New Hampshire International Speedway
July 17, 2005

DRIVER: Mark Martin

TEAM: No. (6) Viagra® Ford Taurus

OWNER: Jack Roush

CREW CHIEF: Pat Tryson

2004 EVENT WINNER: Kurt Busch

MARK MARTIN - 2004 EVENT

SIEMENS 300 – Started 26th, Finished 14th

Mark Martin and the team had their work cut out for them going into Sunday’s New England 300, after fighting all weekend with an ill-handling car. The crew made massive changes throughout the weekend and on Sunday morning leading into the race. In the end Martin’s Ford Taurus was strong on long runs, but tended to struggle on restarts. The team needed long green-flag runs to advance through the field, but a rash of cautions down the stretch would keep the team from a top-10 finish, as Martin moved on to the 14th place run.

MARTIN, NO. 6 TEAM ROLL ON TO LOUDON

LOUDON, N.H. -- After a 10th-place run at Chicagoland last weekend Martin and the No. 6 Viagra Team head to Loudon, New Hampshire where they will look for their first top 10 finish at the 1-mile track since November of 2001. Martin and the team come into the race on a bit of a roll, having finished inside the top 15 in five of the last six and inside the top 10 in four of those.

WORTHY NOTE

Martin finished inside the top 10 in 10 of his first 12 starts at Loudon.

THE CAR

Chassis Number: (RK-251) - The team will run RK-251 this weekend at Loudon. This will be RK-251's first run. The team tested the car at Milwaukee to pleasing results.

MARTIN AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire is one of only seven tracks currently on the Nextel Cup schedule where Martin is yet to win, and one of only three where he has 10 or more starts and has not won. Martin has finished second at Loudon on three occasions, including his first race there on July 11, 1993. In addition, he has two poles, 11 top-10 and seven top-five finishes in 20 starts at the track.

AT LOUDON

Starts: 20 (12)
Wins: -
Top 5's: 7 (6)
Top 10's: 11 (7)
Poles: 2 (2)
Highest finish: 2nd (3 times)
First time: 7/11/93 (2nd)
Last time: 11/19/04 (13th)
7/25/04 (14th)

UPS AND DOWNS AT LOUDON

Martin finished inside the top 10 in 10 of his first 12 starts at Loudon, but he hasn't posted a top -10 finish there in seven of his last eight, including a streak of six races. In fact, Martin has not finished inside the top 13 at Loudon since the season finale there in 2001.

MARKMARTINSALUTE.COM

Mark Martin will make his final run at the Nextel Cup title in 2005. Martin has dubbed 2005 as his "Salute to You" tour, a year in which he hopes to take the time to thank each and everyone that he feels played a role in his success, including team members, fans, NASCAR and the media.

QUOTING MARK MARTIN AND CREW CHIEF PAT TRYSON ON LOUDON

Mark Martin:

"Loudon can be a really tough race track. It can be really hard to pass there and if you don't handle well, then you are in for a long day. We ran really well there when we first started going, but haven't ran well there the last few years. Hopefully we'll be able to go there and reverse that trend this weekend and come out of there with a good finish, which we haven't had there in a while."

"We just weren't quite good enough to win last weekend at Chicagoland, but it says a great deal about this race team that we hung in there and kept fighting - even down to the last lap - and we managed to come out of there with a top-10 finish and a good day in the points. We know that we have some work to do with the cars, but if we can just keep fighting through it like we did last Sunday then I know we'll be okay."

Pat Tryson:

"Loudon hasn't been our best track as of late. We ran okay there last year, but we weren't really strong in either of the races there. Mark has a pretty good record there, so we know that he can get the job done if we give him a good enough car to work with, so I guess the real pressure will be on the team this weekend to make sure we get the job done. If we do, I'm sure we'll be just fine on Sunday."

MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS - LOUDON

• Martin won the first Cup pole at New Hampshire in July of 1993.
• Martin has never won at Loudon, but he has finished second on three occasions.
• Martin finished inside the top 10 in 10 of his first 12 and 11 of his first 13 at Loudon.
• Martin has not finished inside the top 10 at Loudon since November of 2001 (six consecutive races).
• Martin started his 500th consecutive race at Loudon in September of 2003.

Martin may come back
By Lee Montgomery - Correspondent
The Daytona Beach News-Journal: SPEED Magazine
Last update: July 15, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Unless Jack Roush finds a replacement, Mark Martin will race one more full NASCAR Nextel Cup season in the No. 6 Ford in 2006, Roush confirmed Thursday after a press conference to unveil the new Ford Fusion.

Martin was originally planning to retire from full-time Nextel Cup competition after this year, running a "Salute to You" tour to honor fans. But last week, car owner Roush began leaning on Martin to come back for one more year.

Roush signed Jamie McMurray to take over the No. 6, but that contract won't begin until 2007 because McMurray is signed with Chip Ganassi Racing.

"Mark Martin has agreed to drive the 6 car in 2006," Roush said. "I've got an honorable list of three or four other established guys that are out of rides or at the end of their terms who have expressed interest. There are at least four strong horses ready for the 6 car, and we've got sponsorship ready for the 6 car for any of those scenarios."

But there is a qualifier. If Roush can find someone else, Martin won't drive it.

"He will drive it for a championship in 2006 if I need for him to," Roush said.

As the Fusion, Ford's car for 2006, was introduced, Martin appeared with the seven other Ford drivers. That was a little odd, given Martin wasn't likely to drive the Fusion.

"I certainly thought this car wasn't really going to affect me as a race car driver," Martin said.

But with McMurray not immediately available, Roush pleaded with Martin to stay one more season. Roush said there is a "remote chance" that McMurray will be released from his contract with Ganassi.

"There's a lot of pressure on me from my team and from Jack Roush," Martin said. "Just going to have to wait and see. I'm really excited about Jamie McMurray taking over the 6 car. I've been in that car 18 years and helped Jack build the team.

"The 6 car, to me, will always be my car. It's something I have to consider. I don't want to let those guys down. We'll have to see what happens."

Last week, Roush told Martin the No. 6 team "would be impacted personnel-wise" if Roush has to put together a one-year program for someone else.

"He saw that and said, 'Yeah I can see that might be the case,' " Roush said. "He has enough commitment to me, enough commitment to the 6 team, enough commitment to all the guys who are on the 6 team to try to keep them together so they can launch in 2007 with Jamie on a high note."

Is that commitment enough to keep Martin around for one more year? Martin doesn't sound convinced.

"I absolutely have no interest in Nextel Cup racing in 2006, other than I don't want to let my team down and Jack Roush down," Martin said. "I've been real excited about 2006. My primary focus has been on the Craftsman Truck Series. That's really want I want to do. I've said that I was going to put my family first in 2006, and no matter what I do, that is going to happen. My family comes first, and anything I do in motorsports will come behind that."

Roush Racing Signs Jamie McMurray to Multi-Year Contract Beginning in 2007

CONCORD, N.C. (July 7, 2005) -- Roush Racing announced today that it has signed Jamie McMurray to a multi-year contract to drive its No. 6 NASCAR Nextel Cup entry commencing with the 2007 season.

No decision has been made with regard to the driver of the No. 6 for the 2006 season.

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich.-based Roush Industries that operates 10 motorsports teams: five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards; three in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth and Edwards; two in the Craftsman Truck Series with drivers Ricky Craven and Todd Kluever. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact John Miller, Roush Racing, (704) 720-4600.

Mark Martin - Chicagoland Post Race Notes and Quotes:

MARK MARTIN – No. 6 Viagra Taurus (finished 10th)

“The car was just so equal to so many, so passing was really difficult. And I lost a few spots on a lot of restarts and that hurt, it took a long time to get those back. That’s about what we had. We could’ve finished better under a better scenario, but it could’ve been worse. We could’ve finished worse under another scenario. So, I think all in all it was a reasonable day, considering.”

THE DAY, THOUGH, NEVER GOT TOO BAD, DID IT? YOU HOVERED AROUND 10TH PLACE MOST OF THE DAY.

“Yeah, it was about a 10th-place car most all day. We just didn’t get ourselves in a position to do any better than that. We weren’t good enough to drive up there, and it just didn’t work out.”

Martin Fights to 10th-Place Finish at Chicagoland
Mark Martin and the #6 Viagra® Racing Team
Chicagoland Speedway/July 10, 2005

JOLIET, Ill. (July 10, 2005) – Mark Martin and the Viagra® Racing Team fought to the very end of Sunday’s USG 400, passing teammate Greg Biffle on the final lap of the 267-lap race to secure their ninth top-10 finish of the season. Martin restarted eighth after the day’s 10th and final caution on lap 253, but just two-fresh tires and battling a ‘tight’ race car he quickly dropped back to 12th. Refusing to give up, Martin stayed in the fight and picked up the two final positions on the final two laps of the race.

“We just weren’t good enough today,” said Martin after the race. “But we hung in there and fought it to the end and came out of it with a top-10 finish and that’s what you have to do on days like this.”

Martin started the day 20th and quickly began his ascent towards the front, breaking inside the top-10 for the first time on lap 52, where he would run the majority of the remainder of the race. The car was strong on long runs, but struggled on restarts, which would prove costly in the caution-filled race.

Running in 10th place, the team opted for two-tires only on its seventh stop of the day after the race’s ninth caution on lap 243. The move put Martin back out in his highest position of the day in fifth place when the field went green on lap 248. Martin dropped back to eighth on the restart just moments before caution was again called on lap 250 and he restarted in eighth when the field took the green for the final time on lap 253. Battling faster cars on fresher tires Martin dropped all the way back to 12th, before making his move to break back into the top-10 on the final lap.

"The car was just so equal to so many, so passing was really difficult,” added Martin. “I lost a few spots on a lot of restarts and that hurt, it took a long time to get those back. That's about what we had. We could've finished better under a better scenario, but it could've been worse. We could've finished worse under another scenario. So, I think all in all it was a reasonable day, considering. It was about a 10th-place car most all day. We just didn't get ourselves in a position to do any better than that.”

The No. 6 over-the-wall team posted one of its best efforts of the season, turning in stops of 13.48, 13.36 and 14.05 seconds on the day and helping Martin to gain a total of 11 spots in the pits during the race.

The finish moved Martin up two spots to sixth in the Nextel Cup point standings. After 18 races on the season, Martin is currently only 28 points out of fifth and 346 points behind the leader. The team returns to action next week at New Hampshire Speedway, where Martin boasts 11 top 10 finishes in 20 starts.

Martin Finishes Fifth in Busch Race at Chicagoland
Mark Martin and the #9 Pennzoil Racing Team
Chicagoland Speedway/July 11, 2005

JOLIET, Ill. (July 10, 2005) – Mark Martin and the No. 9 Pennzoil Platinum Team ran to a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s USG Durock 300 Busch race at Chicagoland Speedway. Starting his first career Busch race at the 1.5-mile mile track, he started the race 10th and led seven laps in route to his 97th career top-five Busch finish.

“We had a top-five car and that’s where we finished,” said Martin. “The team did a great job with the car and in the pits all day and we were able to get a good, solid finish out of the deal. It was a good effort all day by the No. 9 Pennzoil team. We weren’t quite good enough to get up there and race for the win, but we had a really good car all day.”

Martin broke into the top five on lap 25 and moved up to as high as third on lap 39. He was running in sixth place on lap 76 when the day’s third caution was issued. With several cars in the field experiencing tire trouble Martin feared a problem with his right rear and the team came down pit road to take right side tires only. The stop dropped Martin out of sequence and back to 21st place when the field went green on lap 80 of the 200-lap race.

Martin wasted little time moving back up front, breaking back into the top-10 on lap 113. By lap 130 Martin was running back inside the top five and he took the lead on lap 132 and held it for the next seven laps until pitting under green on lap 139. The stop dropped Martin back to 15th place and a lap down, until the field cycled through on lap 150, with Martin back on the lead lap and in seventh place.

He drove his No. 9 Ford back into the top five on lap 163 and stayed there for the next 22 laps until dropping back to sixth on lap 185 with just 15 to go. Martin restarted in sixth after the day’s seventh and final caution on lap 194. He moved back into the top-five on the next lap and held on for the top-five finish, his third top-five in five Busch races this season.

The No. 9 team will return to action in September in Richmond, where Martin will look for his record extending career 48th win in the Busch series. Martin finished seventh at Richmond in the season’s first Busch race there in April.

Early Crash KO's Martin's Final Chase at Daytona Cup Victory
Mark Martin and the #6 Viagra® Racing Team
Daytona International Speedway/July 2, 2005

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2005) – Mark Martin went into Saturday night’s Pepsi 400 looking for his first Cup victory at Daytona International Speedway in what was most likely his final cup start at the famed superspeedway that lies just a few miles from his home. The No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Team gave Martin the fast car he would need to pull off the story book finish, but Martin’s hopes turned sour only 34 laps into the rain-delayed race as Martin was caught up in an eight car accident that would see his hopes of a solid finish come to an end, as his car was transported back to the garage area on a roll-back.

“That’s just been our story at Daytona,” said Martin moments after leaving the infield care center. “We had an awfully good car tonight and I know what happened could happen anywhere, but that’s just been the way it’s been here. I’m glad this is the last time I ever have to race here.”

The race was rain delayed for over two hours and the first 10 laps were run under caution. Once the green flag dropped, Martin wasted no time powering his No. 6 Viagra® Ford towards the front. By lap 28 Martin had worked his way inside the top-10. He broke into eighth place on lap 32. Moments later the field would begin green-flag pit stops. As the No. 24 car of Jeff Gordon went to pit, the No. 42 car began to slow behind him, causing the No.10 car of Scott Riggs to first slam on the brakes and then turn a hard right. The resulting turn left Martin with no place to go but up, which eventually carried him into the wall, causing teammate Kurt Busch to run into the back of Martin’s car as both were then collected by Riggs. The wreck caused severe damage to all three cars.

“I’m disgusted right now,” added Martin. “I just didn’t want to wreck. I wasn’t really worried about winning; I just didn’t want to get in an accident. That’s just a silly way to wreck. It could happen anywhere, but someone just wasn’t communicating.”

The team worked adamantly to make repairs to the car and get Martin back out on the track, and despite massive damage to the No. 6 Taurus, Martin was able to go back out on lap 105 and pick up four positions. True to its nature, the No. 6 Team never gave up as Martin picked up his last position on the final lap of the 160-lap race.

“Pat Tryson and the team did a great job getting that car back out on the track,” added Martin after the race. “I couldn’t believe how well it drove considering all of the damage it sustained, but we were able to go back out and pick up positions. They never gave up and I’m really proud of them for the job they did tonight. They gave me a car that was good enough to finish in the front and then when things went wrong, they dug in there and never gave up. We’ll just take that and go to Chicago and look to win the thing.”

The team returns to the track next weekend in Chicago, where Martin has two top-10 finishes in four starts. Despite the finish, Martin remained inside the Nextel Cup top 10, in eighth place. He is currently 25 points behind seventh and 310 behind the leader.

Crew chief Pat Tryson (right) hopes Mark Martin can avoid trouble and make a run at the Pepsi 400.
(JOHN RAOUX/ORLANDO SENTINEL) - July 1, 2005

Laps winding down on Martin's career
By Shannon Shelton
Orlando Sentinel
July 1 2005

DAYTONA BEACH · When Mark Martin visited Daytona Beach for the first time, he remembers thinking it was "the coolest place in the world."

He and his family went to the Daytona 500 as fans in the mid-1970s, and the then-14-year-old Martin was fascinated by the beauty of the Florida scenery, particularly the palm trees.

"It was just neat to see those," he said. "We don't have palm trees in Arkansas."

Nearly 20 years later, Martin and his family moved to Daytona Beach permanently. His presence in the community led city and Volusia County officials to give him the key to the city June 15, declaring the date as "Mark Martin Day."

But for all the affection he has for Daytona Beach, the city's main landmark hasn't always returned the love. Martin hasn't won a Cup race at Daytona International Speedway, although he has come close a number of times. Saturday night's Pepsi 400 is likely his last opportunity as Martin, 46, plans to retire as a Nextel Cup series regular at the end of this season.

"It's just like any other race to me," said Martin, who will make his 20th Pepsi 400 start this weekend. "It hasn't been particularly unkind to me, either. It hasn't been as good to me as say, Dover or Charlotte or Michigan or Atlanta, but it certainly hasn't been unkind to me, either, over the long haul. I've had a great career and have been blessed with a lot of success."

He has won 34 Cup races, but the closest he has come at Daytona was his third-place finish in the 1995 Daytona 500. He has started 40 NASCAR races at Daytona and has had nine top-five finishes and 15 top-10 placements. He was sixth in this year's Daytona 500 and sixth in the 2004 Pepsi 400.

"I've had a few great cars here at Daytona, but only a few," Martin said. "I've had great cars at other race tracks more often then I've had great cars here."

For this race, he's using the car that he drove to the sixth-place finishes in his past two starts at the track.

"We know we have a pretty good car to work with," crew chief Pat Tryson said. "Mark is one of the best in the draft, so we'll just hope to avoid the wrecks, stay around to the end and hopefully make a run at the thing."

Martin hasn't won a points race this season, but he is in fifth place overall, meaning he's squarely in the hunt for a spot in the "Chase for the Championship." Martin is 30 points out of fourth place and 228 points behind first-place Greg Biffle, a Roush Racing teammate.

Martin obviously would like to win the Cup championship that has eluded him in his decades of competition, but he's not budging from his declaration this will be his last full-time season in Nextel Cup.

He's open to filling in if a regular driver is injured, and he will compete in exhibitions such as the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona and the All-Star Challenge at Concord, N.C. Martin also is scheduled to race in the Craftsman Truck Series next season, which runs fewer events, so he'll still experience the thrill of being on the track without going through the grueling Nextel Cup schedule.

"There's no use in me saying `never,' but I don't have any desire to continue Nextel Cup racing," Martin said.

He wants to spend more time watching son, Matt, race quarter-midgets at New Smyrna Speedway, Orlando and Lake City, and be around his family on weekends.

Racing has been the top priority for most of his life, and Martin said he has given up a lot to put it first.

He doesn't second-guess that decision, just as he isn't rethinking the decision he's making now.

"I haven't had one feeling of doubt or regret," he said. "I'm really happy that I'm going to be able to say that I got out on the top of my game."

At 46, Mark Martin still is looking for his first victory at Daytona in a Cup race. His best finish has been 3rd.
(JOHN RAOUX/ORLANDO SENTINEL (JANUARY 2005)

What a Difference a Year Makes
Martin, No. 6 Viagra® Racing Team look for smoother path to Chase in '05

CONCORD, N.C. (June 29, 2005) – A year ago Mark Martin and the Viagra® Racing Team went into Sonoma 16th in the Nextel Cup points race, 578 points out of first and a seemingly insurmountable 205 points of 10th place; where Martin would need to be to make the inaugural Nextel Cup Chase. The following week, going into the Pepsi 400, Martin still trailed the 10th spot by 185 points. In the end, Martin and the No. 6 team would eventually go on a tear, as Martin mounted what might go down as the greatest charge of his accomplished career. The Viagra Team simply dug down and turned it up a notch, running to five top-five finishes in the last 10 races to eventually finish eighth before the 10-race cutoff.

Moving into July, Martin’s chances at the inaugural Chase for the Nextel cup were fledgling at best, but going into the finale at Homestead the team still harbored championship hopes. In the end Martin would finish fourth in the final standings, his 11th career top-five finish in the Nextel Cup points race.

“I tell you what, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire racing career,” said Martin of his frantic flurry to climb back into the top 10. “I had to dig down so far to find what it took to get into that chase by the cutoff.

“We had started the year in dead last place after losing the engine at Daytona and after that it was one step forward and two steps back,” added Martin. “We’d have a strong top-five finish and then we’d have problems in the next two races. At one point it really looked like we didn’t have a shot. But you just can’t say enough about Pat (Tryson) and this Viagra® Team. They just wouldn’t give up and wouldn’t go away. That is probably the reason that it meant so much when we made it in at Richmond.”

This year Martin and Tryson will look for a different trek to the final 10 races. After 16 races Martin sits in fifth place, only 30 out of fourth and just 228 behind first. The team’s been consistent, posting 10 top-15 finishes in 16 races, including eight top-10’s and five top-fives.

Rather than concentrating all its efforts on simply making the chase, Tryson and Martin would prefer putting that emphasis on making a strong run towards Martin’s first career Nextel Cup title once the 10-race ‘playoff’ gets started in late September.

However, Martin warns not to get ahead of oneself.

“Hey, we first have to worry about making the chase,” said the 23-year NASCAR veteran. “We are fifth right now and we’ve ran pretty good, but we know what a string of bad luck or a loss of focus can do. We have a great race team and one that is capable of winning a championship, but we just have to stay focused and take it one race at a time. It’s our goal to go out, run well and win races. If we do that the other stuff tends to fall into place.

“Of course I’d like nothing more than to win it all in my last year,” added Martin. “I’d love to mess things up for NASCAR by going out on top and then walking away, but I have to be realistic. Yes, we have a shot and yes, we are capable, but to put it all on one year – well that’s just asking a lot. I do think we have a shot and I do know that every person on this team will give 110 percent and do whatever it takes to win this thing. But even if we don’t, that doesn’t mean I’ll look back on it all and be any less proud.

“We’ve had a great year so far,” added Martin. “And the “Salute to You" Tour is going great. We’ve been able to do a lot of things and we’ve had good finishes. We’ll just have to keep it going and see what happens in the end. To tell you the truth, I’m excited about going into the second 10 races of the season with this race team. We keep getting better and better each week and I’m looking forward to what we might be able to do.

“However, what I can tell you is that if we are going to be able to accomplish our goals, it will require us to probably dig even deeper than we had to a year ago and that was really difficult. However, I’m confident that everybody on this team is willing to do that. A lot of these guys came back just to give me a shot at this thing and I don’t plan on letting them down.”

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich.-based Roush Industries that operates ten motorsports teams: five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards; three in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth and Edwards; and two in the Craftsman Truck Series with drivers Ricky Craven and Todd Kluever.

2005 Mark Martin Track Notes - Daytona International Speedway - July 2, 2005
Pepsi 400 - Daytona International Speedway
#6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Ford Taurus
June 29, 2005

DRIVER: Mark Martin

TEAM: No. (6) Viagra® Ford Taurus

OWNER: Jack Roush

CREW CHIEF: Pat Tryson

2004 EVENT WINNER: Jeff Gordon

MARK MARTIN - 2004 EVENT
Started 21st
Finish 6th

Martin Runs to Sixth Place Finish at Pepsi 400
Mark Martin and the #6 Viagra® Racing Team
Daytona International Speedway/July 3, 2004
Roush Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Mark Martin and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Race Team scored their second top-10 finish in as many weeks with a strong sixth-place run in a rain delayed Pepsi 400 at the Daytona International Speedway on late Saturday night. The finish was the end result of Martin’s keen ability to work his way through the draft, a fast racecar and solid work on pit road.

"We certainly had a chance today,” said Martin. “I know we finished sixth and that's nothing to brag about, but we just missed it by one lick. We didn't have any partners out there. Pat Tryson and the Viagra® team had that car really hooked up and we were strolling, but when it came time to go race for the win, the No. 20 and the No. 18 were going to stick together. The No. 48 and No. 24 stuck together and the No. 8 wasn't going to mess with me, so I was just there all by myself. The No. 97 was ahead of me and I needed somebody to be behind me and there wasn't anybody.

“Still, we had a great car and the type of car capable of coming here and winning and we haven’t always been able to say that in the past here. I’m very proud of Pat and this team and what we’ve been able to do this year.”

Martin was running in 14th place when green flag pitting started on lap 104 of the race. With the car handling tight, the team came in for a green flag stop on lap 110 to take on four tires, fuel and make a wedge adjustment to help the car’s handling. The No. 6 crew posted its best stop of the night at 13.80 seconds and Martin came out of the pits in 12th place. Once everything had cycled through, Martin was able to move all the way up to fifth position by lap 133.

The forward movement enabled Martin to pit with the race leaders on lap 138 for what would be the final stop of the night. Once again the Viagra® Team came through with a solid stop, taking on four tires and fuel in 14.11 seconds. Martin came out of the pits in 23 place, as various cars were on different cycles. Martin teamed up with a pack of cars that consisted of the No. 48, No. 8 and No. 18 cars, and the four cars worked together to move their way through the field and ultimately to the front.

Martin reached his top spot of the day at fourth on lap 147, but found himself a lap later without anyone to work with and he was quickly shuffled back to seventh place. Two laps later Martin was able to move the Viagra® Ford back into sixth and he would hold position for the remaining 10 laps of the race to take home the solid sixth-place finish.

“This is the kind of car I had in February too,” said Martin. “That's why I was so upset - not only about the points but I thought I might have had a chance to be a contender in the 500. I’m glad we were able to come back tonight and have the type of showing here that this team deserved.”

The start of the race was delayed over two hours due to heavy rains and thunderstorms in the area. Martin started the race in 21st position once the command was given to start the engines around 9:30 pm. After nine caution laps around the track the field went green and the race was underway. The action on the track early on was as tumultuous as the weather, with cars racing three and four wide all around the track.

Martin was still running in 21st place after the team’s first pit stop under caution on lap 19, but the veteran started to make a move to the front just a few laps later. By lap 40 Martin had drafted his way all the way into 12th position. The team broke into the top 10 for the first time on lap 51, and depending on the line of cars in the draft, Martin would run between 10 and 14th for the next 50 laps until the team made their final move on lap 110.

“I really think if it hadn't rained and the weather hadn't have gotten like it did, it would have been better for us,” added Martin. “We got a little tight tonight. If it would have been as tight as it was yesterday without the rain cooling the asphalt down we would have been better yet."

The solid run moved Martin up another spot to 14th in the Nextel Cup point standings, 157 points outside of the top 10 and only 45 points behind 11th. Martin has now posted two straight top-10 runs in two weeks and gained 49 points on 10th place in the last two outings. Martin is currently five points behind 14th place.

MARTIN RETURNS HOME FOR ONE MORE RUN AT PEPSI 400

After a 15th-place run at Sonoma, Martin returns home to Daytona for the Pepsi 400, where he will make his 41st start at the famed Daytona International Speedway. Martin has finished sixth in his last two starts at the 2.5-mile speedway, where he will look for his first win in what is very likely his final points race at the track.

THE CAR

Chassis Number: (RK-235) - The team will run RK-235 this weekend at Daytona. RK-235 is the same car that Martin used to finish sixth earlier this year in the Daytona 500 and sixth last year in the Pepsi 400.

WORTHY NOTE

Martin has finished top seven in five of his last seven at Daytona and sixth in his last two.

MARTIN AT DAYTONA

A native of Daytona Beach, this will be Martin's 41st start at the famed Daytona Int'l Speedway, where he has finished in the top six in five of his last seven starts. Martin finished sixth in his last two starts at Daytona, including earlier this year in the Daytona 500 and in last year's Pepsi 400. All-in-all Martin has nine top-five and 15 top-10 finishes at Daytona, incluing top 10 efforts in 15 of his last 27 starts there.

MARK MARTIN DAY IN DAYTONA

Martin, who has resided in Daytona since 1992, was given the key to the city on June 15. In addition the City of Daytona and Volusia county declared the day Mark Martin day in honor of one of its favorite residents.

UNRESTRICTED

Martin is one of just six drivers to have competed in all 70 restrictor-plate races. Martin's 34 top-10 finishes are the most of any driver at restricted races. He has finished in the top 10 in 49 percent of the restrictor-plate races ran in Nextel Cup.

MARK MARTIN - FAST FACTS - DAYTONA

• Martin has finished inside the top six in five of his last seven races at Daytona.

• Martin has finished sixth in his last two at Daytona, including a sixth-place finish in last year's Pepsi 400.

• Martin has finished inside the top-10 in 15 of his last 27 at Daytona and seven of his last 13 Pepsi 400's.

• Martin has nine top five and 15 top-10 finishes in 40 starts at DIS.

• Martin has finished in the top-10 in 49 percent of his 70 restrictor -plate races.

• Martin's 34 top-10 finishes in restrictor plate races are the most ever.

• Martin is one of six drivers to have completed in all 70 restrictor-plate races.

AT DAYTONA

Starts: 40 (19)
Wins: -
Top 5's: 9 (4)
Top 10's: 15 (7)
Poles: 1 (1)
Highest finish: 3rd (2/19/95)
First time: 2/14/82 (30th)
Last time: 2/20/05 (20th)
7/3/04 (6th)

QUOTING MARK MARTIN AND CREW CHIEF PAT TRYSON ON DAYTONA

Mark Martin on Daytona:

"Daytona International Speedway has really been the source of a lot of pain and a lot of heartaches for me over the years. It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of restrictor plate racing in general, but we'll go there and roll the dice and hopefully come out on top. We've actually had some pretty good race cars there the past couple of years and we were able to finish sixth in the 500 earlier this year and sixth there last July, so hopefully we can keep that going and be able to avoid the wrecks and come out of there with a good finish and and good position in the points race.

"We had a tough week at Sonoma last weekend, so we'll be looking to get that behind us. We are fifth in the points right now, so hopefully we can get through Daytona and still be in good shape heading to Chicago and Pocono, as this thing starts to approach the 26-race cut-off."

Pat Tryson on Daytona:

"We'll be taking RK-235, which is the same car that we used to finish sixth there in the 500 in February and sixth last year in the 400, so we know we have a pretty good car to work with. Mark is one of the best in the draft, so we'll just hope to avoid the wrecks, stay around to the end and hopefully make a run at the thing."

Happy ending
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
June 29, 2005

SONOMA, Calif. – When one is going through the final season in a sport that has been his life for the better part of a quarter-century, it's understandable to be emotional.

There are the inevitable good memories along with things he'd rather forget. There are recollections of good times and bad, good friends and on-track foes. There are celebrations and laments, even smiles and tears.

With so much to recall, it would seem there's precious little time left to actually enjoy oneself, as with each week comes even more bittersweet goodbyes to longtime fans from Loudon to Los Angeles.

Such is the case with Mark Martin. As his "Salute to You" tour and 2005 season nears the halfway point, each passing race means just one thing: Martin draws one step closer to the time he'll make his final salute.

But an interesting thing has happened along the way.

You would think that after a career during which he's been a runner-up four different times but never a Cup champion, Martin would be as anxious and jittery as someone who hasn't had their first coffee of the day, hoping he can finally shake his own personal curse and finally win a championship.

But instead, Martin is having the time of his life. Instead of fretting over his last shot at a Cup crown, he's at peace with himself, having adopted a philosophy that whatever happens will happen, and he's simply along for the ride.

If he wins the championship, great. If he finishes in the top 10, it's all good. For the first time in his career, Martin is letting everything else take care of itself, leaving him to have just one thing to worry about: having fun.

When I asked Martin this past weekend at Infineon Raceway whether his having fun is helping him perform better, he replied with a broad smile.

"I'm so sorry to say that the reason I'm having fun is because my car is running so good – and that's pitiful," he said. "I should be a better man than that. That [was] one of my frustrations in 2003."

Martin finished 17th in points in '03.

"I shouldn't let the performance of my car dictate how I feel about my self-esteem and my self-value and all of those things," Martin said. "Obviously, that's a challenge for me and I'm having a ball because I'm driving great race cars and I know this is the last go-round. That makes it fun for me."

Martin had collected three consecutive top-10 finishes before coming home 15th at Sonoma on Sunday after starting third. He currently sits fifth in points with 10 races remaining until the start of the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"I'm enjoying this season more than I thought," Martin said. "This is a great year. Our performance on the race track has been good and that's made it a little bit easier to handle all that's going on."

Saying countless goodbyes and making umpteen sponsor appearances – let alone commuting from his Daytona Beach, Fla., home to places like Sonoma while piloting his own plane, no less – would be rough enough on anyone.

"Everything that it takes to be competitive today, along with the sponsor commitments and then the commitment to the Salute Tour, and all the things we're doing with the fans, it's a pretty tough schedule that we're keeping," Martin said.

But the harder the going has gotten, the more Martin has relaxed and enjoyed himself. As a result, he's putting less pressure on himself than ever before in his career and not being his own worst critic – a trait that had been a Martin hallmark since he came out of Arkansas to seek his fame and fortune in the Cup series.

"I'm smiling more than I ever have and I'm enjoying it," said Martin, who isn't worrying about this being his final Cup season. "[That] doesn't bother me right now. It may some day, but at this time it's not what I'm focused on."

If he can have a little fun – scratch that, make that a lot of fun – along the way, all the better. He is, in fact, having a ball.

"The thing you have to remember is that I'm doing this by choice," Martin said. "I'm not being forced out and I'm not fading away. We're making plenty of noise here and that's how I wanted to do it."

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR analyst. Send Jerry a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Martin, No. 6 Viagra® Team Turn in 15th-Place Finish at Sonoma
Mark Martin and the #6 Viagra® Racing Team
Infineon Raceway/June 26, 2005

SONOMA, Calif. (June 26, 2005) – Mark Martin and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing team picked up six positions in the final five laps of Sunday’s Dodge Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway to run to a 15th-place finish in the season’s first road course race. Martin started the race third and ran inside the field’s top six until getting called for speeding on pit road after the team’s first pit stop on lap 34. The infraction forced Martin to serve a pass through back down pit road, dropping him back to 30th position; the team was never able to fully recover from the penalty and Martin would be forced to fight for position the remainder of the race.

“It was just a tough day,” said Martin after the race. “The car was never as good as it was in practice on Saturday and then I made a mistake speeding on pit road and that put us in a hole that was really hard to dig our way out of.

“We were able to get back up to 11th or 12th, but then the cautions fell and we came out on the short end of the stick on the way the fuel mileage came out and it put us in the back again. We were able to fight our way back to 15th there at the end and bring home a solid finish, but we had been hoping for a lot more. We’ll just have to regroup and go back after it next weekend.”

Martin was eventually able to fight his back to as high as 11th place by lap 68, just before the day’s sixth caution was issued. Martin and the team came into the pits on lap 70 for four tires and enough fuel to go the distance, while some teams on different pit schedules opted to stay out or take fuel only. The strategy proved correct for those teams, as they were able to go the distance. Martin restarted in 23rd place on lap 71 and was able to fight his way back inside the top 20 by lap 79. The day’s seventh and final caution on lap 102, allowed majority of teams in front of Martin who opted to stay out to make it on fuel, while Martin was forced to fight for position down to the final lap, when he picked up two positions to finish 15th.

The solid finish allowed Martin to maintain his 5th-place finish in the points, while gaining ground on first place. Currently Martin is 30 points behind fourth place and race winner Tony Stewart and 228 points outside of first. The team will head to Daytona next weekend for the Pepsi 400 for the third of four restrictor plate races of the season.

Infineon Raceway unveils Wall of Fame; NASCAR’s Wallace, Martin first inductees
By John Cardinale
WhoWon.com

SONOMA, Calif. -- Legendary drivers Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin will retire from the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series after the 2005 season, but their legacies will live forever at Infineon Raceway.

Wallace and Martin, who have combined for three victories and three pole positions at Infineon Raceway over their careers, were honored during a ceremony on Friday in the Winner’s Circle as the raceway announced the construction of a Wall of Fame.

Wallace and Martin were honored as the Wall of Fame’s first inductees — the ceremony took place during the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend.

The Sonoma Valley facility has featured the best in motor sports over the last 37 years, and raceway officials decided to establish a Wall of Fame, which will honor those who have excelled not only in their form of motor racing, but more importantly, at Infineon Raceway.

Both drivers were presented with granite plaques by Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway. The plaques were etched with each driver’s likeness, as well as their form of motor racing, and the date of induction. The plaques will be on display in the Wall of Fame, which is being constructed behind the main grandstand and will be open to the public.

“The Infineon Raceway Wall of Fame provides a wonderful means to celebrate the rich motor racing history of this facility,” Page said. “ Both Rusty and Mark have performed so well on this track and have done so much to build this sport in Northern California. I can think of no two names we'd rather feature as our first inductees.”

Both Wallace and Martin have been road-course specialists at Infineon Raceway over the years. Wallace won the event in 1990 and 1996 and has two poles (1989, 2000). He has also led the most races (eight) and is fourth at the raceway in all-time earnings ($882,205). Moreover, Wallace placed outside the top seven just twice from 1989-1996.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming to Sonoma and we’ve always run well here, so this is a big honor for me to be one of the first drivers to be inducted into the Wall of Fame,” Wallace said. “The bottom line is that it has always been one of the most fun races of the year.”

Martin, meanwhile, won the event in 1997, and has 13 top-10 efforts in 16 starts at Infineon Raceway. He has placed outside the top 10 just once since 1994, and is second in all-time earnings ($955,737).

“This is a great honor for me,” Martin said. “We’ve had some great races here and I will miss the road course, but it’s an honor to know that I will always be a part of the history in Sonoma.”

Wallace and Martin have combined to complete nearly 3,000 laps over the serpentine circuit in their storied careers. There couldn’t have been a better duo as the Wall of Fame’s first inductees.

The Wall of Fame will include competitors from all forms of motor racing at Infineon Raceway, including NASCAR, NHRA POWERade Drag Racing, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), open-wheel cars, sports cars, and more. It will also include those who have made significant contributions to the raceway over the years. A raceway committee will oversee the selection process on an annual basis.

NASCAR drivers Rusty Wallace, left, and Mark Martin laugh at a news conference announcing them as the first inductees into the Wall of Fame at Infineon Raceway before a practice run for Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Nextel Cup in Sonoma, Calif., Friday, June 24, 2005. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Martin inducted onto Infineon Wall of Fame
fordracing.com
June 24, 2005

Sonoma, Calif. — Mark Martin, driver of the No. 6 Viagra Taurus, was inducted into Infineon Raceway's Wall of Fame earlier today, along with Rusty Wallace. Martin spoke about racing at one of NASCAR's two road courses and how his season has gone to date.

MARK MARTIN - NO. 6 VIAGRA TAURUS

ARE YOU ENJOYING THIS SEASON LIKE YOU THOUGHT?

"More than I thought. This is a great year. Our performance on the race track has been good and that's made it a little bit easier to handle all that's going on, but this is definitely the biggest load on me that I've ever had. Everything that it takes to be competitive today, along with all the sponsor commitments, and then the commitment to the salute tour - and all the things we're doing with the fans - it's a pretty tough schedule that we're keeping but it's going well. I'm smiling more than I ever have and I'm enjoying it."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO THE WEEKEND?

"I'm thinking about trying to win the race and what we can do to give us our best shot at it, and all of the things that we always think about - how can we get the best result for our effort."

CAN YOU EVALUATE HOW THINGS HAVE GONE HALFWAY THROUGH THIS SALUTE YEAR?

"It's going really great. The fan response has been overwhelming and I'm really happy with it. I think the fans are, too. We've given them some stuff to really cheer about, like the all-star win and some of those things. We're right on schedule. We really have a lot to go yet. I mean, the good stuff is really yet to come this year, so I'm excited about it."

HAS IT HIT HOME THAT THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU MIGHT RACE AT THIS TRACK?

"It doesn't bother me right now. It may some day, but at this time it's not what I'm focused on. The thing you have to remember is that I'm doing this by choice. I'm not being forced out and I'm not fading away. We're making plenty of noise here and that's how I wanted to do it. If I was very sad about it, I shouldn't be doing it."

IS THERE A TRACK THAT HAS GONE THROUGH A GREATER TRANSFORMATION THAN THIS ONE SINCE YOU'VE BEEN RACING?

"The course has changed a lot and everything around it. It's cool. I like road racing, obviously, and this race track is a real challenge. For some reason, I have more memories, and not near all of them have to do with the race track itself, but it seems like I have more memories from making this trip than about anywhere we go."

NEXT WEEK IS DAYTONA. HOW SPECIAL WOULD IT BE TO WIN DOWN THERE?

"It's another race on the schedule to me and it always has been. The thing about this deal is that you don't get to choose which races you win. If you're lucky, you get to win some. They choose you, you don't choose them. I take what I can get and I'm very grateful for the ones that I get. For the ones that I don't get, we make our best effort and that's all we can do."

DO YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOUR CHANCES OF MAKING THE CHASE?

"I don't know. One wreck and one broken part and we don't make it, so I can't control either one of those. We don't have any cushion where we are right now, so we'll have to see. I don't want to count on making it, but if we miss the wrecks and don't break any parts, I'm sure we'll make it."

PEOPLE SAY AS THE YEARS HAVE GONE BY THERE ARE FEWER PLACES TO PASS ON THIS TRACK. DO YOU BUY THAT?

"Oh, yeah. I buy that. It's a difficult course, especially with the passing zones the way they are today and everybody's car is the same speed nowadays, much more than it was 10 years ago, because of the competitiveness of the teams and the rules that we have to race within now. That's what you have to deal with when you come out here."

Martin, Wallace inducted into track hall of fame
Associated Press
June 25, 2005

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) - Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace - two past winners at Infineon who are retiring from full-time Nextel Cup competition after this season - were honored Friday as the first inductees on the track's wall of fame.

Both drivers were presented with black granite plaques etched with their images that will be placed on the checkerboard-style wall. Wallace and Martin recalled their victories at Infineon. Wallace won in 1990 and 1996 and Martin in 1997.

"Rusty and I are both looking forward to this race. It's our last stop here," Martin said.

"This is one of my favorite places to come to," Wallace said. "The two victories we've had here have been important to me."

Infineon president and general manager Steve Page, who presented the tiles, said he could think of no drivers more deserving of occupying the first of the 30 spots on the wall.

"Both Rusty and Mark have performed so well on this track and have done so much to build this sport in Northern California," Page said.

A raceway committee will oversee the annual selection process of inductees to the wall, who will be chosen from all forms of racing.

TV Guide's Mid-Year NASCAR Issue

TV GUIDE REVS UP FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE 2005 NEXTEL CUP SEASON WITH SPECIAL MID-YEAR NASCAR ISSUE

FOUR COLLECTIBLE COVERS FEATURE DYNAMIC DUOS FROM THE SPORT'S TOP RACE TEAMS

As NASCAR approaches the second half of its 2005 Nextel Cup season, TV Guide hits newsstands with its June 26 NACAR mid-season issue (on sale June 23rd), featuring four different collector's covers. At a time when teams have truly come to rule the sport, TV Guide's covers will each highlight four of the sport's leading pairs. Making up the covers are:

Inside the issue, TV Guide's resident NASCAR expert Robert Edelstein, author of the acclaimed biography Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of NASCAR Legend Curtis Turner, talks to the sport's top stars about how race teams have come to the rule sport and the challenges this creates in such a competitive racing world. Even mentioning the word "teammate" makes Roush driver Mark Martin bristle. "It's not exactly the correct term," he tells Edelstein. "we work very much like a team away from the track, off the track, even at the track, but on the track, we're still trying to clobber one another." But according to Elliott Sadler, who now shares much more information with 1999 Cup champ Jarrett, working as a team has become imperative to winning. "History and statistic speak for themselves. Single-car teams are just not making it nowadays," he says. "It's not a question of good people or good race car drivers but [how much] you can pull from different areas."