Martin Doesn't Need Hendrick Head Start

ESPN.com's David Newton is reporting the driver who is replacing Casey Mears in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet in 2009 -- veteran Mark Martin -- might find himself getting a jump on that plan in the coming weeks.

Hendrick Motorsports is considering a plan that would put Mark Martin in the No. 5 car he'll take over in 2009 for the final race of this season at Homestead [-Miami] Speedway.

A contingency to the plan is getting Casey Mears, the current driver of the No. 5, into the fourth car at Richard Childress Racing that he will drive next season.

But in order to do that Mears would have to drive the No. 33, not the No. 07 that he is slated for because Clint Bowyer is driving that car in the Chase. Team owner Richard Childress said he is willing to put Mears in the No. 33 unsponsored if necessary.

"He won't go without a ride," Childress said.

Why wait until the last race at Homestead, you might ask? Well according to Newton, Martin is scheduled to drive in his current Dale Earnhardt Inc. part-time gig for the season's third and second to last races in Texas and Phoenix.

I'm not real sure, though, that making such a switch would truly benefit Martin or Mears (if ends up racing for RCR at Homestead).

Mark Martin is no rookie. The 49-year-old driver hasn't been out of the game for many years and has even driven a Hendrick Motorsports car in both Nationwide Series competition and Sprint Cup test sessions in 2008.

Needless to say, Martin won't be jumping feet first into an operation he doesn't know.

And on the Casey Mears side of things, he's not going to be driving in the No. 07 ride or with his future crew chief Gil Martin if he makes the start at Homestead with RCR instead of Hendrick.

All in all, it seems like a lot of headaches for something that won't really be huge gain for the 2009 season.