Mark Martin Slips to 35th After Crash

After taking the outside pole in the season-opening Daytona 500, the rejuvenated and ageless Mark Martin was the talk of the NASCAR garage area.

Martin, it seemed, was ready to vie for his first Sprint Cup title during his first full season with Hendrick Motorsports after taking a part-time role for the past few seasons.

Now, after a third-straight finish lower than 30th, it's hard to believe that the driver of the No. 5 is the same guy the NASCAR world was abuzz about just four weeks ago.

From that front row starting spot at Daytona, Martin came home with a 16th-place finish after the rain-shortened festivities of the season-opener left former Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth the winner and the rest of the finishing order more jumbled than rookie Joey Logano's post-Daytona confidence.

The next week at Auto Club Speedway, Martin and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. both suffered engine failures that left the No. 5 team with a 40th-place finish after completing 179 of the 250 scheduled laps. The same fate and finish then awaited Martin the next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- dropping the Arkansas driver to an ugly 34th in points.

Friday, when Martin won the pole for Sunday's 500-mile proceedings at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the cloud over the No. 5 Chevrolet seemingly had departed.

As it turned out, the clearing was brief.

On lap 214, Martin's right rear tire went flat while he entered turn one at the 1.5-mile track, sending the No. 5 into a slow spin towards the outside wall. The damage, while not crippling, brought Martin to pit road for a lenghy repair.

When the checkered flag finally flew to declare Kurt Busch winner of the Kobalt Tools 500, Martin was left 14 laps off the leader's pace and with a disappointing 31st-place finish.

Fortunately, Sunday wasn't as bad as it could have been for Martin.

Coming into the race, Martin was 34th in the owner point standings and on the edge of the NASCAR's well-known "Top-35 Rule" that grants an automatic starting spot to each team for the next race granted they are 35th or better. In three weeks, the results of the first five races of 2009 will go into effect for that rule. (NASCAR grants teams who finished the previous season inside the Top-35 a five-race window to start each season.)

As of now, Martin sits teetering on the edge of having to qualify based on speed for the season's sixth race at Martinsville Speedway thanks to his 35th-place standing -- just a mere 9 points ahead of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's Aric Almirola.

What lies between now and that cut-off point for the first Top-35 classification of 2009? Only one of NASCAR's most rough and tumble tracks -- the infamous high-banked short track that is Bristol Motor Speedway -- that can truly be a wildcard thanks to small confines creating plenty of situations for trouble.

Martin has picked up two wins at the track and averages a finish of 13th in his 40 tries, but hasn't been in a race there since 2006.

Nine points is virtually a non-existant cushion especially at Bristol meaning Martin will have to hope that the coming off-week for the Sprint Cup Series will rid his team of all the bad demons it has seen since Daytona.

However, its not at all realistic to expect that Martin can't regain to form to find the Chase come September -- mainly knowing that the problems he's seen so far haven't been induced by at-track team actions.

The No. 5 ship will right itself, but in the mean time, the string of bad luck for a team with such a depth of resources is nothing less than surprising.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

3-09-2009 @ 3:14AM

CJ said...

I really hate this for Mark. I can say really it's just been bad luck, nothing he did to bring this mess he's in on himself. Two mechanical failures and a cut tire has put him in a poor decision. I hope he can get a good finish at Bristol in a couple weeks so he'll stay in top 35. I still believe he'll make the Chase.

3-09-2009 @ 3:59AM

Bob said...

This has almost been painful to watch. Mark Martin is a class act, and is still a very competitive racer--and no, I don't mean FOR his age, but rather IN SPITE OF his age. He joined a new team, all for the chance to run up front once again--and he keeps looking like one of those rodents in the carnival game where you swat it with a big mallet. The "racing gods" have not been kind to Mr. Martin this season, to put it mildly. I wouldn't count the man out of the chase yet, though, because all he needs is one run without getting "swatted", and he'll climb right back up into the top ten before the cut-off.

3-09-2009 @ 7:33AM

Kim said...

I agree that Mark Martin is a class act as a person and as a driver, but unfortunately he is driving the number 5. Car number 5 has always been the bottom tier car at Hendrick no matter who is driving it. The best example of this....Kyle Busch. He was unsuccessful in the number 5 for Hendrick but the minute he moved to Gibbs, became a powerhouse of a driver. It is my personal opinion that the number 5 car is a "bad omen" on the Hendrick team.

Although I feel bad for Mark, I must say I highly doubt he will make the chase, let alone be a contender for wins this year. Is it a shame, absolutely! Mark Martin is one of the best. His age, as Bob said, has nothing to do with his talent and appeal. He's just a cool guy all the way around and one of the best!

I wish him well, but it's not looking good. Three races in, two DNF's and one 31 st. place finish doesn't equal contender for a championship. Hopefully Martin and his team will prove me wrong and the five car team will turn things around. I would be shocked if they could at this point.

Kim

3-09-2009 @ 11:22AM

Actually Kim, the #25 was the bad number for Hendrick. The 5 car won a championship with Terry Labonte in 1996 and when Kyle Busch left, he won races and was in the Chase, it was Casey Mears in the 25 who missed the chase and was the lowest car on the totum pole. I dont know where everybody is getting this 5 car jinx, because besides last year when Mears drove it, it was pretty successful. Two of the three years Kyle Busch drove it, he made the Chase and his rookie year he won two races at the last half of the year. Terry Labonte also had alot of luck in it, as like i said winning a championship, but it was talent, not the equipment, that left Labonte, as much as i hate to say that. That was evident when Kyle Busch took it over in 2005.

3-09-2009 @ 6:58PM

Hey CJ!

My bad....I actually forgot that the number 5 and the number 25 have been interchangeable with Hendrick. When Vicker's drove for Hendrick was it 25 or 5? My point is, other than Terry Labonte winning his championship in the five, this particular team seems to be the lowest team on the totem pole at Hendrick. It is strange that the 5 car and the 88 car are worked on in the same garage and Jr. is managing to stay in the top fifteen each week (except for one week), but Mark isn't. Also, the 24 and 48 are in the same garage and they are both consistently running in the top ten each week. It just seems like something is amiss with the number 5 team.

Don't get me wrong, I truly like Mark Martin and would like to see him succeed. Like Bob said above, it is almost painful to watch Martin struggle so much. He was so excited to start the season and remains upbeat, something I always admire about him. Hopefully things will turn around for him.

Kim

3-09-2009 @ 11:17PM

Vickers took over the 25 car from Joe Nemechek for the 2004 season. He of course won that race at Talladega dirty by wrecking Jr and Johnson, but i said then, he better enjoy it cause it be his only win and so far ive been right. I agree that the 5 car has not been in the same league as the 48 or the 24 but the 24 until this season, at least so far, hasnt been in the 48's league either. I think though if you look at it, the 25 car has only won four races since 2000, one with Jerry Nadeau in 2000 at Atlanta, Joe Nemechek won in the 25 at Richmond in 2003, Vickers won at Talladega in 2006 by dirty racing, and Mears won in 2007 on fuel mileage at Lowe's on Memorial Day. Since Tim Richmond's death i've always have said there's the Richmond curse on the 25 number, but i wouldnt say the 5 car is. As a Jr fan, i actually just wanted him to take over the 5 ride and just change two things, the name over the window and the seat to adjust to him. I think he would've been better off by just takin Kyle Busch's place and i think that Alan Guftason is a better crew chief than Tony Eury Jr and although i hope they both do great this year, if they both start to run lousy, id love to see a change or switch of crew chiefs between the Mark and Dale Jr and i think you'd see improvement. I think Dale Jr instead of having to revamp everything from sponsors, to numbers, to car designs just to make him happy was absolutely ridiculous and i didnt like how he did that. Like i said, he should've just taken over the 5 ride since he replaced Kyle or at least take over the 25 and not have to change the number or design. If i had been Hendrick i would've told him he was going strait into the 5 car or he wouldnt drive for me. I do know that Dale Jr loved the Mountain Dew sponsorship, which i loved as well, and that he wanted them to be the primary sponsor, but when Pepsi said they would only promote their energy drink and that Mountain Dew wasnt worth the money to endorse that much, then Jr had to go along with that, however for the second strait year, Mountain Dew will be the primary sponsor on Dale Jr's car at Darlington again which is great! Hope Mark and Dale Jr get some great runs lined up in the next few weeks, and maybe some wins!

3-10-2009 @ 6:51AM

CJ,

I agree that Earnhardt Jr. should have taken over the number 5 team instead of messing with putting together a whole new team and number. I also whole-heardidly agree that Eury Jr. should have been replaced as crew-chief and have said so since the very beginning. I really got beat up on these boards because of it, too. Sometimes though, business needs to stay business and family needs to stay family and that case is true with the Jr.'s in my opinion.

As for last year.....Jr.'s car shared a garage with Johnson and Gordon's car was in the same garage with Mear's. Hell, maybe the garage is cursed? This year Gordon & Johnson's cars are together again and it seems like team momentum on the 24 team is back once again despite Steve Letarte's lack of effort in my opinion.

I hope all the Hendrick boys will get their act together and all be in the top ten in points and contend for the championship. At this point though, it looks like wishful thinking on my part. :-)

Kim

3-10-2009 @ 2:23PM

i never heard that the 48 and 88 were garaged last year. Ive always known the24 and 48 in the same shop and even last year Fox and ESPN analyst said that Mears and Jr were out of the same shop. I look at Eury Jr at Hendrick like this: Would Hendrick of hired him if Dale Jr was somewhere else? The answer is directly No. Hendrick would'nt of gotten rid of Darian Grubb for Tony Eury Jr unless Jr wanted it. The only two teams i ever heard that was interested in Tony Jr WITHOUT Dale Jr was Yates Racing and i know that Michael Waltrip loved him as his crew chief in 2005 when he and Dale Jr split up at DEI, and Mikey said he was the best crew chief he ever worked with, but then again this is Mikey Waltrip and how many races has he won lately or how many championships has he competed for? None! Im not a huge Darian Grubb fan and i wouldnt of been a fan of he and Dale Jr together, but Alan Guftason and Dale Jr i think could work out well together.

3-11-2009 @ 6:35AM

dwldrvr said...

All mechanical...Mark will make the chase...No worries! Dramatics are over.

3-11-2009 @ 7:36PM

chrsdeanc said...

I think we all hate it for Mark,but the bright side is if your gonna have bad luck,better to do it early,theres still 22 races before the chase,it can only get better for him.

3-11-2009 @ 8:34PM

Amen to that, chrsdeanc. Once this nasty "cloud" passes, Mark will be back in the thick of things. It's a long run to the playoffs, and any success now equals big jumps in the standings. Here's hoping the "weather" changes soon.

3-11-2009 @ 8:53PM

illsell4u said...

You are obviously well informed, CJ, and like many of Jr's fans want to see him win more often. Two years ago I wondered who his fans were going to blame when Jr moving to Hendrick did not suddenly turn him into a winner. It seems that the fans want to blame the crew chief now. You are by no means the exception in what you say, but rather the rule. Keep in mind, it is the same crew chief that had Jr running in second place last year to Kyle Busch when Kyle Busch was on fire.

In regards to all the distractions during the transition period, that was all part of the hipe. Jr makes far more money from sales of merchandise than he does driving a car. That is his sisters job, which she does well. That is, managing his career and merchandising. It is obvious to me in watching Jr in front of a live camera, he would rather be any place else. The only time you hear him form entire sentences and look into a camera, it has been taped. I am not saying he is stupid, I am saying he does not like to be the center of attention and would probably not have done the many things he did without his manager insisting on it.

Maybe you will get your wish. Maybe at the end of this season when he fails to make the chase once again, or rather than improving at the end of the season he goes backwards like he did the last two years, they will fire Tony Eury Jr. When they do and Jr fails to win more than one race next year, who is the Jr Nation going to blame? Owner, sponsor, tire changer?
MBL

3-11-2009 @ 9:38PM

Hey, sell4u, i look at who's been he's crew chiefs and Dale Jr has had only four different crew chiefs, Tony Eury Sr, Tony Jr, and loser named Pete Rondeau who disappeared completely from Nascar, and for a short time Steve Hmeil who was at one time Mark Martin's crew chief at Roush. Jr has won two races with Tony Jr as his crew chief and that's been the last two races he won, Michigan last year and Richmond in 2006. He won one race at Chicagoland in 2005 with Steve Hmeil as crew chief and the rest were won with Tony Sr. I think Tony Sr was the crew chief who Dale Jr was just right with and when he stepped down i hated it and new unless they had a good crew chief on top of the box replacing him, Jr was screwed, and Dale Jr's last best season where he won six races and nearly won the championship was 2004 and that was Tony Sr's last. I knew Pete Rondeau was a huge mistake and it was and i liked Steve as Jr's crew chief, but he didnt want it full time, just until they found a replacement, and of course that was the mistake of Tony Jr. Tony Jr was Mikey's crew chief in 2005 and Mikey loved him, but how many races did Mikey win that year? NONE and they didnt even come close to making the Chase. Jr has never worked with very good crew chiefs such as Mike Ford, Chad Knaus, Greg Zipadelli, or Jimmy Fennig who i think if any of those were teamed with Dale Jr, it'd be a different story. Dale Jr's only talent that was a crew chief on his crew box was Tony Sr and Steve Hmeil and ill admit, if they gave Dale Jr crew chief Alan Guftason or even Lance McGrew who's still with Hendrick and he didnt get it going in the right direction, i'd be the first to admit it was Dale Jr, but i believe that Tony Jr comes no where close to having the talent of his dad Tony Sr, and ill say that Dale Jr doesnt have all the talent of Dale Sr but unlike Tony Jr, Dale Jr has shown that he did get some of his dad's talent.

3-11-2009 @ 10:34PM

Thanks CJ. I do not follow the nationwide series but is Tony Sr not still active in that series?

3-12-2009 @ 12:20PM

Well, Tony Sr may be in the Nationwide series, but when you have a bad driver in Keselowski, and yes, i think he's very overhyped just because he drives for Jr. I'd be in favor of Dale Jr swapping crew chiefs with Brad K any day of the week. I think Dale Jr would being do better and as for Brad, well i think Tony Sr can only do so much with a lost cause.

3-12-2009 @ 3:56PM

sparkymartin5 said...

Mark Martin will rebound from his bad luck. He is one of the best drivers out there. Just look at Dale Jr. he was in the same place as Mark is in just a couple of weeks ago. Jr has rebounded since then.

3-12-2009 @ 10:23PM

Ok, so it appears he is not only still working but he still works for Dale Jr. Since you have been able to figure out that Dale Jr's best performance was when Tony Sr was in the box, and those were the years I noted earlier that Dale Jr had the fastest pit crew in Nascar, why is Tony Sr not sitting in the box over Dale Jr's pit area now?

3-13-2009 @ 5:42PM

Simple, isell, he doesnt want to be in the Cup series anymore. There's an article on ESPN.com that Terry Blount talking about a split between Dale Jr and Eury Jr is needed and said the same about Dale Jr and Tony Sr and has the stats on finishes between Tony Jr and Sr with Dale Jr and said that Tony Sr doesnt want to go back to Cup because he enjoys grooming young drivers into the sport. It was a great article and suggested what i said, swap Mark Martin's crew chief with Dale Jr and see what happens.

3-14-2009 @ 12:53PM

job13salazar said...

exelent driver, good person, but he need to ritire! and let a young blood emerge. he should be make an example and do something else, kind like GW.

3-18-2009 @ 2:30AM

robsphase said...

Mark may be a nice guy but he is no better than Jr as a driver. Neither has done a whole lot and never will. Instead of this, you guys should focus more on the drive for diversity crap. How long until nascar does more like the NFL? Will they require a team to have a minority driver try out before they can hire a white male? How many white males are given positions in the NBA? If they are good enough they shouldn't be there. The same goes for nascar. What happened to working and earning your spot? There never has been anything stopping anyone from getting a sponsor, a team and have talent to win races. Now they are discriminating against white males. Hopefully somebody from nascar or a potential sponsor will read this. I will boycott any team developed from this discrimination they are doing. I will support any team, minority or not that has developed their team by their talent.

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