Martin On Pole, Wants Full-Time in 2010

Mark Martin must have been tired of not winning poles in the Sprint Cup Series.

Just two weeks after Martin scored his first pole in 7 years -- remember that lap at Atlanta made the 50-year-old Martin feel like a rookie? -- the driver from Batesville, Ark., scored his second-straight pole Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday's Food City 500.

Martin's lap of 125.773 mph gave him the top spot on the same weekend that news indicated he wants to stay in No. 5 full-time in 2010, rather than a partial schedule as was originally expected.

According to ESPN's David Newton, Martin is searching to continue this chapter in his life after his son, Matt, decided to end his racing career.

"I love what I'm doing right now and I'm not ready to quit," said Martin, driving a full schedule for the first time since 2006 at Roush Fenway Racing. "I thought what I was going to do beyond the driver's seat was work on [his son, Matt's] cars. That's not going to happen, and I'm actively searching what the next chapter of my life's going to be.

"Right now, I'd like to continue this chapter."

When Martin originally signed on to drive full-time for Hendrick in the summer of 2008, the presumption was that it would be a one-year full-time deal that would translate to a part-time schedule in 2010 as Hendrick/JR Motorsports Nationwide driver Brad Keselowski transitioned to Sprint Cup.

Crew chief Alan Gustafson was quoted in the article as saying that he'd be the crew chief for Martin until he turned 80 -- a nice bode of confidence despite the bad luck seen by the No. 5 team this year.

As for this weekend, though, Martin is looking to complete a solid weekend to keep his No. 5 Chevrolet within the guaranteed starting spots given to the Top-35 teams in NASCAR owner points.

Teammate Jimmie Johnson qualified third for Sunday's Food City 500, while Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne rounded out the Top-5. Michael Waltrip Racing's David Reutimann was fastest in practice and qualified sixth with Reed Sorenson seventh, a surprising Dave Blaney in eighth, Jamie McMurray ninth and point leader Jeff Gordon in tenth.

Failing to make the show for the season's fifth event were Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-20-2009 @ 7:20PM

mbsenlick said...

Mark Martin should drive full time until he wins a championship, that he SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO deserves. Good Luck on Sunday.

3-20-2009 @ 9:29PM

Ron said...

Saw an interview with Mark today. He said nothing has been mentioned or discussed about about a full ride in 2010. Another faux pas by the media.

3-20-2009 @ 11:56PM

CJ said...

Ill say it right now, Mark Martin will be back full time in 2010. There are a couple reasons i say this, first, Mark Martin is in the greatest feel of his life according to him and is excited to be back at it full time. Second, he may be under contract for a partial schedule next season, but i know for a fact that Hendrick does not like the idea of splitting drivers in his cars and i think he'll talk Mark into doing just next year full time and then Mark will retire. Also, if you look at how Brad's running, he hasnt shown anything to indicate that he's even close to running Cup anytime soon, and personally i dont think he ever will. Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and possibly Matt Kenseth's contracts wil be up after 2010 and i think alot of those could be considered for the 5 car, not to mention there were some talk last season that after Dupont's contract was over after the 2010 season, that Jeff could consider to hang it up, as well as Jimmie Johnson's contract expires after that same season as well. I think Denny Hamlin, who Jr tried to hire long ago and help find Hamlin, as well as Kenseth, who is a past champ and a long time friend of Jr's, both could be a great fit with Jr over at Hendrick, and both are alot better option than Keselowski.

3-21-2009 @ 8:35AM

Kim said...

Mark may have made the pole, but I watched practices yesterday and Johnson was fast! Reutimann who seems to be having a stellar year thus far, was also extremely impressive during practice sessions yesterday.

I have never thought much about whomever is sitting on the pole for a race. It is rare for the pole-sitter to win. It's usually the guys who qualified somewhere from third through tenth that you have to watch.

As much as a Johnson fan as I am, and would love to see him win a race as well as Gordon, I must say I like David Reutimann and think there is a ton of talent there. It would be nice to see him win his first Sprint Cup race.

Don't get me wrong, I like Mark Martin very much. I am just not sure he has what it takes to compete with all the "young guns."

Kim

3-21-2009 @ 8:39AM

3-21-2009 @ 2:23PM

Brad said...

I might agree that winning a pole doesn't mean your in for a great finish, but on the short tracks it sure helps because you need to be up front. And it's not necessarily short tracks, how many times has JJ ended up winning a race because he had the best pit stall via the pole and was able to get the lead because of the pit stall. And yes Reutimann is off to a better start but his 32nd place finish at atlanta was anything but stellar. And even though you do need to be in those 'up front' positions for a better shot at victory, with the cot and fuel mileage and various other reasons it really don't mean squat to where you start. Daytona Matt won and started 39th at Fontana he won again and started 24th at Vegas Kyle won and started Dead last (but won the pole), so far the only one to win with a top 20 starting position is Kurt and even though he had a great car it might have been different if not for the rolling tire incident.