OUR FANHOUSE TOOLBAR INTEGRATES THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER AND INSTALLS IN SECONDS.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE TOOLBAR HERE.

Nascar and Racing

Mark Martin Staying Full-Time in 2010

Posted May 06, 2009 1:12PM By Geoffrey Miller (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Mark Martin, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports

Text SizeAAA
For one driver, getting older in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series just means getting better.

50-year-old Mark Martin will drive the full 2010 schedule in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 car, according to the Associated Press. Martin returned to full time competition in 2009 with a two year deal at Hendrick after running partial schedules since 2007, and it was originally expected that 2010 would be another partial schedule for the driver.

While the news may be good for Martin fans, surprise Talladega winner Brad Keselowski is now somewhat on the outside looking in for 2010 if he wants to pursue racing in NASCAR's top division.

Keselowski, who's stunning win two weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway was overshadowed by the big incident involving Carl Edwards, has been negotiating with Hendrick Motorsports on his long-term future. Currently, Keselowski has a full-time gig in the Nationwide Series with JR Motorsports, a team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.

Martin, on the other hand, has been nothing short of impressive in his return to full-time Sprint Cup racing. He's not only earned three poles in 2009, but scored his first win since 2005 just three weeks ago at Phoenix International Raceway. By doing so, he became just the fourth race winner in NASCAR history over age 50 -- quite the feat for a sport dominated by young talent.

The start of 2009 season for Martin was marred by a series of crashes and blown engines that left the No. 5 team on the edge of the Top-35, or NASCAR's cutoff line for automatic entry to each race. Since then, the No. 5 has just jumped to 15th in the standings, just 61 points from the 12th-place cutoff for the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup championship system.

Without a doubt, the circumstances couldn't be better for Martin, as the Arkansas driver has shown he can still get it done in the Sprint Cup Series. The championship is by no way a longshot for the team led by crew chief Alan Gustafson.

As for Keselowski, I still think Hendrick will want to hold on to the kid after his success in both Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series have shown the driver to be a rising talent. Perhaps the smartest thing Keselowski could do is to simply run one more full-time season in Nationwide for 2010 to grab another level of experience and wait for Martin to finally fully retire -- something that will grow in likelihood as the years go on.

Latest NASCAR Images

    In this Saturday, May 2, 2009, photo, Ryan Newman is greeted by members of the Virginia Army National Guard during driver introductions for the Crown Royal 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. Newman is 10th in points, surging after a slow start to climb 23 spots in seven weeks. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    AP

    In this photograph taken on Satuday, April 25, 2009, NASCAR truck driver Ricky Carmichael talks with a crew member after qualifying for the NASCAR Trucks series O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Carmichael was running out of challenges on a motorcycle. Earn the nickname "Greatest of All Time" and the chances are there isn't going to be much left to accomplish. All it took was one trip to the Daytona 500 for Carmichael to figure out his next test: racing on four wheels instead of two. (AP Photo/Denny Medley)

    AP

    FILE - In this April 17, 2009 file photo, driver Mark Martin sits outside his car after qualifying for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race in Avondale, Ariz. M Martin will drive a full Sprint Cup schedule for Hendrick Motorsports in 2010. The 50-year-old Martin signed a two-year contract with Hendrick last summer, but the second year originally was to be a partial schedule. It will be Martin's 22nd full season at NASCAR's top level. (AP Photo/Ken Sklute, File)

    AP

    FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2009 file photo, NASCAR Trucks driver Ricky Carmichael heads to his pit dragging the back end of his truck after he was involved in a crash in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 auto race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Carmichael was running out of challenges on a motorcycle. All it took was one trip to the Daytona 500 for Carmichael to figure out his next test: racing on four wheels instead of two. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

    AP

    FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2007 file photoo, Ricky Carmichael of Havana, Fla., poses next to his motorcycle after practice for the Moto X racing competition at the X Games at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Carmichael was running out of challenges on a motorcycle. All it took was one trip to the Daytona 500 for Carmichael to figure out his next test: racing on four wheels instead of two. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

    AP

    FILE - In this April 3, 2009 file photo, driver Ryan Newman walks down pit road with teammates before qualifying for the NASCAR Samsung 500 auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Newman joined Tony Stewart in his new racing venture last season motivated by his desire to have fun again and contend for a championship. So far, he's having that fun _ and again making noise on the track. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

    AP

    FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2008 file photo, NASCAR driver Kyle Busch drives through the esses during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Centurion Boats auto race at the Glen auto race in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Watkins Glen International is holding its own after securing a new title sponsor for the NASCAR Cup race in early August. (AP Photo/Russ Hamilton, File)

    AP

    FILE - In this March 29, 2009 file photo, driver Ryan Newman signs autographs prior to the start of the Goody's 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup auto race at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va. Newman joined Tony Stewart in his new racing venture last season motivated by his desire to have fun again and contend for a championship. So far, he's having that fun _ and again making noise on the track. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

    AP

    NEW YORK - MAY 04: NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (R) and wife Ingrid Vandebosch attends "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Gordon;Ingrid Vandebosch

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - MAY 04: NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (R) and wife Ingrid Vandebosch attends "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Gordon;Ingrid Vandebosch

    Getty Images

Tags: Brad+Keselowski, BradKeselowski, Hendrick+Motorsports, HendrickMotorsports, JR+Motorsports, JrMotorsports, Mark+Martin, MarkMartin, Sprint+Cup, SprintCup, Talladega+Superspeedway, TalladegaSuperspeedway

Related Articles

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 20 Comments