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Will 2009 Be Mark Martins Year?

An Opinion



February 10, 2009

By Allen Madding

Allen Madding

In 2007, Mark Martin drove a limited schedule for Ginn Racing. Martin possessed the Cup Series points lead -- leading at the fourth race of the season, the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but bowed out of competition -- holding to his original limited schedule.

The following season, Martin drove another limited schedule with DEI and posted four top five and 11 top ten finishes in 24 starts. He averaged 126 points per event in 2008. If he had competed in the full 36-event schedule, that average would have netted him a ninth place finish in the regular season and would calculate to an eighth place finish in the Chase for the Cup while driving for a team that had never won a NASCAR Cup Series title.

And now Martin will be driving the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg's/Cheez-It Chevrolet fulltime in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

In a year that a lot of teams are struggling to acquire full season sponsorships, laying off employees, and trimming schedules, Hendrick Motorsports continues to employ more employees than any other team in the sport. In 25 years, Hendrick has garnered 175 victories and eight NASCAR Cup Series Championships including the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship won by Jimmie Johnson.

No one doubts that Hendrick teams will be a force to contend with during 2009, and Johnson is certainly considered to be in the hunt for the championship title. And considering that Hendrick shares all data between its teams, Martin’s No. 5 team should only benefit from that relationship.

Jeff Gordon went winless in 2008 and Dale Earnhardt’s team figured itself out of the championship hunt with an inability to adjust the car to meet changing track conditions. With Tony Eury, Jr. returning to the crew chief role on the No. 88 team, many expect that very little will change with the team’s on track performance. Most expect Dale Jr., to be in the Chase but once again not a factor in deciding the title. Likewise, speculators forecast that Gordon will not be a strong contender for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup title and wonder if he will break his winless streak.

Championship runs are not lost on Mark Martin. Four times during his 26-year career, Martin has finished runner-up in the NASCAR Cup Series title chase (1990, 1994, 1998, and 2002). Combine that with Martin’s 41 poles, 35 career Cup Series wins, 243 top-five and 396 top-ten finishes, and the formula begins to come together.

Martin’s ability to save his car for the end of a race, his ability to consistently finish in the top ten, and his knack for garnering a small number of DNFs coupled with Hendrick Motorsports’ funding, engineering, and 25 years of success certainly seem to be a formula for success.

Many an old timer has noted that a driver who continues to finish second and third in a race will eventually score their first race win. In 26 years, Mark Martin has recorded 11 top five finishes in the points standings and 16 top ten finishes in the championship fight.

One has to believe Martin could walk away with the big trophy at the end of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. And after all of those close calls to a Championship title win while driving a Ford, how sweet would it be to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship driving a Chevrolet?

You can contact Allen Madding at .. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By Allen Madding

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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