June 15, 2009
By Ron Felix
CIA Stock Photo
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Martin Celebrates Michigan Victory
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When the dust settled Mark Martin was the last man standing.
Jimmie Johnson led 146 of 200 laps at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday and when he was taking the white flag for the final lap,
his engine coughed and sputtered -- out of fuel and out of luck.
That handed the lead over to second place runner Greg Biffle but he also ran out of gas on the last lap, on the backstretch and that put
Martin in the lead for the first time in the race. Martin ran out of fuel coming out of turn 4 but held on to win the LifeLock 400.
"Well, you know, this team deserves to be in the Chase and we were on the outside looking in with all the trouble we've had," said Martin.
"I went for the points, man. I thought those guys were running too hard for us to save gas. I couldn’t do both, save gas and run with them.
"When Jimmie (Johnson) ran out (of gas), we got over here and I said, 'Hey, we're this close, I'm going to run hard', and I thought we
could make it. We ran out, coming off of (Turn) 4. I just want to thank the fans."
It was Martin's third victory of the year. It was the 38th win for Martin in a career that spans 737 races. The victory put Martin in 8th
place in the Championship point standing (inside the top 12 for the first time this year).
"I told Rick (Hendrick) just please, don't fire me," Martin joked. "I qualified 32nd Friday night and I was like laying in bed just
worrying about it, you know. Heck, I love this stuff. I want to drive this car forever."
Tony Stewart still leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup points by 47 over Jeff Gordon and 142 over Jimmie Johnson.
Jeff Gordon, who was running fifth when the leaders faltered, finished second. Gordon also was concerned about having enough fuel to finish
the race.
"Well, I think we saved a little too much, actually. We were running a slower pace than those guys up front being in traffic as well, I
felt like I saved a pretty good amount under that caution," Gordon explained. "The guys on this DuPont/National Guard car obviously packed
it full of fuel because I drove all the way around there. I ran pretty hard the whole time and we pretty much knew that Mark (Martin) would
have pushed when we got to him. So I was happy to get by Denny (Hamlin) and come home second.
"I hate to see those guys run out (of fuel) but that's just the way some of these races turn out. We played it the best we could.
Congratulations to Mark Martin. It's hard to beat him and (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) right now. Those guys are tough. They're smart and
fast."
Denny Hamlin was third and Carl Edwards put his Ford in the fourth spot. Biffle coasted to a fifth place followed by Juan Pablo Montoya,
Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer to round out the top ten.
Johnson finished a distant 22nd.
"That happens more times than not. The car that leads the most laps doesn't win," said Johnson. "Unfortunately we're in that category today
but it wasn't from a lack of effort. Great pit stops, great race car. We had an awesome day we were just one lap short on fuel. I guess I
had to work harder than we factored for getting by the No. 5 and the No. 16. I drove up through there and got by them and got back to the
lead and thought we were in great shape and unfortunately we ran out of fuel.
“I’m trying to look at the bright side of things because we had such a dominant car and we passed second and third and we went up to get
the lead and it’s unfortunate that we ran out of gas, but that is how it is. I guess if we would have held back we would have finished
second or third and the sixteen would have run out of gas and we still would have won. I am disappointed about the fuel. The forty-eight
car, myself, whatever it is, but we don’t get the best fuel mileage and we are always fast. So I will take being fast and lose some every
now and then to fuel mileage.”
Joey Logano scored a 25th-place finish and captured Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the sixth consecutive race and for the 12th
time this season. Unofficially Logano leads Scott Speed by 18 points (168-150) in the overall Raybestos Rookie standings.
Logano had a long tiring weekend, running at Michigan and Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night. By the way, Logano won the Kentucky race.
“Rollercoaster ride, top to bottom as usual," said a worn-out Logano. "It’s tough, man, just trying to get used to all this stuff. As far
as going back and forth [to Kentucky Speedway for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday night] it was fine. Don’t worry about
that. But it’s a rollercoaster ride every weekend. One side you’re good and one side you’re bad. Sometimes you’re good over here [Sprint
Cup] and sometimes you’re not over there but at least you’re racing and you’re having fun so I guess that’s the good side of it.”
All three Raybestos Rookies that qualified for the LifeLock 400 were running at the finish: Logano, Max Papis (35th) and Speed (37th).
The next race on the Sprint Cup schedule -– the 16th event of 36-races for the 2009 Sprint Cup Championship. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will
be on Sunday June 21st, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. The race begins at approximately 3:30 PM. eastern time -- with live,
high-definition coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 2:30 p.m. eastern time.
The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128 and PRN radio.
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