MARTIN: Finishes Fourth in Final 2007 NCTS Appearance
The last thing Mark Martin needed in the No. 21 Bubba Burgers/Bush’s Baked Beans Ford Saturday was a stop-and-go finish in the Easy Care Vehicle Service Contracts 200. Three cautions in the final 50 laps, however, stalled Mark Martin’s late-race charge, but gave the team a fourth-place finish.
Mark Martin, who was making his final selected appearance for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, had four Top-Six finishes in six races for the famed race team. Jon Wood will close out the season in the No. 21 Ford F-150, starting with next Friday’s race at the Texas Motor Speedway.
Mark Martin qualified 15th and quickly moved into the Top 10. His truck was set up for long runs on the 1.54-mile raceway and he was making his way toward a possible victory when his momentum was stalled by late-race cautions, including two in the final 24 laps.
After making the outside groove work for most of the day to get inside the Top Five, Mark Martin was forced to move to the bottom groove in the final nine laps. His Ford F-150 didn’t respond, so he settled for another Top-Five finish.
In all, Mark Martin and Wood have combined for nine Top-10 finishes in 14 starts.
WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY
Mark Martin Driver of Bubba Burgers/Bush’s Baked Beans Ford F-150: ““I sure would have liked to have gotten them a win,” he said. “It was just about good enough, just not quite with those short little runs, but on the long runs it was really strong. Yeah, it was just tough. We could have on a long run, but on the short run I just didn’t have enough and couldn’t clear them. On a long run, I could pass any of those guys. The thing was really easy on its tires.
”We had a lot of fun with this deal this year. Our toughest hurdle was communication. It took us a while where they would give me the changes I really wanted. When you run a handful of races with a new team, your biggest challenge is creating a level of communication. We just needed a little more time together.”
- Mark Martin won $14,750 at Atlanta. He now has $89,350 in earnings this year and $741,536 in career earnings in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
- Kyle Busch won the Easy Care Vehicle Service Contracts 200. Ron Hornaday Jr. was second, followed by Johnny Benson in third, Mark Martin in fourth and Mike Skinner in fifth. Wood Brothers/JTG Racing teammate Joey Clanton was sixth.
- The No. 21 Ford now is 13th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner standings.
- The next race for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is the Silverado 350 at the Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 2.
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