Martin thriving on part-time schedule
Mark Martin may drive a part-time schedule, but his full-time approach to racing is still in top gear.
He's been driving on NASCAR's top circuit since 1981 and has 35 career victories. No. 36 is on his mind these days.
"I just want to make sure that everybody knows that this team is so close,"
said Martin, a four-time runner-up in the points race, but never a crowned champion. "I mean we were right there at Pheonix. If we would have had another half gallon of gas and had a great run at Richmond. I just look forward to every week going to work and working with these guys."
Martin has run just 10 races this year, but has two top-five finishes and four top 10s. Not bad for a part-timer, who shares the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. No. 8 Chevrolet with Aric Almirola.
But he's not your run-of-the-mill 49-year-old hanging on in the twilight of his career. Martin was ready to walk away from racing two years ago, but instead opted to race part-time for DEI in the No. 01 car.
This year Martin is driving the ride vacated by Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Teresa Earnhardt at DEI with crew chief Tony Gibson.
"I have enormous respect for Tony Gibson,"
said Martin, who has never won at Pocono Raceway in 42 starts, but has an average finish of 10.7. "I really like him. I talk to him on the phone almost every day. He is fantastic. And he's really good with his team. He has a great following and it's understandable with the way he leads that the team is spot on."
Although he's come close many times, Martin is still looking for his first visit to Pocono's Victory Lane.
He's finished second six times, third four times, in the top five 19 times and in the top 10 29 times on the 2.5-mile tri-oval.
Pocono is one of just five tracks Martin has never won at. He's also winless at Chicagoland, Indianapolis, Daytona and New Hampshire.
In 2007 at Pocono, Martin finished seventh and ninth.
It's not easy to win, not in an era where teams roll out three and four cars, and money buys speed.
Martin did offer some advice for young drivers looking to break into NASCAR.
"You gotta be willing to work really, really hard,"
Martin said. "And to be humble, which is not easy. If you are incredibly successful, being humble is not something that comes naturally. So those are two huge assets, being humble and being willing to do anything it takes as far as work and any sacrifice that it takes to get where you want to be."
