Texas: Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview
After taking races off at Bristol and Martinsville, Mark Martin returns to action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for his fifth Sprint Cup start of the season.
MARTIN AT TEXAS
Martin will make his 14th start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, where he won the second race in 1998. He has five top fives and seven top-10 finishes in the Cup Series at Texas. Mark Martin finished third in this race last season. Martin has completed 92.9 percent of the Cup laps at Texas and has led in seven of 14 races. In addition, Martin has won three times in eight starts in the Nationwide Series at Texas, including the inaugural event in 1997.
MARTIN TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY HALL OF FAME
For his accomplishments at Texas Motor Speedway, Martin will be inducted into the Texas Motor Speedway Hall of Fame this week. Martin has a total of five wins, nine top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes in NASCAR racing at Texas Motor Speedway.
THE VETERAN AND THE ROOKIE = SOLID TEAMWORK
Martin will return to the No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet this weekend, after giving way to rookie Aric Almirola at the last two races. The veteran will have his work cut out for him, as Almirola posted a top-10 finish at Bristol and a top-three qualifying effort at Martinsville last weekend. Martin will pilot the car at Texas and Phoenix, before giving the wheel back to Almirola at Talladega.
LOOKING AT THE POINTS
While neither Martin nor Almirola are contending for a Sprint Cup driver Championship, the No. 8 U.S. Army team accumulates points each week as with any other team. The No. 8 team peaked after Bristol at 15th, just three spots out of the coveted top 12. A punctured radiator at Bristol helped knock the team back to 22nd position, where they sit going into this weekend's event at Texas.
QUOTING MARK:
"I'm looking forward to going to Texas and getting back out on the racetrack. I've really enjoyed having a couple of races off and getting to watch the races at home on television, but I am definitely ready to get back out on the race track with Tony Gibson and this U.S. Army Race Team. These guys are a pleasure to work with and I can't wait to see what we can do in Texas this weekend.
"Aric (Almirola) did a great job driving the car the last two races. He is an extremely talented race car driver and I think the results speak for themselves. He had a top 10 at Bristol and turned around and qualified third at Martinsville. I'm really going to have to make sure I'm on my game to live up to my end of the equation with as well as Aric has run."
MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS
· Martin posted a Cup win at Texas in the second race there in 1998.
· Martin has five top fives and seven top 10's in 14 Cup starts at Texas.
· Martin has led in seven of his 14 starts at Texas, where he has completed 92.9 percent of his laps.
· Martin is a 2008 inductee into the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame.
· Martin has won three times in the Nationwide Series at Texas in four races, including the inaugural Busch race there in 1997.
LAST YEAR AT TEXAS..
APRIL 15, 2007 –
Texas Motor Speedway
Started 6th, Finished 3rd
Martin finished third in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The finish was Martin’s fourth top-five and fifth top-10 in five starts in 2007.
Martin started the race sixth based on the No. 01’s owner points after Friday’s qualifying was canceled due to severe weather. The team struggled early with the car’s handling in traffic and Martin dropped back to as far as 15th as he struggled with an aero push behind other cars.
The team made its final adjustment on its fourth pit stop of the race on lap 117, moving the track bar up and adjusting the air pressure. Martin restarted in 14th position when the field returned to green.
FrFrom that point on the No. 01 U.S. Army Team went to work, picking up five positions on the next three stops as Martin moved up the field, breaking back inside the top 10 on lap 195. He would run the remainder to the race inside the top 10, moving inside the top five for the first time of the day on lap 239, where he would run for the rest of the race. The veteran picked up two positions in the final 20 laps of the race to move to the third place finish.
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