Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin has momentum heading to Talladega
Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin has won twice in his career in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition at Talladega Superspeedway.
// Tim Parks, NASCAR Scene
Coming off a popular victory in last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin heads into Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway with momentum on his side – but also an understanding of the unpredictable race that awaits.
The 2.66-mile trioval is one of only two tracks on the Cup schedule – Daytona is the other – where horsepower-reducing restrictor plates keep cars bunched in tight packs throughout the race and increase the chance of multicar incidents.
Martin, a series veteran who ran his first full Cup season in 1982, obviously knows the nature of racing at Talladega as well as anyone.
So while he would certainly like to snare a second straight win, his first goal is just to be around at the finish.
"There are too many wrecks there!” said the 50-year-old driver, who has two Talladega wins but none since 1997. “The real reason is that, as a driver, you just can't control your own destiny at Talladega.
“There's too much up in the air and too much left to chance. It's a lot different than the other tracks we go to."
Martin, who had run a partial schedule for the last two seasons before joining Hendrick full time in 2009, hasn’t competed at Talladega since fall 2006, his last season for the team now known as Roush Fenway Racing.
So how does Martin mentally prepare for his return the high-speed venue, a place where trouble can find drivers in such a hurry.
"Really, I don't think about the race too much,” he said. “I just want to have a really good car, although at Talladega, that doesn't really matter that much with the way racing is there. The key is to just go into it with no expectations. That's the best strategy: Just race."
Certainly, Martin has momentum on his side coming into the weekend.
After falling as low as 34th in the driver standings after four events, Martin has soared all the way to 13th thanks to four straight finishes of seventh or better. Martin’s performance at Phoenix, where he scored his first victory since 2005 and his first with the Hendrick organization, capped his impressive run.
“We have to wait and see how much it affects us,” crew chief Alan Gustafson said. “I think it will obviously affect us in a positive way and give this team some confidence that we all needed. I think it will give myself and Mark some confidence knowing that we can win these races.
“You run well and you think that, but to actually do it kind of gets you over the hump to where you know you can compete week in and week out with these guys. Time will tell.”
Martin also comes to Talladega having captured three poles in the last five outings.
"Winning these poles has just been so much fun,” said Martin, who hadn’t won a pole since 2001 before taking the top starting spot for the March 8 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“It's so cool to go back to the trailer and see the smiles on the team's face. That's as much fun as anything for me just to see their excitement and enthusiasm and feel their energy."
