Mark Martin lashes out at media, feels disrespected by speculation that he won’t return to Hendrick team in 2011
Mark Martin insists he will return to Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 team next year. // Elmer Kappell, NASCAR Illustrated
INDIANAPOLIS – Mark Martin keeps hearing talk that he isn’t going to drive the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car next season, and after reiterating several times that he plans to return to the team, the speculation has him feeling bewildered, angry and disrespected.
Martin said he gave his word to Rick Hendrick in the middle of the 2009 season that he would drive the No. 5 car through 2011, and he still plans on doing so. Richard Petty Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne is signed to replace him in 2012 but Hendrick has not announced where Kahne will drive in 2011.
Despite Martin’s adamant stance, the speculation has continued. ESPN analyst Ray Evernham – who as a team owner brought Kahne to the Cup series in 2004 – said Friday he thinks Martin will step out of the car for Kahne for 2011.
Martin was calm but direct and passionate in response to the speculation Friday as he addressed the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I’ve made myself perfectly clear over the last several weeks,” Martin said. “There’s no inclination of any change, but I will tell you this – there is no road map for me and my future. So don’t even start thinking about criticizing what I do in 2012 or beyond, because I don’t know. … I’m going to do what I want to do, but for now, I’m going to drive the 5 car. That’s what I’m going to do. That’s what I said all along.
“I feel very disrespected when the media doesn’t accept that because what that means is that you make me look like I’m about to get fired. That’s very disrespectful. That’s what you all are doing. It’s very disrespectful and I deserve better than that from you guys.”
The speculation that Martin won’t return to the No. 5 team has grown as no word has come from Hendrick on Kahne’s situation and while Martin has struggled with one top-10 finish in the last 10 weeks and fallen to 14th in the standings. Martin won five races and finished second in the standings last year, his first with Hendrick after two years of running a limited schedule.
But is he having as much fun this year?
“Last year was the time of my life. I just had a week and a half off, and I’m damn glad to be back at the race track,” Martin said. “Just like I told you last year, racing is my life. And I don’t know what I’ll do if I was to ever lose that. And I’m not going to lose that anytime soon. It is my life. It is what I want to do. I’m happy to be here at the Brickyard and be surrounded with my team and my guys and strap in a race car.
“You can speculate all you want, but when you ask me a question and I give you my best honest answer and you second-guess me and you second-guess me and you second-guess me, I start to get tired of it. It is very disrespectful.”
The 51-year-old Martin said he should not have been criticized for returning to a full-time schedule after leaving Roush Fenway for a part-time schedule following his “Salute to You” tour in 2005.
“I’m at the point in my career where I get to do whatever in the heck I want to do,” Martin said. “Rick Hendrick and [crew chief] Alan Gustafson indicated to me that they wanted me to drive their car as long as I would drive it. And after thinking about it, I told them I would drive it through ’11, and that would be a long enough commitment from me and then do something else.
“They wanted me to go further than that and I wouldn’t do it because it’s too far out. I don’t have a road map, and I don’t want to change my mind. So I just want to do what I said I was going to do. That’s what we’re going to do. That’s what they want. That’s what I want. I don’t know why everybody makes such a big deal out of all this. I understand it will all be put to rest whenever they announce what Kasey’s going to do. I understand that. You should be focused on that – what is Kasey going to do? Because I’ve told you what I’m going to do.”
What is Kahne going to do? Evernham still thinks he’ll be in the No. 5 car next year.
“At some point [Martin] will realize that Rick Hendrick has been very good to him and they’ve had good success together and probably the best thing for Hendrick Motorsports is for Mark to make room for Kasey Kahne to come over there and eventually I think Mark will do that,” Evernham said.
“I think right now there’s still a lot of balls in the air that people are trying to juggle. I won’t be surprised if in the next three-four weeks that Mark makes some kind of announcement that says, ‘Hey Rick Hendrick has been good to me, the best thing I can do for him is to make room for Kasey.’”
Kahne said after practice Friday he had no new information of where he would drive in 2011.
"I haven't heard anything more than I heard a few weeks back," Kahne said. "I haven't talked to anyone at Hendrick in a while. I'm worried about the [No. 9] team and making the Chase. When I signed the deal with Rick [Hendrick, in April], he said, 'You just worry about doing the best you can for Richard Petty, finishing the season as strong as you can, don't worry about this, I'll take care of it.'
"That's where I've been the whole time. It's still the same boat I'm in. It didn't change over the last week just because it was an off week."
