Rick Hendrick says hiring Mark Martin is a dream come true
By Kenny Bruce - Assistant Managing Editor
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin has won five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season.
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HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Rick Hendrick says he remembers the first time Mark Martin drove one of his team’s cars in what was then known as the Busch Series. Just five laps into the race, the successful team owner turned to crew chief Alan Gustafson and said, “Man, if we could get him in a Cup car, it would be unreal.”
That Busch race, the 2007 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway, was the first of three in which the veteran driver piloted a Hendrick-owned car.
Two years later, Hendrick’s dream was realized, and the results have been equal to his expectations. Martin made the return to fulltime competition in 2009, driving for Hendrick, and he heads into Sunday’s season-ending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race with five wins and a second-place position in the point standings.
But it’s more about Martin’s impact not only on the No. 5 team, but the entire organization, Hendrick says, than the number of wins Martin has managed.
“He’s more like [teammate] Jimmie Johnson than anyone I’ve seen,” Hendrick says of Martin. “Their work ethic, dedication and determination to absolute perfection.
“Mark has tremendous respect from all of our drivers. As kind of a statesman, he walks into a meeting and commands respect. He’s very to the point; he will identify areas that we could be better in.
“But I think what he brought is a whole new level of intensity to the entire organization.”
It’s a trait, Hendrick says, that all his drivers share, but Martin’s depth of knowledge, something that comes with nearly three decades of experience behind the wheel, is unmatched.
“I’ve listened to everybody in the garage area for 20 years, and I’ve never seen a driver that can call a race from the car if he had to,” Hendrick says. “Early on … he could basically call the race and set up the car from the seat. That’s how good he is at running a race in his head in the car. It’s unbelievable. And I think his explanation of what the car is doing has helped our other guys, too. He has been a huge asset to us.”
Gustafson calls Martin, “a great complement to our organization.
“He helps all the drivers, helps all the teams, helps management, everybody,” Gustafson says. “He has just got a great perspective on racing and how to go about things, and we’re really fortunate to have him here at the company.”
Chad Knaus, crew chief for points leader Jimmie Johnson, says Martin’s knowledge and experience have been incredibly beneficial to the No. 48 team, the group Martin is hoping to catch, and pass, in the year’s final event.
With two teams that have seven championships between them (Johnson has three and teammate Jeff Gordon four), that’s been something of an unexpected bonus from a new driver/team combination.
“He really pulls good information out of the other drivers,” Knaus says. … “I think when we get together with Mark as a group, a lot of the drivers will come in discouraged. What ends up happening is they start to discuss it, and they’re like, ‘Wow, that’s what my car is doing, too.’ And they start to feed off of that, and Mark starts to influence those guys.
“He has got such a good spin on things. It’s never done. You’re never done working on [the car]. It could always be better. And I think he brings a lot of that mentality to where we’re like, ‘Look, we’re going to work on it until the last lap of the race and try to make it better.’ He’s got that desire that not a lot of people have.”
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9 responses to "Rick Hendrick says hiring Mark Martin is a dream come true". Post a Comment.
keith308 said:
Nov 21, 2009 at 4:22 PMMartin is a champion even if he does not win the stupid chase championship.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportdtk1952 said:
Nov 21, 2009 at 5:15 PM#1 you are right. He has already proven that he is the man. Jeff Gordon, JJ, Dale Earnhardt and many others could not touch him in IROC. If you remember that was the series where all of the cars were prepared identically. So that championship was more driver driven than the Cup racing. And Mark is the IROC king. He could have been the Busch series(now Nationwide)king if he had driven full time like Edwards, Harvick and others do. He has more wins in Busch than anyone else. And he was almost the only one that was able to give Hornaday and Skinner any real competition in the Truck Series. Mark may not get the Championship in Cup, but he will always be a champion to me.
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» Confirm Abuse Reporttrtruckin said:
Nov 21, 2009 at 5:37 PMI like Mark. He's definetly been an asset to HMS. But those of us that remember him early in his career admire the changes he's made. Mark wasn't always a team player or for that matter a very nice person. I'm glad for him that he has grown into the role model he now has. He gives respect and deserves it in return.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportlady6nascar said:
Nov 21, 2009 at 7:40 PMlove MR. MARTIN.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportxbrownsx said:
Nov 22, 2009 at 4:33 AMRemember when Terry Labonte in the last 5-7 years in the #5 was a non-factor, simply making laps ar mid-pack or worse. The #5 was never in a position to win and was clearly the weak link at Hendrick.
Report as AbuseIt's amazing how Martin has completely turned around the entire #5 team, giving Kelloggs and Carquest maximum exposure for their sponsor dollar. Well done Mark. I'll bet you wish you were 35 years old and in this equipment now!
Regardless, it's a fitting end to your career in the next year or two or three...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportaustinh said:
Nov 22, 2009 at 9:44 AM#5 Get a clue you can always say the same thing about martin at times at Roush he was very non competitive it just goes to show you that its not always only the driver as that five team was winning with Busch you can also say its not always about the money as Martin is near the bottom of the souvenir sales right along with Mcmurray and Sterling Marlin at his best.Have a nice day Aw shucks
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnascarnutsheeler said:
Nov 22, 2009 at 10:07 AMI Miss Mark over at Ford.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsibbi173 said:
Nov 22, 2009 at 11:12 AMBoy, it sure would be great to hear Mr. Hendrick say something positive about Dale Jr....It might help him a whole lot.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportdorarhodes said:
Nov 22, 2009 at 8:59 PMHang in there MM fans next year is the year Mark will win the cup. #8, Hendrick has no idea what is going on at his company, he just speaks when told to by his board of directors.
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