Running on fumes: Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin stretches fuel mileage for Michigan win

By Kris Johnson - Assistant Managing Editor
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin celebrates his victory in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway.  (David Griffin / NASCAR Scene)

Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin celebrates his victory in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin was simply running for points near the end of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. At the very end, he was celebrating an unlikely victory.

After Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson and Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle – owners of the two strongest cars on the afternoon – dropped from the first and second positions, respectively, in the final two laps when their fuel tanks ran dry, Martin decided he had more than points in mind.   

"If we’re this close, I’m gonna run hard,” Martin said in victory lane, adding he ran dry on fuel coming off Turn 4 for the final time.

Martin, who qualified 32nd, notched his 38th career victory – and his third this season. It was Martin’s fifth career win at Michigan.

Johnson dominated the event by leading 146 of 200 laps. He fell to 22nd at the finish after running out of gas one lap short of the full distance. Biffle, who led 42 laps, finished fifth.

Jeff Gordon came home second, Denny Hamlin third and Carl Edwards gave Roush Fenway Racing another presence in the top five, finishing one spot ahead of Biffle in fourth.

The race consisted largely of green-flag runs with only three cautions on the afternoon, two of which were for debris. The lone incident of the day involved Penske Racing’s David Stremme, whose No. 12 Dodge careened into the wall at the entrance of pit road on lap 151.

With the win, Martin moved back into the top 12 of the point standings and is now eighth. Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart remains atop the standings with a 47-point edge over Gordon.

Martin's win marked the second consecutive year that a Hendrick Motorsports driver won a fuel-mileage race at Michigan after Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory in this event last season.
 

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32 responses to "Running on fumes: Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin stretches fuel mileage for Michigan win". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    terris88sem said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 4:29 PM

    What a finish WOW!!!!! That was great congradulations Mark Martin.

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  2. 2
    motorsportsphotography said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 4:40 PM

    A great finish to a otherwise boring race. I knew Mark would be in the Top 12 after today's race. 8th in Points. Great run for the #5 team.

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  3. 3
    Werner said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 4:44 PM

    a typical MI finish...congrats to MM for knowing how to get the most out of a car...was that a VOLT he was driving?...lol...see, Rick told you he's going to try and get you a Championship...the 2 of you may git er done...

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  4. 4
    SBeau said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:10 PM

    Congrats Mark!

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  5. 5
    gwen_susie388 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:16 PM

    Congratulations Mark!! Keep on Digging! You will have a championship and having all that fun getting there!

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  6. 6
    nascarfan247 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:16 PM

    congrats mark on your third win of the year

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  7. 7
    JGRFan4Life said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:41 PM

    Normally, I hate Michigan. It's a boring race and I usually dislike races that come down to fuel mileage. That said, it was a VERY exciting finish to the race. Congrats to Mark, a very deserving winner no matter the circumstances. Johnson and Biffle simple raced each other too hard.

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  8. 8
    timmytoad1 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:44 PM

    Congrats to Mark. Another typical and dissapointing day for Jr, good at times but not when it counts. They better start getting agressive real soon with the setups if they think they have a chance in hell of making the chase.

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  9. 9
    timmytoad1 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:44 PM

    Congrats to Mark. Another typical and dissapointing day for Jr, good at times but not when it counts. They better start getting agressive real soon with the setups if they think they have a chance in hell of making the chase.

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  10. 10
    rstuckey said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:45 PM

    Though I'm a huge Jimmie Johnson fan, I'm not disappointed with Mark Martin's victory. Great race, great finish, congrats Mark!

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  11. 11
    wendyshorses2 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 5:47 PM

    Three-peat!!! Amazing!!! Awesome job Mark!

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  12. 12
    wendyshorses2 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 6:13 PM

    I've got a comment regarding the JULY 2009 issue of NASCAR Illustrated I just received. On page 12 in the YOUR VOICE section the caption of the month was for a photo of Mark Martin. The caption that won says "This is how I drive without my booster seat." Why didn't they choose a caption that didn't insult Mark Martin? He gets jabs about his height all the time and now the magazine adds to it with this insulting caption. I know Mark being the good guy he is probably wouldn't take issue with it, but it made me feel pretty bad when I read it.

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  13. 13
    SS396Chevelle said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 6:34 PM

    Great race Mark and the same for Jeff coming from dead last.

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  14. 14
    matthewallenhughes said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 6:53 PM

    That was pretty tight... A great finish

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  15. 15
    matthewallenhughes said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 6:56 PM

    You see, this is what I'm talking about... I am a professed Junior fan, but again, THIS ARTICLE ISN'T ABOUT JUNIOR... I love to talk about Dale Jr., but this is about Mark Martin and his win.... so people, quit coming on here on articles that have NOTHING TO DO WITH JUNEBUG and making negative comments.... Congrats to Mark

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  16. 16
    gwen_susie388 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 7:27 PM

    Wendy....I wouldn't worry about that to much. I understand what you are saying. Mark can handle those remarks. He knows he is short and I am sure he had to learn from young on up how to deal with it. Mark Martin is having the time of his life and I love it for him!!!

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  17. 17
    soak said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 9:30 PM

    He got lucky so what. In that equipment a driver in his prime would win more.

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  18. 18
    Phoenix987 said:
    Jun 14, 2009 at 11:13 PM

    SOAK, being lucky and being smart are two different things. He might have been lucky, but it was his ability that put him in the position to be able to capitalize on the bad luck of others.

    Congrats Mark, on your third win. Back to back June Michigan race wins for Hendrick, in what is considered Roush's backyard.

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  19. 19
    JGRFan4Life said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    SOAK, you are an imbecile. Martin has won 3 races this year, tied for the Cup lead with Kyle Busch.

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  20. 20
    JJ48 said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 8:28 AM

    I hate to see Jimmie lose the race but at least Mark was the guy to win.

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  21. 21
    boudruxbone said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 9:35 AM

    Great job Mark. A job well done!

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  22. 22
    Cmess65 said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 11:33 AM

    As soon as the race ended I was looking forward to hearing Junior Nation start ranting about Mark having better equipment and if Junior was driving Mark's cars. I wish Rick Hendrick would switch drivers for one week to put an end to that nonsense. Congratulations Mark! You prove every week age ain't nothing but a number.

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  23. 23
    matthewallenhughes said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 11:52 AM

    Well #22, I see where your coming from, but that wouldn't work because any driver can have a bad week... You couldn't swap the equipment for just a week, you would have to do it for several

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  24. 24
    matthewallenhughes said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 11:53 AM

    But now again, we see that suddenly an article about Mark Martin has turned into an article about Dale Jr. THIS IS ABOUT MARK MARTIN even though Junior is my favorite driver THIS ISN'T ABOUT HIM.... Congrats again to Mark

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  25. 25
    dale said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 3:55 PM

    Hello Gwen, they mention (again) in this article about the two lead drivers running out of fuel. When can I expect an apology from you claiming that only 1 driver at the front ran out and lost positions? Good thing for Mark that he had fuel through turn 4! Just a little less fuel on the last stop and Jeff would have won. Congrats to both Mark and Jeff for having good finishes.

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  26. 26
    matthewallenhughes said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 4:54 PM

    When can you expect an apology? Never. Dale I know that this didn't involve me, but whatever. What you said was that Dale Jr. got two positions back because two drivers ran out of fuel and she corrected you and said that he only got 1 position back because Biffle ran out closer to the finish line and finished 5th, whereas Jimmie Johnson ran out coming to the white flag and finished 22nd.... But yeah, I second that on the Jeff Gordon thing... Congrats to both of them

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  27. 27
    matthewallenhughes said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 4:54 PM

    When can you expect an apology? Never. Dale I know that this didn't involve me, but whatever. What you said was that Dale Jr. got two positions back because two drivers ran out of fuel and she corrected you and said that he only got 1 position back because Biffle ran out closer to the finish line and finished 5th, whereas Jimmie Johnson ran out coming to the white flag and finished 22nd.... But yeah, I second that on the Jeff Gordon thing... Congrats to both of them

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  28. 28
    Turning_Left said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 4:59 PM

    Three wins and (hopefully) more to follow.

    A real class act and role model for younger drivers.

    Race on...

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  29. 29
    Werner said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 6:04 PM

    boring?...boring is watching the 1985 Busch race at Bristol on ESPN Classic...2 cars on the lead lap and no side by side racing...at least this year they ran 3 wide at Bristol...

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  30. 30
    jbbigrod said:
    Jun 16, 2009 at 1:00 PM

    I was wondering WHY THIS thread got so many more posts compared to the other one on Mark. Now I see why. They just can't leave Jr out of it can they? As far as Jr getting going or he is not going to make the chase: he already doesn't stand a chance. Way too many GOOD racers ahead of him that aren't going to make the chase either. THe spread is really low this year and it will change back and forth for several weeks yet.

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  31. 31
    fool4katz said:
    Jun 16, 2009 at 5:16 PM

    You know what they say, old & sneaky beats young & fast every time. Go Old guy !!

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  32. 32
    jbbigrod said:
    Jun 17, 2009 at 12:16 AM

    I think Mark is STILL quite young. At least a lot younger than me. So I will just have to say: "Go Sneaky"! LOL.

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