Published: Friday, November 20, 2009
Clarke: Mark Martin only NASCAR Cup driver with a chance
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AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
NASCAR driver Mark Martin drives back to his garage during the practice session at the Homestead-Miami International Speedway in Homestead, Fla. Friday, Nov. 20, 2009.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Of the first 31 drivers to complete a qualifying lap Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, none could match the blistering pace set by Mark Martin.
With his fast lap of 172.678 mph, Martin shot to the top of the starting grid for Sunday's NASCAR finale.
Then came Jimmie Johnson, who ripped off a lap that was even faster and, in many ways, symbolized the way this stock-car racing season has gone.
The 50-year-old Martin, the sentimental favorite to win NASCAR's 2009 Sprint Cup championship, gave it all he had. But Johnson, 34, whose record fourth consecutive title is all but clinched, delivered a performance that was just a bit better.
As a result, Johnson will start first in Sunday's Ford 400 — precisely where he'd hoped.
While there's no such thing as a "safe" place on a racetrack, no spot is as advantageous as the front. As the pole sitter for Sunday's race, Johnson gets to dictate the pace on the double-file start. For at least the early going, he'll be clear of the slower drivers who make up the rear of the 43-car field and tend to race with a desperation bordering on recklessness. And he'll get the first stall on pit road, which means no cars can block his during the manic stops for gas and fresh tires.
"It just lessens the odds" of trouble, Johnson said after his pole-winning lap of 173.919 mph around the palm-tree lined 1 1/2-mile oval.
Johnson need not be brilliant to win his fourth consecutive NASCAR championship Sunday. With a 108-point lead, he can clinch the title by finishing 25th or better.
Martin is the only driver with a mathematical chance of spoiling Johnson's bid. But even if he wins Sunday and collects the bonus points for leading the most laps, Martin still won't close the gap unless Johnson has some sort of calamity — such as a blown engine or a crash — that relegates him to 26th or worse.
Given Johnson's uncanny ability to minimize mistakes with a title on the line, Martin will likely end up as the runner-up for NASCAR's championship for a fifth time, having finished second in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002.
Regardless, Martin said he'd go to bed Sunday night confident he did everything he could, both this weekend and all season, to win the NASCAR title that has eluded him for nearly three decades.
"I'm very comfortable with where I am right now," said Martin, who came out of partial retirement in 2009 to join Hendrick Motorsports' superstar-laden stable of drivers (Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.).
"I'm very proud of my race team. I feel like it's been a tremendous accomplishment to even give (Johnson's team) any kind of run for their money. I've had the time of my life. I'm in the best frame of mind that I have been since I've been an adult. I look forward every time I have an opportunity to go strap in that racecar."
Even if his quest to win the 2009 NASCAR title is bordering on hopeless, Martin is an easy driver to root for.
At 50, he's stretching the limits of what's considered possible in motorsports in much that same way that Dara Torres has in swimming, Lance Armstrong has in cycling and Brett Favre has in the NFL.
He's also a principled racer — one who'll push rivals hard in door-to-door, 200-mph battles around the track but won't put them in a wall for a victory.
"If you go out there and you race people the way you want to be raced, and you do a really, really good job, you don't have to use a mask and a gun," Martin said. "That's not how I want to come out ahead, with a gun and a mask, you know. I'd rather go out there, work hard, earn it."
And at this stage in his life, having retired once, no driver in the garage appreciates the moment and the thrill of competition more. Notoriously hard on himself, particularly after a three-year winless streak ate away at his confidence, Martin has bounded around the garage this season with the giddiness of a teenager with a learner's permit.
Says Greg Biffle, his former teammate at Roush Fenway Racing: "If I went from not winning in (90)-some races to being close to winning the championship and five wins, I would be smiling and very happy, too! Think about (Martin's) career: He was all but done, right? He announced his retirement. 'I'm done. I'm leaving.' Couple (of) years later, he's on the cusp of winning the title. You gotta feel like a new person for that to happen to you!"
But Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the racing gods once again smiled on Johnson.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Johnson shouted over the radio after being told his fast lap had bumped Martin from the pole. By day's end, Marcos Ambrose bettered Martin's lap, as did Scott Speed. Martin will start fourth.
Ambrose said he'd be careful to give Johnson extra room on Sunday out of respect for the job he has done and the title that's at stake.
"He's got a halo bar around his car this weekend," Ambrose said, "and you just don't want to be the guy to take his championship away."
With his fast lap of 172.678 mph, Martin shot to the top of the starting grid for Sunday's NASCAR finale.
Then came Jimmie Johnson, who ripped off a lap that was even faster and, in many ways, symbolized the way this stock-car racing season has gone.
The 50-year-old Martin, the sentimental favorite to win NASCAR's 2009 Sprint Cup championship, gave it all he had. But Johnson, 34, whose record fourth consecutive title is all but clinched, delivered a performance that was just a bit better.
As a result, Johnson will start first in Sunday's Ford 400 — precisely where he'd hoped.
While there's no such thing as a "safe" place on a racetrack, no spot is as advantageous as the front. As the pole sitter for Sunday's race, Johnson gets to dictate the pace on the double-file start. For at least the early going, he'll be clear of the slower drivers who make up the rear of the 43-car field and tend to race with a desperation bordering on recklessness. And he'll get the first stall on pit road, which means no cars can block his during the manic stops for gas and fresh tires.
"It just lessens the odds" of trouble, Johnson said after his pole-winning lap of 173.919 mph around the palm-tree lined 1 1/2-mile oval.
Johnson need not be brilliant to win his fourth consecutive NASCAR championship Sunday. With a 108-point lead, he can clinch the title by finishing 25th or better.
Martin is the only driver with a mathematical chance of spoiling Johnson's bid. But even if he wins Sunday and collects the bonus points for leading the most laps, Martin still won't close the gap unless Johnson has some sort of calamity — such as a blown engine or a crash — that relegates him to 26th or worse.
Given Johnson's uncanny ability to minimize mistakes with a title on the line, Martin will likely end up as the runner-up for NASCAR's championship for a fifth time, having finished second in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002.
Regardless, Martin said he'd go to bed Sunday night confident he did everything he could, both this weekend and all season, to win the NASCAR title that has eluded him for nearly three decades.
"I'm very comfortable with where I am right now," said Martin, who came out of partial retirement in 2009 to join Hendrick Motorsports' superstar-laden stable of drivers (Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.).
"I'm very proud of my race team. I feel like it's been a tremendous accomplishment to even give (Johnson's team) any kind of run for their money. I've had the time of my life. I'm in the best frame of mind that I have been since I've been an adult. I look forward every time I have an opportunity to go strap in that racecar."
Even if his quest to win the 2009 NASCAR title is bordering on hopeless, Martin is an easy driver to root for.
At 50, he's stretching the limits of what's considered possible in motorsports in much that same way that Dara Torres has in swimming, Lance Armstrong has in cycling and Brett Favre has in the NFL.
He's also a principled racer — one who'll push rivals hard in door-to-door, 200-mph battles around the track but won't put them in a wall for a victory.
"If you go out there and you race people the way you want to be raced, and you do a really, really good job, you don't have to use a mask and a gun," Martin said. "That's not how I want to come out ahead, with a gun and a mask, you know. I'd rather go out there, work hard, earn it."
And at this stage in his life, having retired once, no driver in the garage appreciates the moment and the thrill of competition more. Notoriously hard on himself, particularly after a three-year winless streak ate away at his confidence, Martin has bounded around the garage this season with the giddiness of a teenager with a learner's permit.
Says Greg Biffle, his former teammate at Roush Fenway Racing: "If I went from not winning in (90)-some races to being close to winning the championship and five wins, I would be smiling and very happy, too! Think about (Martin's) career: He was all but done, right? He announced his retirement. 'I'm done. I'm leaving.' Couple (of) years later, he's on the cusp of winning the title. You gotta feel like a new person for that to happen to you!"
But Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the racing gods once again smiled on Johnson.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Johnson shouted over the radio after being told his fast lap had bumped Martin from the pole. By day's end, Marcos Ambrose bettered Martin's lap, as did Scott Speed. Martin will start fourth.
Ambrose said he'd be careful to give Johnson extra room on Sunday out of respect for the job he has done and the title that's at stake.
"He's got a halo bar around his car this weekend," Ambrose said, "and you just don't want to be the guy to take his championship away."
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