It’s a brand new season in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition, and the grand old man of the series, Mark Martin, enters the Chase for the Championship at the top of the heap.
Following the redistribution of points after last Saturday’s Richmond event — in which bonus points are given for victories — Martin now has 5,040 points, giving him a 10-point edge over Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson for the top spot.
Before the final race before the Chase, Martin stood 10th in the standings and could’ve actually been knocked out of contention with a bad run.
But that didn’t happen, and out of the 12 drivers in line for the 2009 title Martin has the most wins of any of them with four.
“This has certainly been the best year of my career, the most fun, (but since the Chicago race) some of the fun has sort of been smothered out by the pressure,” Martin said. “I feel like a whole new person — a huge weight is off my shoulders. To make this thing is the icing and now we get to go race for the cake.”
So how tough will it be for him to maintain the lead after the pilots exit New Hampshire this weekend? Martin has never won at the track but he’s almost always been competitive.
In 25 races at the venue Martin has registered eight top-5 showings and 13 top-10s, with two pole victories and an average finish of 11.1.
But the driver who has to be excited about moving on up is four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, who leads all playoff contenders with three wins here. He also has 13 top-5s and 16 top 10s in 29 starts, although there are two DNFs thrown into the mix.
He starts off the Chase tied for sixth with 5,010 points.
“I’m excited,” Gordon said. “We had a great year. We really had to rebound from last year’s effort. We were just kind of a non-factor. And this year I think has shown the effort. The effort has really shown in the results.
“I feel like the last five or six races we’ve really been able to get some things turned around and I feel like we’re well prepared for the next 10 races.”
Serving the role as the underdog in the Chase yet again is Greg Biffle, who is seeded 12th with 5,000 points. Last season he won the first two races of the Chase before faltering.
“It’s pretty tight,” he said. “Forty points, that’s certainly reachable in a couple of races. We’re just going to have to run better. We’re capable of that and we have some good racetracks coming up. That’s what I’m excited about.”
With 10 races left to determine the Cup championship, it’d be nice to see a minimum of controversy and a maximum of nice weather.
And while all 12 of the drivers will have their share of supporters along the way, look for the 50-year-old Martin to benefit from the loudest cheers week in and week out.
There are plenty of good story lines among the 12 playoff “teams,” but none are better than the one Martin and company have authored this year.
Contact Scott Adamson of the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C., at adamsons(at)independentmail.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
