Diamond Hill Plywood 200 - Mark Martin Notes

PREVIEW: MARK MARTIN (NO. 5 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD/HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET)
VENUE: DARLINGTON RACEWAY (1.366-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 12 OF 35)
EVENT: FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2007 (147 LAPS, 200 MILES)

LONG TIME COMING: Mark Martin, the winningest driver in NASCAR Busch Series history, will team with car owner Rick Hendrick this week for the first time. Martin will drive the No. 5 Hendrick Autoguard/hendrickcars.com Chevrolet in Friday's Busch Series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, marking his first time in more than 25 years of NASCAR competition behind the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports-prepared car.

EVERYTHING IN THREES: Friday's event will mark the first of Martin's three scheduled Busch Series races for Hendrick Motorsports in 2007. He will also drive the No. 5 Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway in August and at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

DARLINGTON ACE: Martin has competed in 27 Busch Series races at Darlington Raceway, earning eight victories and 17 top-10 finishes. He has also earned the pole position a record eight times at the famed "Lady in Black." Martin has won three of his last four Busch Series races at the 1.366-mile South Carolina oval, including two victories from the pole in 2000. Most recently, he started eighth and finished fourth at Darlington in May 2006.

THIRD BUSCH RACE: Martin's first start with Hendrick Motorsports will be his third Busch Series race of 2007. He raced at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February and Texas Motor Speedway in April, finishing fifth and 12th, respectively.

RECORD SETTER: Martin's record of 47 career Busch Series victories is 16 more than Jack Ingram, who is second on the all-time list, and 20 more than third-place Kevin Harvick. In Busch Series competition, Martin has earned at least one race win in 14 different years and posted at least one pole position in 13 separate seasons. He also owns the record for Busch Series poles with 30.

BUSCH'S GREATEST DRIVER: In a poll last year of both fans and media, Martin ranked No. 1 among the "25 Greatest NASCAR Busch Series Drivers."

CHASSIS 356: Crew chief Mike Bumgarner has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 356 for Friday's Busch Series race at Darlington. The car led the most laps at both Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway this season before finishing third and seventh, respectively.

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MARK MARTIN, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD/HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET: (ON RACING FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS.) "The thrill for me is to be able to drive for Rick Hendrick, and to be able to say that I did that before my career ends as a driver is really special. To have them (Hendrick Motorsports) with their enthusiasm and a chance to work with more really brilliant people that I can maybe learn something from, this is the greatest time in my life."

MARTIN: (ON RACING THE NO. 5 CHEVROLET.) "That No. 5 means something to me. I remember the No. 5 when it was first getting started -- when it was All-Star Racing on the side and Rick Hendrick was a car dealer getting into NASCAR. It's cool. This is stuff that's history. And the older you get the more history means to you."

MARTIN: (ON HIS INVOLVEMENT UP TO THIS POINT WITH THE HENDRICK AUTOGUARD/HENDRICKCARS.COM TEAM.) "I see how fast the car is. I see they don't need my input. If they did, I would've gotten involved sooner, but the program is so strong they really don't need my input from a technical side. Actually, I'm thrilled and excited just to have the opportunity to work with another group of really smart people that are really getting it done and are excited to have me drive their car."

MARTIN: (ON POSSIBLY EARNING HIS 48TH CAREER VICTORY AT DARLINGTON.) "The way this car has run this year with Kyle (Busch) in it, if I can get in there and not do something stupid, and do a good job of relaying (information) and integrating and working with the team, then we should have a shot at it."

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RICK HENDRICK, OWNER OF THE NO. 5 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD/HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET: (ON HAVING MARK MARTIN DRIVE FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS.) "When I heard that he was going over to Ginn Racing and he wanted to talk to us about our support and the engine program, we just started talking and he said, 'Hey, I'd like to drive one of your Busch cars one day' and it just kind of started. It's exciting. He's just such an icon. And I think we'll learn something. I think we'll learn a lot from Mark and his input."

HENDRICK: (ON MARK MARTIN AS A RACER.) "He's the kind of guy that if you can't win a race, you feel good about watching him win cause he's just a real gentleman on the track. He's helped Kyle (Busch) when Kyle first came into the sport. I kind of compare it to having Darrell (Waltrip) win the Daytona 500 in our car. When I look back at the end of the day and we look at the wins we have and the people that have been part of it, I think it's going to be really neat to have Mark's name on that list."