Carfax 250 - Mark Martin Notes

PREVIEW: MARK MARTIN (NO. 5 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (TWO-MILE D-SHAPED OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 25 OF 35)
EVENT: SATURDAY, AUG. 18, 2007 (125 LAPS, 250 MILES)

MARTIN RETURNS: Mark Martin will return to Hendrick Motorsports this weekend at Michigan International Speedway as the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series. Martin drove the Hendrick Autoguard Chevy to a runner-up finish at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May.

2007 BUSCH RACING: Saturday's 250-miler will be Martin's fourth Busch Series race this season. In his previous three, he has earned two top-five finishes, including the second-place result at Darlington with the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team.

MARTIN AT MICHIGAN: In nine Busch Series starts at Michigan, Martin has posted two wins, seven top-five finishes and eight top-10s. Martin's first victory at the track came in his first Busch Series start there in August 1993. He won again at MIS in 1995 and finished fifth after starting from the pole position in his most recent start at the track last season.

TO THE BIG HOUSE: The No. 5 Hendrick Autoguard Busch Series team and the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's NEXTEL Cup team will visit the University of Michigan on Thursday to attend the Wolverine's football practice and meet Coach Lloyd Carr. Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Busch, who will join the teams, has been a fan of the Wolverines football team for several years.

MARTIN AT HENDRICK: Martin will compete in three Busch Series races for Hendrick Motorsports in 2007. Aside from his previous Darlington run and his Michigan start this weekend, he will also compete in the season finale at Homesteaad-Miami Speedway in November.

MARTIN IN THE BUSCH SERIES: Martin is the winningest driver in Busch Series history with 47 victories in 223 career starts since 1987. He has earned 143 top-10 finishes, 106 top-fives and won 21 percent of all the Busch Series races he's entered. Martin has posted top-10 results 64 percent of the time and led 5,345 laps on the circuit.

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

CHASSIS 389: Crew chief Mike Bumgarner has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 403 for Saturday's Busch Series race at MIS. Chassis 403 dominated the Busch Series event at Las Vegas in March with driver Kyle Busch, leading 81 laps before spinning at the checkered flag to earn the runner-up finish.

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MARK MARTIN, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD CHEVROLET: (ON RACING FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AGAIN.) "I am really excited to get behind the wheel of that '5' car again. I had a blast driving it in Darlington back in May. That's a really good team they have over there and I'm really looking forward to getting back in their stuff."

MARTIN: (ON BEING ABLE TO WIN FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS.) "Winning for Hendrick Motorsports would sure be awesome. Rick (Hendrick) has great cars and a great team, so hopefully if we can put it all together we can take that car to victory lane. It took me way too long to get acclimated with the car at Darlington and I really messed up in qualifying and had to basically come from the back, or we might have been able to win that one. I hate that it got away from us, but we've got two more chances this year to get it done. I've known Rick for a long time and he's meant a lot to NASCAR. To be able to get a win in one of his cars would be really special for me."

MARTIN: (ON HIS SUCCESS AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.) "Michigan is a great race track and it really suits my style. It's big and wide and there is a lot of room to pass. If you can get your car to really work in the corners, you can do a lot of passing and that can be a lot of fun for a race car driver."

MARTIN: (ON GETTING USED TO A NEW CAR AND NEW TEAM THIS WEEKEND.) "At Darlington, I basically just had to get used to the car and acclimated to how it was set up. It took a little time and it really cost me in qualifying, but we were able to catch up and overcome that as the race went on. Before that weekend, I went to Hendrick Motorsports and met all the guys and got my seat fitted in the car. I also met with Alan Gustafson, who called the shots for Darlington and will again this weekend in Michigan. I was impressed with the whole team and how they instantly made me feel like a part of it. By the end of that race, it was like I had raced for them for years."

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MIKE BUMGARNER, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD CHEVROLET: (ON SWITCHING FROM ONE DRIVER TO ANOTHER.) "Honestly, we don't really approach this weekend much different than we do any weekend with Kyle (Busch). Mark has been racing long enough that he knows what he needs. He can explain it to us pretty quickly and help us get the speed out of the car. He has more experience than all of us and we lean on him a lot to help us out. While we can typically go back to past race notes to get information on how to set the car up for Kyle, we have to rely solely on Mark during his race weekends."

BUMGARNER: (ON THE DIFFERENCE FROM THE TEAM'S FIRST RACE WITH MARTIN TO THE SECOND ONE.) "I think that Mark will get acclimated to the car a lot quicker this time around. We know him a little better now and know what he looks for in a car a little more than we did at Darlington. The tracks themselves are so different that we can't really rely on those notes, but we do know the driver much better so that helps. We've stayed in touch with Mark since Darlington and Alan (Gustafson) and Mark have really talked a lot about setup and how to approach the weekend. I think we'll all be much better prepared for Michigan."

BUMGARNER: (ON WORKING WITH MARK MARTIN.) "Mark is what I would call an ultimate role model in the sport. He's one of the pioneers that helped build NASCAR to what it is today. I've always looked up to him and what he's accomplished. I feel very honored to work with him. When he's in the car, we're all rookies. We learn from him."