MARTIN, VIAGRA RACING TEAM LOOK TO TAME DARLINGTON
Mark Martin and the Viagra Racing Team prepare for the 42nd running of the
Southern 500 in Darlington this weekend. A NASCAR tradition, this will
mark the last race in Darlington over the labor Day weekend. Martin,
who won the famed event in 1993, will be gunning for his second win this
Sunday.
THE CAR
The Viagra Racing Team will take RRC- 104 to Darlington this weekend.
In it's only other start, RRC-104 finished 14th earlier this year in
Chicago.
IN THE POINTS
Martin is currently in 14th place in the Winston Cup point standings,
167 points outside of 10th place.
MARTIN AT DARLINGTON
This will be Martin's 35th run at Darlington in the Winston Cup series
and his 18th run in the Southern 500. Martin has finished inside the top
five in eight of 17 Southern 500's and inside the top 10 in 13 of the 17
races. No stranger to Darlington, Martin won a track-record seven races
on the 1.366-mile track in the Busch series and a record seven poles as
well.
FAST FACTS
· Martin has won once at the Southern 500 on 9/5/93.
· Martin has captured two poles at the 'track too tough to tame'
(4/3/89 and 3/22/98).
· Martin had one of the cars to beat in the spring race at
Darlington, leading 89 laps in route to a fourth-place finish. A dropped
lug nut late in the race forced Martin to come back into the pits and
ended his shot at the victory.
· Martin won a track record seven times at Darlington in the Busch
series.
· Martin won a record seven Darlington poles in the Busch Series
as well.
· Martin has finished inside the top 10 in 21 of 35 races at
Darlington and inside the top five 14 times.
· In his last season in the Busch series (2000) Martin swept both
poles and wins at Darlington.
QUOTING MARK AND BEN
MARK MARTIN ON DARLINGTON:
"I can't wait to get back to Darlington. It's one of the tracks on the
circuit where we should still be able to race. A track where you put on
four tires when you stop and you can pass so it shouldn't come down to
fuel mileage. We've been going there for a long time and I've always
enjoyed that type of racing. We had a pretty good car there in the
spring and might have won the race if not for a late mishap in the pits.
Still, the car was able to get back to the front and we finished fourth.
Hopefully we can go there this weekend and have another strong run."
CREW CHIEF BEN LESLIE ON DARLINGTON:
"We are looking forward to going to Darlington for the Southern 500.
Obviously there is a lot of tradition associated with that race and
hopefully we'll have a good showing. We are taking RRC-104, which is the
same car that we ran a few weeks ago in Chicago. We ran out of gas and
got a lap down, but the car was actually pretty good. The guys have been
working really hard and I know everyone is excited about this weekend's
race. We had a great car last week in Bristol, although we didn't see
the results we would have liked. Hopefully we'll see that this weekend."
SEASON AT THE SOUTHERN 500
SEPTEMBER 1, 2002 - Darlington Raceway, Mountain Dew Southern 500 -
Started 2nd, Finished 11th
Persistent rainfall forced the cancellation of both qualifying and
practice on Friday, and forced a two and a half-hour delay in the start
of Sunday's race. Martin started on the front row in the second slot,
based on his position in the point standings entering the weekend, and
the veteran driver wasted no time moving to the front. The race's first
19 laps were run under caution, as NASCAR officials made sure the track
was dry enough for safe racing conditions. Once the green flag fell on
lap 20, Martin immediately passed point leader Sterling Marlin for the
lead. Martin would lead the next 25 laps of the race. The team began to
struggle with the car's setup and Martin started to lose places, several
key pit stops allowed the car to keep gaining positions, but in the end
Martin was unable to keep the car in the top 10. The car was good on
long runs, but several cautions during the final laps hurt Martin's
chances of a top-10 finish.
· Martin's 33 Winston Cup wins put him fourth on the win list
among active drivers.
· Martin has currently started 497 straight races, the
third-longest current streak and the eighth-longest streak in Winston
Cup history.
· Martin's 41 all-time Winston Cup poles are the fifth most in
Winston Cup history.
· Martin ranks fifth all-time in Winston Cup point standings.
· Martin has started 554 Winston Cup races, finishing inside the
top 10 on 324 occasions, inside the top five 205 times and visiting
winner's circle 33 times.
· Martin's 45 career wins in the Busch Series are a NASCAR
record.
· Martin's 11 victories in IROC competition ties Dale Earnhardt
for the most ever.
· Martin has won four championships in the IROC series, including
a record three straight.
· Martin has currently started 554 Winston Cup races during his
career.
