MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS – RACE: 24
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
(.533 - MILE) 500 LAPS
Sharpie 500, August 27, 2005
MARTIN ROLLS INTO BRISTOL FIFTH IN POINTS
With only three races remaining before the cutoff period, Mark Martin moves into Bristol fifth in the Nextel Cup points. The team hopes to rebound from their 17th-place finish last weekend at Michigan, as Martin will be looking for his third career victory at Bristol.
Chassis Number: (RK-174) - The team will run RK-274 this weekend at Bristol. This will be the car's fourth run this season; It finished third at Martinsville, 16th at Phoenix and 15th at Richmond.
AT BRISTOL
Starts: 37 (18)
Wins: 2 (2)
Top 5's: 15 (9)
Top 10's: 20 (10)
Poles: 7 (3)
Highest finish: 1st twice
First time: 3/14/82 (14th)
Last time: 4/3/05 (31st)
8/28/04 (13th)
Worthy Note: Martin's seven poles tie for the most ever at Bristol. Martin has started in the top five in 16 of 37 races at Bristol.
IN THE POINTS
Martin remains fifth in the Nextel Cup point standings. Martin is currently 197 points ahead of 10th place and 80 behind fourth. He trails first by 369 and leads sixth by 30 points.
MARTIN AT BRISTOL
Martin's trek at Bristol is a tale of streaks. In 37 races at Bristol, Martin has finished top 10 on 20 occasions and inside the top five 15 times. From 1995-2000 Martin has a total of 10 straight top-10 finishes at Bristol. He won four straight poles in 1995 and 1996. However, Martin has not finished inside the top 10 at Bristol in the past nine races, five of which he was involved in accidents that put an end to his chances. Martin finished 31st at Bristol this spring after getting involved in a multi-car accident. He was 13th there last fall.
LOOKING TO BREAK THE DRY SPELL
Despite running up front on several occasions, Martin will be looking for first his top 10 at Bristol this weekend since a third place finish on August 26, 2000.
STEADY DOWN THE STRETCH
With the 'regular' season drawing to an end, Martin has been as steady as anyone down the stretch, boasting top -0 finishes in four of the last six races and top-15 runs in nine of his past 11.
REVERSING THE TREND
Martin and the team will run the 'reverse' white paint scheme this weekend in Bristol, as well as the next two races at California and Richmond.
MARKMARTINSALUTE.COM
Mark Martin has dubbed 2005 his "Salute to You" tour, a year in which he hopes to take the time to thank each and everyone that he feels played a role in his success, including team members, fans, NASCAR and the media.
QUOTING MARK AND PAT …ON BRISTOL
MARK MARTIN
"Bristol can be crazy. I've always said it is like flying a jet fighter around the inside of a basketball arena, and try that with 42 other jets doing it at the same time. It can get really intense and it takes a great deal of patience by everyone. You just have to hope that you run well and that you can stay out of all the trouble, which isn't always easy to do. Over the years Bristol has been the source of some real highs and lows for me.
"I've had some of the most memorable races I can remember there and some pretty tough times there as well. We've had a lot of trouble staying out of the wrecks lately there, but hopefully our luck will change a little this time and we can manage to stay around to the end of the race and see what happens. We have only three more races before the cutoff, so it's going to be important to come out of there with a solid finish.
PAT TRYSON
"We had a good test at Bristol a couple of weeks ago and we are looking to get back there and hopefully have a competive race car. The Bristol night race is always exciting for the fans and hopefuly we can give Mark's fans something extra to cheer about this weekend."
MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS – BRISTOL
Martin has two victories at Bristol (8/98 and 9/93), both from the pole position and both in the fall race.
Martin's seven poles at Bristol tie for the most ever.
Martin won four consecutive poles at Bristol in 1995-96.
Martin has posted 20 top-10 and 15 top-five finishes in 37 races at Bristol.
From 1995-2000 Martin scored 10 straight top-10 finishes at Bristol. He has not finished top 10 there since.
Crew chief Pat Tryson scored his first Cup career win at Bristol in 2001. His pit strategy was vital in the victory by the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.
LAST YEAR AT BRISTOL...
AUGUST 28, 2005 - Bristol Motor Speedway - SHARPIE 500
Started 7th - Finished 13th
In a race where simply surviving is considered a key to success, Martin did just that at the Sharpie 500. Bristol Motor Speedway is known for a propensity to tear up a lot of good racecars and Martin was able to survive for 500 laps on Saturday, thus preserving his chances of breaking into the Nextel Cup Top 10 before the cut-off period in just two races. Martin left Bristol tied for12th place, 35 points outside of 10th and only 44 points behind seventh with two races remaining at California and Richmond. Martin had one of the fastest cars on the racetrack, starting seventh and powering his way up to as high as second place, before a costly miscue on pit road dropped Martin to as low as 28th and three laps down. Martin was pitted on the backstretch and unnecessarily drove his No. 6 Ford all the way back around pit road after a stop under green. True to form, Martin and the team did the only thing they could do – battle back. By lap 254 Martin was running in 20th position – one lap down. The team took two tires (right sides) under caution on lap 360 to move up to 14th position. Martin would move up to 13th position after the day’s final caution on lap 387, where he would run for the remaining 100 laps of the race. The rebound kept Martin firmly entrenched in the race for the top 10.
ALL-TIME ELITE, MARTIN
Martin’s 34 Nextel Cup wins put him fourth on the win list among active drivers and 17th on the all-time list.
Martin has currently started 568 straight Nextel Cup races, the third-longest current streak and the sixth-longest streak in Cup history.
Martin’s 41 Nextel Cup poles are the fifth most in Cup history.
Martin ranks fifth all-time in the Nextel Cup point standings.
Martin has started 624 Cup races, finishing inside the top 10 on 352 occasions, inside the top five 220 times and visiting winner’s circle 34 times.
Martin’s 47 career wins in the Busch Series are a NASCAR record.
Martin’s 12 victories in IROC competition are the most ever. Martin has won four championships in the IROC series, including a record three straight.
