MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS Daytona Speedweeks, Feb. 10-20
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (2.5 MILES)
BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT, FEB. 12 - (60 LAPS)
MARTIN KICKS OFF 'SALUTE TO YOU' TOUR AT DAYTONA
Martin and the Viagra Racing Team officially kick off the 2005 "Salute To You" Tour at Daytona Speedweeks, where Martin will be looking for strong showings in the Budweiser Shootout, IROC series and the famed.
Chassis Number: (RK-286, Budweiser Shootout) - RK-286, a new car that the team tested in Feb., will run in this year's Bud Shootout.
MARTIN AND THE SHOOTOUT
Martin will also run his record 17th-consecutive Budweiser Shootout, an event he won in 1999. Martin finished fourth in the event last year, his best finish in the Shootout since the win in '99.
THE SALUTE TO YOU TOUR
Mark Martin will make his final run at the Nextel Cup title in 2005. Martin has dubbed 2005 as 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 DAYTONA
MARK MARTIN
"We are really excited about getting this season started. Pat Tryson and all the guys on this Viagra Team have worked very hard over the last couple of months to get us ready for this and it's going to be great to get the season started up. We've had a great month of testing and we just can't wait to get it going. We have a lot of racing to do over Speedweeks with the Shootout, the IROC race, the Gatorade 150's and the 500 and I'd like nothing better than to kick off the "Salute To You" tour with some strong runs and maybe a couple of wins in there.
"We've got a great race team in place. A lot of these guys passed on some good opportunities to come back and make one more run with me and I don't plan on letting these guys down. Our plan is to come out strong and that all starts with Speedweeks here at Daytona."
PAT TRYSON
"We're excited and we're ready. We didn't get the finish down here last year that we wanted or that we felt we deserved and we are going to do all we can to get this thing started with a strong run at Daytona. We've put a lot of work into the off-season and at this point we just can't wait to go racing. Mark's the best driver in the business and it's our job to make sure that he has what he needs to go out and win races. We'd like nothing more than to start that off with a big win in Daytona."
Mark Martin Fast Facts DAYTONA
Martin will make his 21st start in the 500 and his 40th overall Cup start at Daytona.
This season will mark the final for Martin as a regular on the Nextel Cup circuit.
Martin will make his record 17th consecutive start in the Budweiser Shootout.
Martin will make his return to the IROC series in 2005, where he will look to set records for both championships and victories.
Martin has currenlty started 545 consecuitve Cup races, the third longest active streak..
