MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
(1 - MILE) - 400 LAPS
RACE: 28, 2 OF 10 IN CHASE
MBNA America 400, Sept. 25, 2005
MARTIN LOOKS FOR FIFTH CUP VICTORY AT DOVER
After notching a seventh-place run at New Hampshire last weekend in the first of 10 races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Mark Martin shifts his focus to Dover, one of his favorite tracks on the circuit and where he has won four times.
Chassis Number: (RK-314 or 314) - The team will run either RK-314 or 315 at Dover this weekend. RK-314 has posted finishes of 17th at Michigan, seventh at Indy and 11th at Fontana. RK-315 would be making its first career run.
AT DOVER
Starts: 38 (19)
Wins: 4 (3)
Top 5's: 18 (8)
Top 10's: 23 (10)
Poles: 4 (3)
Highest finish: 1st (4 times)
First time: 5/16/82 (5th)
Last time: 6/5/05 (3rd)
9/26/04 (2nd)
Worthy Note: Martin has finished inside the top three in his last three at Dover, including one win, a second and a third.
IN THE POINTS
After his top-10 finish at Loudon, Martin is seventh in the points, 54 points behind first. He is only four points behind fifth and he's 41 points out of eighth.
BREAKING DOWN THE CHASE
Martin has started a total of 233 races at the remaining nine tracks that will make up the Chase for the Nextel Cup. He has posted 16 wins, 79 top-five and 124 top 10 finishes at those tracks. Martin has finished inside the top 10 in 53.1 percent of his starts at the remaining 'Chase' tracks. He has an average finish of 14.3 and he has led a total of 4,931 laps, including 1,654 at Dover.
MARTIN AT DOVER
This will be Martin's 39th start at Dover, where he has won four times. Three of Martin's wins at Dover have come in the fall. The four wins tie for the most ever at the track. Considered one of his favorite tracks on the circuit, Martin has 23 top-10 and 18 top-five finishes at the Monster Mile. The 18 top-fives are the most of any driver. In addition, Martin earned his first ever career Busch Series win at Dover in 1987.
FAST FROM START TO FINISH
Martin was fast at Dover from the start, running fifth in the Mason-Dixon 500 in his first ever start at the one-mile track on 5/16/82. Martin started the event seventh, the first of his 23 top-10 starts at the track. Martin has four poles at Dover and started in the top 10 in 23 of his first 29 races there.
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 DOVER
MARK MARTIN
"Dover has always been one of my favorite tracks. We've had great success there over the years, including the last three years when we've been up front and a serious contender. The very first time I went to Dover, I loved it from the start. It is definitely in my list of top tracks and there probably is no cooler track to go and race on. I'm looking really forward to getting back up there this weekend and hopefully putting together another strong run.
"We were pretty happy to get out of Loudon with a seventh. It's one of our weaker tracks in the Chase, and we were able to go there and do what we needed to do. This weekend and Dover couldn't come at a better time. We are looking to put together another strong run there and hopefully we'll be able to leave there in pretty good position in the chase."
PAT TRYSON
"Dover is one of Mark's favorite tracks and it's a pretty special place for this race team. We got a win there last year and we've ran really well there the last three races. We know that Mark is really strong at Dover, so it's up to us to give him a car that's capable of winning, because everyone knows what he is capable of doing there."
MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS – DOVER
Martin has four wins at Dover, with the last coming in the spring of 2004.
Martin holds the track record at Dover, winning on 9/21/97 in 3:00:50 (132.717 mph avg).
Martin's 18 top-five finishes are the most of any active driver at Dover.
Martin has 23 top-10 finishes at Dover, including three straight top-three's.
Martin finished fifth in his first Cup race at Dover on 5/16/82.
Martin has finished in the top 10 in almost 60 percent of his races at Dover.
Martin finished one-two in both Dover races last season in 2004 and third this spring.
Martin earned the first of his record 47 Busch Series wins, at Dover in 1987.
LAST YEAR AT DOVER...
SEPTEMBER 26, 2004 – Dover International Speedway
MBNA AMERICA 400 – Started 12th, Finished 2nd
Martin and the Viagra team went to Dover looking to follow up their June win there with yet another strong performance at the one-mile track that Martin often calls his favorite. In the end they found just what they were looking for, another top-five finish and continued movement up in the Nextel Cup point standings. Martin took over second place on lap 284 and held the position for the remaining 116 laps of the race. The race featured a combination of solid work in the pits and a fast car, to help Martin continue his advancement forward in the point standings.
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 572 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 629 Cup races, finishing inside the top 10 on 353 occasions, inside the top five 221 times and visiting winner’s circle 34 times.
Martin’s 47 career wins in the Busch Series are a NASCAR record.
Martin’s 13 victories in IROC competition are the most ever. Martin has won four championships in the IROC series, including a record three straight.
