MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS
Dodge Save Mart 350, June 26, 2005
RACE 16 INFINEON RACEWAY
(1.949 – MILE, 110 LAPS)
MARTIN READY TO TAKE TO THE ‘ROAD’ COURSE
After three straight top-10 efforts, Mark Martin and the Viagra Racing Team will head to the hills of Napa Valley for the circuit's first road course race of the season, where Martin will be looking to score his third top-five finish in the last four races.
Chassis Number: (RK-204) - The team will run RK-204 at Sonoma this weekend. RK-204 is the same car that Martin used to finish eighth with last year at Sonoma and second in the fall at Watkins Glen.
AT INFINEON
Starts: 16
Wins: 1
Top 5's: 7
Top 10's: 13
Poles: 1
Highest finish: 1st (5/4/97)
First time: 6/11/89 (31st)
Last time: 6/27/05 (8th)
Worthy Note: Martin has finished inside the top 10 in over 80 percent of his races at Infineon Raceway.
IN THE POINTS
Martin's third straight top 10-finish last weekend solidified his fifth-place position in the NEXTEL Cup Chase. Martin is currently only 19 points out of third place and 10 out of fourth. After 14 races he trails first place by 269.
MARTIN AT INFINEON
Martin won at Infineon in 1997 from the pole, one of only five times that feat has been accomplished. His 13 top-10 finishes at Infineon Raceway are the most of any active driver. Martin has finished in the top 10 in 10 of the last 11 races at Sonoma, where he has been top 10 in 81 percent of his races.
ROAD COURSE MASTER MARTIN
Martin is one of the most accomplished road course racers on the Nextel Cup circuit. Martin's four wins at road courses are the ninth most all time and his four poles are the eighth most. Martin's 30 top-10 finishes on road courses are the most of any driver. Martin finished eighth and second in the circuits two road course races last season.
MARKMARTINSALUTE.COM
Mark Martin is making his final run at the Nextel Cup title in 2005, and 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 SONOMA
"I grew up learning how to drive on those old winding dirt roads of Arkansas and to me that's a lot like what road course racing is like, so I've always like the road courses. The good thing about it is that the cars are a lot faster now, but the competition is pretty steep as well. Sonoma ia a fun road course to race at and we always look forward to going out west and seeing the fans out there. We've had a lot of success out there and hopefully we can go out there and take the Viagra Ford to victory lane.
"Pat (Tryson) and this Viagra Team have really been on their game the last couple of months. We won the All-Star Race and had a good run going in the 600 before we got wrecked. Then we rebounded from that with top-five efforts at Dover, Pocono and Michigan. We are up to fifth in the points and hopefully we can gain some more ground this weekend at Sonoma."
PAT TRYSON
"We are excited about going road racing. We tested Road Atlanta and were pleased with what we saw there. We are taking the same car that Mark finished eighth with at Sonoma and second with at Watkins Glen last season, so it will just be a matter of getting the car right for Mark, as we all know he is one of the best road course racers on the circuit. If we can give him the right car, there is no doubt he can take us to victory lane on Sunday."
Mark Martin Fast Facts – Sonoma
Martin won at Infineon from the pole in 1997, a feat that has only been accomplished four other times.
Martin leads all drivers with 13 top-10 finishes at Sonoma.
Martin has finished in the top 10 in 10 of the last 11 at Sonoma.
Martin has competed in 35 career road-course races scoring four victories and 31 top-10 finishes.
Martin has finished either first or second in 30 percent of every Nextel Cup race at Sonoma.
Martin has finished inside the top 10 in 81 percent of the NC races at Sonoma and inside the top five in 44 percent of the races.
Martin's four wins at road courses tie for the ninth most in NASCAR history and his four poles tie for the eighth most.
Martin has competed in all 16 races at Sonoma, scoring four second-place finishes, in addition to one win.
LAST YEAR AT SONOMA...
JUNE 27, 2004 – Infineon Raceway
DODGE/SAVE MART 350 – Started 4th, Finished 8th
Martin posted a solid eighth-place finish at Infineon Raceway in NASCAR’s first of two road-course races of the season. The team was strong all weekend, posting its second top-five start in three weeks, while running times inside the top 10 in all three of the weekend’s practice sessions. The finish was the team’s sixth top 10 of the season. Martin struggled with the car’s handling in the slow-speed corners all day, while experiencing a strong blend of speed in the high-speed corners. The team ran inside the top five for the majority of the first 35 laps, while staying out on fuel and eventually taking the lead on lap 35, thus earning five bonus points on the day.
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 560 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 617 Cup races, finishing inside the top 10 on 348 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.
