MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS
LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.5 - MILE)
UAW-GM QUALITY 500, 334 LAPS Oct. 15
RACE: 31, 5 OF 10 IN CHASE
FRESH OFF KANSAS WIN, MARTIN HEADS TO 'FAVORITE TRACK' LOWES
After dominating last week's race at Kansas, Mark Martin heads to Lowe's Motor Speedway which he regards as his favorite track on the circuit. Martin won in the All-Star race in May at the 1.5 mile speedway and will look to repeat that success this Saturday night.
Chassis Number: (RK-314) - The team will run RK-314 this weekend at Lowe's. RK-314 finished 11th at Fontana in its last run. The car finished seventh at Indy and 17th at Michigan in its other runs this year.
AT CHARLOTTE
Starts: 41
Wins: 4 (3)
Top 5's: 15 (9)
Top 10's: 19 (11)
Poles: 2 (1)
Highest finish: 1st (4 times)
First time: 5/300/82 (27th)
Last time: 5/29/05 (28th)
10/16/04 (13th)
Worthy Note: Martin's four wins at Lowe's tie for the most of any active driver.
IN THE POINTS
Martin's commanding victory moved him up two places to seventh in the points. Martin trimmed Tony Stewart's lead by 20 points and trails first place by 118. He trails second by only 38 points and he is just 21 points out of fifth.
BREAKING DOWN THE CHASE
Martin has started a total of 151 races at the remaining seven tracks that will make up the Chase for the Nextel Cup. He has posted 10 wins, 51 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes at those tracks. Martin has a 13.83 average finish at Chase tracks and he has led a total of 2,962 laps, including 1,148 at Lowe's.
MARTIN AT LOWES
Martin has four wins at Lowe's, with three coming in the fall race. In addition, he has won twice at Lowe's in the All-Star event, including last May's dominating performance. His 15 top-five finishes are the most of any active driver at the 1.5-mile track and his four wins tie with Jeff Gordon for the most wins by an active driver and the third most ever. In addition he boasts six Busch wins and one IROC win at Lowe's as well.
FAREWELL RUN FOR "WHITE LIGHTNING"
Martin will run the special 'reverse' white Viagra night race paint scheme for the final time this weekend at Lowe's. Over the past two years the scheme has run 16 times, wracking up six top 10's, three top fives and a win.
RECORD 12th IROC CHAMPIONSHIP ALL BUT LOCKED UP
Martin's dramatic win over Kurt Busch in last Thursday's IROC race was not only Martin's record extending 13th of the series, but it all but locked up what will be his record setting fifth championship in the International Race of Champions.
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 LOWE’S
MARK MARTIN
"I tell you what I love Lowe's Motor Speedway. In my opinion, it's the greatest place to race in the world. I can remember the first time that I ever went there in 1981 and thinking 'wow' this is just like a small quarter-mile track somewhere, except it's huge, but you could race just like that. Everytime I go there, the first thing I do after the first lap is radio the team and tell them how awesome that track is. We had a great test there a couple of weeks ago and I can't tell you how excited I am about getting back there.
"Last Sunday was a great win for this team and Charlotte couldn't come at a better time. We had a good car there in the spring and we got caught up in somebody's wreck late in the race. Hopefully this time we'll be able to avoid that and finish it off. Tony (Stewart) has a pretty good lead on all of us, but it's really tight after that. We just have to keep fighting and see what happens."
PAT TRYSON
"I think that we all pretty much know that Lowe's is Mark's favorite place to race and we also know that he can get the job done there. He was dominant in the All-Star race in May and we were good in the 600 as well. It's just up to us to give him a car capable of putting him up front and we all know that he'll do the rest. Our goal is to give Mark a good car and go out and look for two in a row this weekend at Lowe's. "
MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS – LOWE’S
Martin has three wins at Lowe's Motor Speedway, with three coming in the fall race.
Martin's four wins at Lowe's are the most of any driver.
Martin won the All-Star Challenge at Lowe's in May. It was the second time Martin has won the event at Lowe's.
Martin has 19 top-10 and 15 top-five finishes at Lowe's.
Martin has led 1,148 laps at Lowe's, the most of any active driver.
Martin has won six Busch races at Lowe's and two All-Star events (1998 and 2005).
Martin has not finished inside the top 10 at Lowe's in the last six races.
LAST YEAR AT LOWE'S...
OCTOBER 16, 2004
Lowe’s Motor Speedway
UAW-GM QUALITY 500 – Started 12th, Finished 13th
While announcing that Thursday that 2005 would be his final season running for the Nextel Cup, Martin made it very clear that his intention for the remainder of the season was to win races, while continuing to chase this season’s championship. Martin went out on Saturday night and backed that statement up in grand fashion. Powering one of the fastest cars in the race, Martin started 12th and worked his way forward. The veteran took his first lead of the night on lap 216 and Martin led the race with only 35 laps remaining. However with only 22 laps to go, Martin’s Viagra Ford was caught up in an accident involving lapped traffic. The No. 6 Ford, which had been one of the fastest all evening, sustained major damage in the accident and the team was forced to come into the pits several times to make repairs. The team worked feverishly to stay on the lead lap and Martin was able to bring home a solid 13th place finish.
ALL-TIME ELITE, MARTIN
Martin’s 35 Nextel Cup wins put him fourth on the win list among active drivers and 17th on the all-time list.
Martin has currently started 574 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 631 Cup races, finishing inside the top 10 on 354 occasions, inside the top five 222 times and visiting winner’s circle 35 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.
