MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS – UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, March 13, 2005
RACE 3
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
(1.5 - MILE) - 267LAPS
MARTIN SET TO TAKE 'SALUTE' TO VEGAS
After starting the season with back-to-back top-10 finishes at Daytona and Fontana, Martin and the team will be looking for their first Nextel Cup win of the "Salute" season when they roll into Las Vegas.
Chassis Number: (RK-231) - The team will run RK-231 at Vegas. RK-231 finished seventh at Fontana two weeks ago. It was the star of the stable in 2004, with top-five runs at Dover 2, California 2, Michigan 2 and Las Vegas. The car also had strong runs at Charlotte 2, Pocono 1, Indy and Chicago.
AT VEGAS
Starts: 7
Wins: 1
Top 5's: 4
Top 10's: 6
Poles: 0
Highest finish: 1st (3/1/98)
First time: 3/1/98 (1st)
Last time: 3/7/04 (5th)
Worthy Notes: Martin's six top 10 finishes at Las Vegas are the most of any driver;Martin won the inaugural race at Vegas in '98
IN THE POINTS
Martin moved up four places to third in the Nextel Cup points after Fontana. He is currently just 39 points out of first place.
MARTIN AT LAS VEGAS
Martin's career at LVMS has been stellar. He hit the jackpot there in the inagurual race in 1998 and followed that up with four straight top-10 runs. Martin finished fifth there a year ago. Martin's only finish outside the top 10 at Vegas came in 2003, when he suffered an engine failure on lap 114. With the excepton of 2003, Martin has finished every lap run at Las Vegas in a Cup event.
A 'SALUTE' TO WINNING IN RECORD FASHION
Martin has already notched two wins on the "Salute Tour", and both have had significance in the record books. Martin's 12th career win in the IROC race at Daytona set a record for wins in the series, while his Busch win a week ago at Fontana was a record-extending 46th for Martin in that series. Martin will look for his first Cup win of the season this weekend in Las Vegas.
THE SALUTE TO YOU TOUR HEADS TO VEGAS
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 VEGAS
"Las Vegas is a very special race track for me. We won the first race there in 1998 and that win really stands out in my memory. It's not really often over the years that I ever took a moment to let something soak in, but for some reason that win in 1998 really stood out. I realized that it wasn't just a win on some dirt track in Arkansas, but that we had just done something special.
"We are off to a good start in 2005 and I know that Pat and the guys are looking forward to going out to Vegas to race. This track is one of my favorites and we've run really well there over the years. Hopefully we can go back to victory lane there in the Viagra car this weekend and finish up there like we started."
PAT TRYSON
"Mark has always run really well at Las Vegas and hopefully we can maintain that tradition this year. We had a good test at Vegas back in February and we are confident that we can go there and make some noise this weekend. It's one of the 1.5-mile tracks on the circuit that really suits the way Mark likes to race. It's a driver's-type track and we have the best driver in the business."
Mark Martin Fast Facts – LAS VEGAS
Martin's six top-10 finishes at Las Vegas are the most of anyone.
Martin won the inaugural Cup race at Las Vegas in 1998.
Martin has led 186 laps at Las Vegas, the third most of any driver.
Martin has currently been running at the finish of 24 straight races, the longest current streak.
Martin has finished every lap of six of his seven races at Las Vegas (91.3 percent).
Martin has finished in the top-five of four of his seven races at Las Vegas.
Martin has two poles and a win in three Busch races at Las Vegas; He will run the No. 9 Busch car this weekend as well.
LAST YEAR AT LAS VEGAS
MARCH 7, 2004
UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER 400 – Started 27th, Finished 5th
Martin and the No. 6 team used a quick car and fast pit work to earn a fifth-place finish at Las Vegas. The No. 6 team posted back-to-back stops of under 14 seconds late in the race and Martin picked up two spots in the race’s final 12 laps for the strong finish. The finish was Martin’s fourth top-five finish in seven races at Vegas..
ONE OF NASCAR’S ALL-TIME ELITE, MARK 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 547 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 604 Cup races, finishing inside the top 10 on 342 occasions, inside the top five 215 times and visiting winner’s circle 34 times.
Martin’s 46 career wins in the Busch Series are a NASCAR record.
Martin’s 12 victories in IROC competition are the most over. Martin has won four championships in the IROC series, including a record three straight..
