MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS – Advance 500, April 2, 2006
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
(.526 - MILE), 500 LAPS
RACE: 6
MARTIN ON A ROLL HEADING INTO MARTINSVILLE
Mark Martin moves into Martinsville fresh off his fourth top-10 finish of 2006 and having finished inside the top 15 in all five races of 2006. Martin will look to return to the form that helped him finish third at Martinsville last spring.
Chassis Number: (No. RK-191) The team will run RK-191 at Martinsville. RK-191 is a new car that will debut this weekend.
AT MARTINSVILLE
Starts: 40
Wins: 2 (2)
Top 5's: 11 (7)
Top 10's: 21 (13)
Poles: 3 (1)
Highest finish: 1st (twice)
First time: 9/27/81 (3rd)
Last time: 10/24/04 (12th)
10/24/04 (12th)
Worthy Note: Martin's 21 top-10 finishes at Martinsville leads all active drivers.
IN THE POINTS
Martin's fourth top-10 finish of 2006 kept him in fourth in the point standings, but moved him to within 32 points of the leader.
MARTIN AT 'MARTIN'SVILLE
Though not a favorite of his, Martin has experienced a great deal of success at Martinsville where he has won twice and boasts 21 top-10 finishes and three poles. Martin posted a strong showing at Martinsville in the spring of last season with a third-place finish, but struggled in the fall with brake issues that helped lead to a 34th place finish.
MARTIN CONSISTENT OVER TIME
Martin has now finished inside the top 15 in nine consecutive races, dating back to Altanta last fall. This season he has climbed from 11th to fourth in the points. Martin sas finished top 10 in four of the five races this season.
AAA AND MARK MARTIN
Martin is sporting a different look and sponsor this season. As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA boasts more than 48 million members.
ENCORE SALUTE IN '06
Martin had planned 2005 as his final in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series, but when called into action by Jack Roush opted to return for one more go around. Martin's fourth-place finish in the points in '05 proved he is still one of the fastest stars in NASCAR and he plans on using 2006 as an encore performance of his highly popular "Salute To You" Tour, where he will continue to take the time to thank each and everyone that he feels played a role in his success, including the team members, the fans, NASCAR and the media.
QUOTING MARK AND PAT …ON MARTINSVILLE
MARK MARTIN
"I don't think that it any secret that Martinsville is not my favorite track. In fact, it's a track that I've always hated with a passion. The funny thing is that we've won there a couple of times and everyone always tells me that we run pretty good there, although it sure never feels that way. The track can be physically demanding and a lot of times you leave there feeling really worn down. Martinsville has always been a real challenge for me, because in the end, it just doesn't fit with my driving style. But all that really doesn't matter, as it's the next track on the schedule and the most important one that we go to this week, so it's up to us to be on our A game and go there and hopefully try to contend for a win.
"Pat (Tryson) and the team have been outstanding this season. We've been a top-10 car every week, and we've been able to run up front, lead laps and contend. We've won at Martinsville before and we had a strong run there in the spring last year, so if we can expand on that, hopefully we can be in good shape."
PAT TRYSON
"Last year we had a really good run in the spring at Martinsville and then we were off in the fall, so we'll have to go back and figure out what we need to do to make sure we give Mark the best car possible. We've run well there in the past, so hopefully we can be competitive this weekend."
MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS – MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
Martin has two victories at Martinsville (spring '92 and spring 2000).
Martin has 20 top-10 and 11 top-five finishes in 39 starts at Martinsville.
Martin posted both of his wins and 10 of his 19 top-10 finishes at Martinsville in the spring.
Martin has three poles at Martinsville.
Martin finished third in his first ever attempt at Martinsville on 9/29/81. He started the race fifth.
Martin has finished inside the top 15 in nine consecutive races dating back to last season.
Martin has run every lap of the season on the lead lap, the best total of any driver.
LAST YEAR AT MARTINSVILLE...
April 10, 2006 –
Martinsville Speedway
Advance 500
Started 22nd, Finished 3rd
Martin was in contention to win the race late, restarting third after the day’s 13 caution with 54 laps to go. Martin’s tires were 45 laps fresher than the two cars in front of him and he quickly moved to second place on lap 460. Martin spent the next four laps in a heated battle for second place with Jeff Gordon. Gordon
would prove to have the fastest car in the race and eventually overcame Martin on lap 464, before going on to take first place and eventually the victory. Still the third-place finish was a solid performance for Martin and the No. 6 Team at one of the most difficult tracks on the circuit.
ALL-TIME ELITE, MARK 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 586 consecutive Nextel Cup races, the 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 643 Cup races, finishing inside the top 10 on 363 occasions, inside the top five 228 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 a record five championships in the IROC series, including a record three straight.
Martin is the only driver in NASCAR to have won a Cup, Busch, Truck and IROC race at the same track (California Speedway).
