Mark Martin
Phoenix International Raceway
One-mile oval located in Avondale, Ariz.
NNCS: Checkers Auto Parts 500
Fast Facts
Mark Martin has finished inside the top 10 in 65 percent (13) of his Phoenix Cup races.
Martin won at Phoenix on Oct. 31, 1993.
Martin has finished inside the top 10 in 11 of the last 16 races at Phoenix.
Martin has finished second or better in six of 20 races at Phoenix.
Martin has posted one win (Phoenix, ’93), 12 top fives and 17 top 10’s at the two remaining tracks that make up the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. He has a 10.5 average finish at those tracks and he has led 612 laps at the remaining tracks, including 612 at Phoenix, where in addition to his 1993 win, he has posted eight top fives and 13 top-10 finishes in 20 starts.
Martin led 111 laps at Phoenix in the spring.
Martin will run the special “Insurance” Paint scheme for the final time this season at Phoenix this weekend.
Mark Martin
Team: No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Pat Tryson
Chassis: RK-221 Dominated the spring race at Phoenix this year, leading 111 laps, despite finishing 11th after late-race problems.
Last ran at Martinsville in Oct., finished 24th after getting caught up in an accident.
Same car Martin used to win the ‘05 All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Martin on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
"I enjoy racing at Phoenix and we've had a lot of success there over the years. We've been off a little there the last few years, but we got that corrected and had a car that was just awesome there in the spring and we really should have probably won that race. We'll go back there this weekend hoping to pick up where we left off and hopefully we'll be able to go out and compete for the win again.
"We've had an awful string of bad luck lately. We've wrecked in races, we've wrecked in practice, and we've wrecked in practices and then the races. Sometimes that's just the way racing works, you start getting caught up in a lot of other peoples’ messes and there really just isn't a lot you can do about it. Hopefully we are finished with the bad luck and we'll be able to go out and compete for the win at the next two races and close this thing out on a strong note. I've been in this car for 19 years and I'm not going to quit until the last lap is run."
Crew Chief Pat Tryson on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
"We are excited about going back to Phoenix. We were really strong there in the spring and we are taking the same car that we used there when we led a lot of laps and were probably the class of the field. We've had a tough couple of weeks and nothing would be better than to go to Phoenix and Homestead and close out the year with a couple of solid runs and hopefully a win or two. The guys on this team have given everything they have this year and Mark's really been on the wheel. There really isn't a lot we could have done about some of the things that have happened, but we are going to keep moving forward, and we are going to keep trying to win races."
