Mark Martin Advance
Talladega Superspeedway, Apr. 28-30
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series: Aaron’s 499
Mark Martin
Team: No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Pat Tryson
Chassis: RK-337 Finished seventh in the Bud Shootout in February
Martin on racing at Talladega Superspeedway:
"I think that my feelings regarding Talladega as a restrictor-plate race are pretty widely known. I'm not a big fan of that type of racing at all, but I know that the fans love it and it's the next race. We've had awful luck there the past few years. I think we wrecked both times there last year and maybe even the year before, but hopefully out luck will be a little better this weekend. We are definitely due there.
"We've run pretty well all season and at all of the different types of tracks that we've raced on, including Daytona and Phoenix. Pat (Tryson) and the AAA team have done an outstanding job with the cars this year and I can't remember a year where I had better cars each week to race with. We had a really fast car at Phoenix and things just didn't work out, but if we keep bringing cars like that to the track, we'll be in really good shape heading down the stretch."
Crew Chief Pat Tryson on racing at Talladega Superspeedway:
"We are taking the same car that we ran in the Bud Shootout and we had a chance to win with that car, so we like our chances. Mark is great with the draft, the main thing is hopefully we'll be lucky enough to avoid all the wrecks. If that can happen we should come away with a solid finish."
Fast Facts
Mark Martin's pace in the 1997 Winston 500 at Talladega set an all-time NASCAR Cup record for the fastest race ever run, as Martin won the caution-free event with an average speed a 188.354 mph. He covered the 500-mile distance in two hours, 38 minutes and 18 seconds.
Martin has two victories at Talladega, with both coming in the spring race (1995 and 1997).
Martin has scored top-10 finishes in six of his last 14 races at Talladega.
Martin has finished in the top 10 in 49 percent of his 73 restrictor -plate races.
Martin's 34 top-10 finishes in restrictor plate races are the most ever.
Martin is one of five drivers to have completed in all 73 restrictor-plate races.
