Mark Martin Advance
Sprint All-Star Race
MARTIN LOOKS FOR THIRD ALL-STAR VICTORY
Having scored top-10 finishes in three of the last four races, Mark Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army Team will take a week off from the rigors of point racing for Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte.
THE ALL-STAR
Starts: 18
Wins: 2
Top 5's: 6
Top 10's: 8
Poles: -
Highest finish: 1st (twice)
First time: 1990 (3rd)
Last time: 2007 (3rd)
Worthy Note: Martin is one of three active drivers with multiple All-Star wins.
A TRUE ALL-STAR
This will be Martin's 19th straight All-Star race. Driving a retro-93 paint scheme, Martin won his second All-Star race in 2005. He won the event formerly known as The Winston in 1998. Martin has posted eight top-10 and six top-four finishes in "The All-Star." He finished third in the event last season.
LOVING LOWE'S
Martin lists Lowe's Motor Speedway as one of his favorite tracks on the circuit, and his results there back up his liking for the 1.5-mile track. In addition to his two wins in the All-Star race, Martin boasts four Cup wins, six Nationwide wins and two IROC victories at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Martin has 10 wins and 30 top-five finishes at LMS in Nationwide and Cup racing.
MARTIN IN 2008
Martin has scored two top-five, four top-10, five top-15 and six top-20 finishes in eight races this season. He has led 69 laps in 2008, one more than he led all of last season.
MAKING A STRONG POINT
Despite running a limited schedule and having missed three of 11 events in 2008, Martin is ranked 26th in the Sprint Cup point standings; ahead of 11 drivers who have competed in more events. In addition, Martin's four top-10 finishes are more than 19 drivers who have taken part in all 11 events. Martin has as many or more top fives than 21 drivers who have competed in every event this season.
CHASING THE OWNER POINTS
While neither Martin nor co-driver Aric Almirola are in contention for a Sprint Cup Driver Championship, the No. 8 U.S. Army team accumulates points each week as with any other team. The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Team has tallied five top-10 finishes in 11 events this season and four top-eight runs in the past six races, and is currently 15th in owner points; only 20 points outside of the top 12 and the Chase cutoff point.
QUOTING MARK:
"The All-Star Race is one of the coolest events of the season. It's a race where all the teams can throw the points out the window and just go for it. I've always enjoyed racing in the event and we've been fortunate enough to come out on top on a couple of occasions. The win in '98 was a huge surprise, because we were running in second and Jeff (Gordon) ran out of gas. The win a couple of years ago was really awesome and one of the highlights of my career. We didn't have the best car in the field that night, but just really let it all hang out and went for it. We were able to get in the lead and we just never gave it up.
"I'm looking forward to racing in it this weekend with this No. 8 U.S. Army Team of DEI. I know they have won it before and I know that we would all like to go back to victory lane there together this Saturday night."
FAST FACTS
Martin will compete in his 19th straight All-Star event.
Martin won the event in 1998 and in 2005.
Martin has posted six top-five and eight top 10s at the All-Star event.
Martin finished third during his first All-Star, in 1990 and third last season.
Martin is one of three active drivers to have won the event twice.
The No. 8 U.S. Army team is only 20 points outside of the top 12 in Sprint Cup Owner Points.
LAST YEAR AT THE All-STAR...
MAY 19, 2007 –
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Started 18th, Finished 3rd
Mark Martin took over third place on Lap 66 of 80 and never looked back in Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte.
Martin, who had the fastest car on the track for the majority of the final 14 laps, was able to close in on the leaders while pulling away from the rest of the field.
Martin had a horrible day on Friday, losing an engine in practice and spinning out during the three-lap qualifying session. But after starting the All-Star race 18th, Martin was able to drive to 13th by the end of the first of the four 20-lap segments.
Crew chief Ryan Pemberton opted to keep Martin and the No. 01 Army Chevrolet out on the track after the first segment, while the majority of the field pitted for tires. The move paid off with a net gain of seven positions for Martin, who finished the second segment in sixth position.
Martin restarted segment three in sixth and broke into the top five on Lap 44. He opened the fourth and final segment in fifth place.
