Martin Moving On

[hONDA kING]

Mark Martin is ready to put last week's disappointing night at Lowe's Motor Speedway behind him and turn in a good performance in Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Martin struggled all night long last week in Charlotte and wound up with a 17th-place finish. Coupled with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson's win, Martin tumbled to 90 points behind the lead in the standings.

"We have had some great weekends this year," Martin said. "We've done better and won more than I ever dreamed of. And with that, you've got to take the not-so-great weekends, too. And that's what happened. It's all in how you handle it. And this team could've given up, but they didn't. We fought for the best finish we could get, and, unfortunately, that was 17th. That's just racing. That's what happens."

Despite the setback, Martin continues to focus on the bigger picture and feels there is still lots of racing yet to go before the championship is decided.

"Did the 17th-place finish hurt? Yes. But it's not over," he said. "I still say, like I've said all along, we've got to get through Martinsville and Talladega. Then we'll have a clear view of what's going to happen here with this championship. Give us those two more races to see."


Martin has much experience at the .526-mile Martinsville track with two wins and 11 top-five finishes in 43 Sprint Cup Series starts.

But with the introduction of double file restarts to the mix for the first time this weekend, Martin says this will be a whole new place.

"No one really knew what to think when double-file restarts started at any track," Martin said. "But, so far, I think they've worked out really well. I don't worry about them too much. With how tight Martinsville is, it's probably going to get a little intense sometimes. But overall I don't think it will be any crazier than it has been in most other races."

Martin's crew chief Alan Gustafson is doing his best to keep his driver and team focused on this weekend's racing and not to dwell on what happened last week in Charlotte.

"We just go to Martinsville," he said. "We really have no choice. The key for us is to run as well as we can. We can't control anyone else. We've kind of put ourselves in a position where we're in a hole. It's not like we have to go to Martinsville and gain back 90 points. We have to gain 90 by Homestead.

"If we just go to Martinsville and do the best we can, work hard, get the car right, have good pit stops and strategy and execute all day long, we'll get a good finish. Hopefully that will get us closer to our goal than we are right now. We just move on."

[suprasteel]

keep it moving buddy!!!

[CRX-ing]

you win some, you lose some...