News & Notes
100 YEARS OF CHEVY: All four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets will carry special paint schemes at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway this weekend to honor Chevrolet’s 100th-year anniversary. Mark Martin’s No. 5 GoDaddy.com/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet will feature a special silver-and-green paint scheme with the Chevy 100-Year anniversary logo on the nose and rear of the car.
IN A CHEVY: Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, has scored five of his 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins in a Chevrolet – all with Hendrick Motorsports during the 2009 season.
CHEVY RUNS DEEP: Chevrolet clinched its 35th Sprint Cup manufacturer championship Sunday after Jimmie Johnson won at Kansas Speedway. Chevrolet has played a role in each of Hendrick Motorsports’ Cup victories, and Hendrick has contributed five of Team Chevy’s 14 wins this season.
MOST STARTS: Martin will make his 54th career Sprint Cup start on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the most for him at any track on the NASCAR circuit. The 52-year-old has earned four wins, 18 top-five finishes and 23 top-10s at the intermediate track. He has raced more miles—25,599—at Charlotte than any other track and has led 1,183 laps (1,774.5 miles), which is the third-most for the NASCAR veteran at any track on the circuit.
STAT STAR: Martin’s 29 lead-lap finishes at Charlotte are the most for any driver there. He also leads all active drivers in top-five finishes (18) and in top-10 finishes (23) at the 1.5-mile track.
LOOP STATISTICS: Martin has the fourth-best average running position – 12.67—of all Sprint Cup competitors in the last 13 races at Charlotte. His driver rating of 89.7 is the sixth-best. He has spent 3,197 laps of a possible 4,638 running inside the top 15, which ranks as the third-most of any driver in that timeframe.
POLE SITTER: Of Martin’s 50 Sprint Cup pole positions, two of them were earned at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Martin posted back-to-back poles at Charlotte in 1991.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-685 for Saturday’s race. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a 17th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month.
FAMILY AFFAIR: Charlotte Motor Speedway has invited family members of each driver to participate in driver introductions for Saturday’s race. Matt, Martin’s son, will formally introduce his father on stage during the pre-race festivities. Matt, a former driver himself, now works as a physical trainer at Hendrick Motorsports.
HENDRICK AT CHARLOTTE: In 55 events (183 starts) at Charlotte, Hendrick Motorsports has 16 wins, 49 top-five finishes and 75 top-10s at the 1.5-mile racetrack. The team has led 3,828 laps there. Johnson most recently won this race from the pole position in October 2009.
APPROACHING 200: With Johnson’s win on Oct. 9 at Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 199 Cup victories. The organization ranks first in NASCAR’s modern era for wins and second all-time behind Petty Enterprises, which has 268 victories.
Quotes
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM/CHEVY 100TH ANNIVERSARY CHEVROLET (ON RACING AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY.):
“This is my absolute favorite track we race on. There’s so much room to race here. Provides for a lot of passing, and hopefully a lot of excitement for the fans. I’ve felt comfortable racing here since the first time I was here in 1982. It’s big, but it races like a short, high-banked quarter-mile track that I was used to running back home in the Midwest.”
MARTIN (ON CHEVROLET.):
“Chevrolet has been a great partner for the last three years that I’ve been with Hendrick Motorsports. They’re so supportive of their race teams and their drivers. They welcomed me instantly. To help celebrate their 100-year anniversary is pretty cool. And to be a part of their 35th manufacturer’s championship is awesome. I’m proud to say that I won in a Chevrolet and contributed to their racing history.”
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