NEWS & NOTES
HENDRICK CUP DEBUT: Mark Martin will make his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start for Hendrick Motorsports when he lines up for the 51st Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 in the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet. Martin, who is competing in his first season of full-time racing since 2006, announced his plans to join Hendrick Motorsports last July.
PREVIOUS SUCCESS: This isn’t the first time that Martin has raced in a Hendrick Motorsports-owned Chevrolet. Martin drove the No. 5 NASCAR Nationwide Series Chevy owned by Rick Hendrick three times in 2007, posting a season-best second-place finish at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. In 2008, he won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 1 for JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
NOT THE OLDEST: Martin, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Jan. 9, would become the second-oldest driver to win the Daytona 500, should he accomplish that feat on Feb. 15. The record-holder is Bobby Allison, who was 50 years, two months and 11 days old when he won on Feb. 14, 1988. Martin would be 50 years, one month and six days old after the 500-mile event on Feb. 15.
MARTIN IN THE 500: Martin nearly won his first Daytona 500 in 2007, when he crossed the finish line just .020 seconds behind Kevin Harvick. The margin of victory is the closest ever recorded during the 500-mile event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Martin has started the Great American Race 24 times and has earned five top-five finishes and nine top-10s.
MARTIN AT DAYTONA: In 47 Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway, Martin has yet to find Victory Lane. The NASCAR veteran has scored one pole position (July 1, 1989), nine top-five finishes and 17 top-10s at the historic track.
LEARNING TOGETHER: Martin has tested with the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team four times heading into the 2009 season. He spent one session with the team at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last September and then participated in two Goodyear tire tests—at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in December. Two weeks ago, the team spent two days testing at New Smyrna Beach (Fla.) Speedway. The Daytona 500 will mark the group’s first points race together.
STARTING POINT: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, started its operation in 1984 with Geoff Bodine driving the No. 5 Chevrolet. Bodine made Hendrick’s Cup debut on Feb. 19, 1984, posting an eighth-place finish in the Daytona 500. Since then, Hendrick’s all-time drivers in the No. 5 Chevy have combined for 27 wins, 179 top-five finishes, 329 top-10s and 35 pole positions.
HOMETOWN CREW CHIEF: Martin now lives in Daytona Beach, but his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, considers the area home for another reason. Gustafson grew up in Ormond Beach, Fla., just seven miles north of Daytona International Speedway. After graduating from Seabreeze High School, he enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which is located less than one mile east of the track. Gustafson has earned one victory at Daytona—the Nationwide Series event in July 2007.
BIGGEST FAN: As a teenager, Gustafson’s favorite race car driver was Mark Martin. The future crew chief decorated his bedroom in Ormond Beach with Martin collectibles and hero cards.
A DECADE: The 2009 season marks Gustafson’s 10th year at Hendrick Motorsports and his fifth as crew chief of the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet. Gustafson, 33, initially worked in the chassis department at Hendrick before joining the No. 5 team’s road crew as a shock specialist. In 2002, he was named the team’s head engineer. Three years later, he became the crew chief.
THE NO. 5 IN THE 500: During the last two Daytona 500 events, the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet was running in the top five with less than 10 laps to go. Both times, the car was involved in late-race accidents, which cost the team position. The team scored a 23rd-place finish—its best at Daytona under the direction of Gustafson—on Feb. 19, 2006.
DAYTONA SUCCESS: Gustafson and the Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team scored their best finish at the 2.5-mile superspeedway during the 400-mile events in July 2006 and 2007. The No. 5 team took runner-up honors both years, leading a combined 20 laps.
DAYTONA MAGIC: Hendrick Motorsports made history at Daytona in 1997 when its three drivers finished in the top three spots. Jeff Gordon won the 1997 Daytona 500, followed by teammates Terry Labonte (the No. 5 Chevy) and Ricky Craven (No. 25 Chevy). For Gordon, who led 40 laps in the No. 24 Chevy, it was his first Daytona 500 win.
DAYTONA DOUBLE: 1997 marked the second time that all of Hendrick’s drivers finished in the top five of the Daytona 500. On Feb. 19, 1989, Darrell Waltrip drove the No. 17 Chevy to take the checkered flag, leading teammates Ken Schrader (second/No. 25 Chevy) and Bodine (fourth/No. 5 Chevy). Waltrip (25 laps), Schrader (114 laps) and Bodine (nine laps) combined to lead 148 of the event’s 200 laps.
AT DAYTONA: Bodine earned Hendrick’s first win in the Great American Race when he drove the No. 5 Chevrolet to Victory Lane in 1986 after leading 101 laps. In 25 years of running the Daytona 500, Hendrick drivers have tallied six wins, 19 top-five finishes, 34 top-10s and six pole positions. Hendrick drivers have finished in the top-10 or better in all but three events.
DAYTONA CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-472 for the 51st running of the Daytona 500. The chassis never has been raced.
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