NEWS & NOTES
MOST WINS: Mark Martin leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with four wins this year. Martin, who is in his 27th season of Cup competition, has recorded four or more wins in four previous campaigns—1993, 1995, 1997 and 1998. In each of those campaigns, Martin finished inside the top four in the championship standings.
39 AND COUNTING: After earning his 39th Sprint Cup victory recently at Chicagoland Speedway, Martin improved to 17th on the Sprint Cup all-time winners list. He now ranks third among current full-time drivers. Only two other drivers—Junior Johnson and Fireball Roberts—have earned more than 30 wins in NASCAR’s Cup history and never won a championship.
TEAM RECORD: With the victory at Chicagoland Speedway, Martin eclipses the single-season win total for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 team. Four wins in a season is a record for the organization’s original Chevrolet.
DOWN TO FIVE: With his win two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway, Martin has only five tracks remaining on the Sprint Cup schedule where he has yet to earn a win. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of those five, along with Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Pocono Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
FOUR OVER 50: Only two drivers have posted multiple Sprint Cup wins over the age of 50. Harry Gant earned eight victories after his 50th birthday, while Martin now has four.
MARTIN AT THE BRICKYARD: Martin narrowly missed earning a Brickyard trophy in 1998 when he scored his career-best second-place finish to now-teammate Jeff Gordon. Martin has posted five top-five finishes and nine top-10s in 15 Cup starts at the famed track. His last four starts at Indy have resulted in one top-five finish and three top-10s, with his worst finish of 11th occurring in 2008.
THE NO. 5 TEAM: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has guided the No. 5 team to one top-five finish and three top-10s in four starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team scored its career-best finish of fourth in 2007 with Gustafson at the helm.
CHASE RACE: With his win at Chicagoland Speedway, Martin advanced two positions to 11th in the Sprint Cup standings. He trails 10th place by just two points.
FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TEAM: It was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Martin first sat in the No. 5 Chevrolet. Last October, he participated in a Goodyear tire test at the speedway with the team.
NEW CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-550 for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis. It is a new chassis that never has been raced or tested.
PIT CREW AWARD: The No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST over-the-wall pit crew has been named the Second Quarter Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew. The winning crew is voted upon each quarter by the Sprint Cup crew chiefs. The four quarterly winners are eligible for the overall Most Valuable Pit Crew Award and the $100,000 prize, which is presented at the end of the season.
HENDRICK AT INDY: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, has six wins, 15 top-five finishes and 23 top-10s at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A Hendrick driver has scored a top-10 or better in each of the last 15 Cup events at the racetrack.
ON TOP: Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins (six) of any Cup team at the Brickyard and has led the most laps (623) at the 2.5-mile speedway. Jeff Gordon, the winningest NASCAR driver at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with four victories, scored the inaugural win at the Brickyard in 1994. Jimmie Johnson won in 2007 and last year.
APPROACHING A MILESTONE: On Aug. 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Martin will make his 1,000th career NASCAR start. That date will mark his 746th Sprint Cup race. Martin also has competed in 231 Nationwide Series and 23 Camping World Truck Series events. He is the third driver to achieve this mark, behind only Richard Petty and Michael Waltrip. Across all three series, Martin has won 93 points-paying events.
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