News & Notes
QUAKER STATE: This Sunday, Quaker State will adorn the hood of the No. 5 Chevrolet for the third time this season. Quaker State, a partner of Hendrick Motorsports since 1996, also will return to the No. 5 Chevrolet for four NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2012.
LOOP STATISTICS: Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, leads all Sprint Cup drivers with an 8.576 average running position in the last six races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His seventh-place average finish ranks second among all competitors. He also leads in laps run inside the top-15 with 814 laps out of 960 total. He has the third-best driver rating with a score of 105.3 in that same six-race span.
BEST BRICKYARD: In the 2009 Brickyard 400, Martin started from the pole position and led 14 laps before finishing second to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. Martin posted an average running position of second during the race, which was the best among his competitors that day. He also recorded the best driver rating with a score of 128.9 out of 150.
RUNNER-UP FINISHES: Martin, who has finished second in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings five times, has narrowly missed winning the famed Brickyard 400 twice. In both of those second-place finishes at the historic track, Martin has followed a Hendrick Motorsports driver across the line. In 2009, he took runner-up honors behind Johnson. In 1998, Martin scored second behind Jeff Gordon. In both of those years, Martin also finished second to those respective drivers in the championship standings.
ONE OF FOUR: Martin is one of just four Sprint Cup drivers who have competed in all 17 Sprint Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Martin’s 13.2 average finish ranks him second among the four drivers. Gordon is first, while Bobby Labonte is third and Jeff Burton is fourth.
BRICKYARD STATISTICS: Sunday’s race will mark Martin’s 18th Cup start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In his 17 previous races, Martin has posted six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. He has led 67 laps and has finished all but one of those events at the historic racetrack. Martin and Gordon are tied for the most lead-lap finishes at Indy with 15.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-679 for Sunday’s race at the Brickyard. This is a brand new chassis that never has been raced or tested.
FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH HENDRICK: It was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that Martin first sat in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet. In October 2008, Martin participated in a Goodyear tire test at the speedway with the team.
HENDRICK AT INDY: Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have combined to win seven of the 17 Cup events that have been held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to those seven victories, Hendrick Motorsports has 17 top-five finishes and 26 top-10s in 17 races (61 starts) at the 2.5-mile speedway. Gordon is the track’s leader in wins (four), top-five finishes (nine), top-10s (13) and laps led (440 total) at Indy.
CHEVY STREAK: Chevrolet has won 12 of the 17 Sprint Cup events held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including the last eight straight. In addition, a Chevy has started from the Brickyard 400 pole position eight times.
APPROACHING 200: With Gordon’s win at Pocono Raceway on June 12, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 197 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 QUAKER STATE/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.):
“This track has so much historical significance to racing as a whole. Knowing who’s raced here before you, who’s walked through that same garage, it’s really very cool. There’s not a driver in NASCAR who won’t tell you that, next to the Daytona 500, the Brickyard is where they most want to win a race. It’s just got that kind of meaning to it. I haven’t gotten a win at either of those tracks in my career, but I’m hoping it changes this weekend.”
MARTIN (ON NARROWLY MISSING A WIN AT THE BRICKYARD TWICE.):
“Finishing second, in any race, isn’t something you should be disappointed with yourself about. In 2009, the (No.) 5 team was right there at the end. To fight Jimmie (Johnson) for that win was huge for me and the team. It was hard not to get it, but we were all pretty happy to be fighting for it. Looking back, I don’t think there’s anything I could have done differently to get it. I had it all hanging out. In 1998, Dale Jarrett was actually the car to beat. He had some fuel issues, and Jeff (Gordon) just ran away with it from there. We’ve been close. Two runner-up finishes isn’t something I’m going to dwell on or be upset with. They sound pretty good to me.”
LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 QUAKER STATE/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RACING AT THE BRICKYARD.):
“Indianapolis Motor Speedway is definitely one of the premier events that we race each and every season. The history of that racetrack is incredible. A win there doesn’t just make your year; it can make your whole career. Every race we go to during the season is important—they all pay the same points—but kissing the bricks at Indy is just more special. Being a part of that would definitely be an amazing accomplishment for myself and the whole No. 5 team.”
McGREW (ON THE CHALLENGES OF INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.):
“There are so many aspects of Indy that make it more challenging than other tracks we race on. The track surface is one of them. The speed you carry into the corners. It’s so important to be able to roll through the corners because they lead to really long straightaways. Momentum is also important, as is track position, which we’ve talked about at every track this season. It’s really hard to pass right now in this sport, but even more so at Indy, so pit stops and pit strategy are going to be a huge part of Sunday’s race.”
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