NEWS & NOTES
INFINEON VICTOR: Martin, who has competed in 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Infineon Raceway, earned his sole victory at the Sonoma, Calif., road course in 1997. Martin started from the pole position and led all but five laps before taking the checkered flag.
1989 FLIP: Martin had an eventful run at Infineon Raceway in 1989, the first year the Sprint Cup Series competed at the road course. While running third, Martin made a fuel-only stop under caution on Lap 48. He was making his way toward Turn 2 when his car lost the right-rear wheel, hit the tire barrier and flipped. Martin got out of the car and ran to pit road, where his team waited to make the necessary repairs. Martin rejoined the field before the race went back to green, finally crossing the finish line 31st.
AT INFINEON: Martin averages a 9.6 starting position at Infineon Raceway and an 11.4 average finishing position. Martin, who has scored seven top-five finishes and led 161 laps at the 1.99-mile road course, has earned a top-10 finish in all but six starts there.
POLE MAN: Martin’s next Sprint Cup pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin earned a pole position at Infineon in 1997 when he raced from the top starting spot to the win, leading 69 laps on the way. Martin’s 9.6 average starting position at Infineon ranks third for him behind Pocono Raceway (8.8) and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (9.1).
ROAD COURSE REPORT: Martin has made 39 starts on the two road course tracks currently on the Sprint Cup schedule. In those 39 races, he has earned four wins, 19 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s. He has led 365 laps combined at Infineon and Watkins Glen.
THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 team has competed in five Sprint Cup races at Infineon Raceway, earning a career best finish of fifth in 2008. Between Infineon and Watkins Glen, the team has competed in nine road course races with Gustafson at the helm, earning one top-five finish and three top-10s.
POINTS: Martin and the GoDaddy.com team are 12th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 30 points behind 10th and 43 points ahead of 13th.
ROAD COURSE CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-608 for the first road course race of the 2010 season. This chassis never has been raced or tested.
HIGH FIVE: Ricky Rudd scored three of his four Infineon Raceway pole positions while driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports from 1990-1992. The record for most Sonoma poles belongs to Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, who has five. Gordon is the only driver in the track’s history to have won three times from the pole (1998, 1999 and 2004).
HENDRICK AT SONOMA: In Sprint Cup competition at Infineon Raceway, team owner Rick Hendrick holds track records in the following categories: victories (five), top-five finishes (23), top-10s (33), pole positions (nine) and laps led (517). Jeff Gordon owns all five of Hendrick Motorsports wins there.
QUOTES
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON HIS 1989 ACCIDENT AT INFINEON.): “The first time I went to Sonoma it was back in 1989, we made a pit stop that was supposed to be for gas only. When I left, though, I turned to go up the hill and the right-rear tire flew off. I spun and turned over. I didn’t know, right away, if I had done it or what had happened. We weren’t supposed to change tires, but it turned out that the guy ran out there and took all the lugnuts off the right-rear tire. So the tire just flew off. We got back out there and ended up finishing the race. Pretty crazy day for sure.”
MARTIN (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ROAD COURSES.): “Back when I first started racing, no one seemed to take the road course races too seriously. It was almost like a couple of weekends that you just ‘got through.’ But today, all the teams take it very, very seriously. You can’t afford to have even one off day. The series is a lot more competitive now, and everyone’s more on their game. Back in the ‘90s, only about half as many teams were as competitive on road courses as there are now.”
MARTIN (ON LAST YEAR AT INFINEON RACEWAY.): “Infineon is a very demanding course and a demanding race. I think it’s difficult for all oval racers. I hadn’t been out there for three years until last season, and we struggled a bit. We didn’t qualify like I wanted to, and then, halfway through the race, we got caught up in an accident with Matt (Kenseth). Our rear axle was bent, and we couldn’t do much with it. Ended up with a much worse finish than we deserved, for sure. This team, all of Hendrick Motorsports, has put a lot of emphasis on its road course program since last season. I’m anxious to get on the track and put it to use.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON HOW THE TEAM HAS WORKED ON ITS ROAD COURSE PROGRAM.): “We’ve done a lot of on-track road course testing. We knew that the team, all of Hendrick Motorsports, needed to improve its road course program. It’s something we put a lot of emphasis on since last season. I feel like we’ve made improvements, but we won’t really know until we’re out there on the track with other competitors.”
GUSTAFSON (ON INFINEON RACEWAY VERSUS WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL.): “The biggest difference is really the average speed. The speed is so much higher at Watkins Glen. Infineon is slower, more technical. Forward drive off of the corners is more of an issue out there. The surface is a little slicker at Infineon, too, so it’s harder to get the car to get in the track. It slides around a lot more in Sonoma than it does at Watkins Glen.”
GUSTAFSON (ON ROAD COURSE RACING.): “I enjoy road course racing. I don’t think these style of cars are very well suited for it, but it’s fun. A very big challenge. These heavy cars don’t like to change direction very well, so that makes it difficult, but it’s still a lot of fun. If NASCAR wanted to add more, I wouldn’t be against it, but I don’t think there’s a real need to have more on the schedule.”
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