News & Notes
TALLADEGA WINNER: Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, is a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. In April 1995, he started third and edged current teammate Jeff Gordon for the win. Two years later, Martin started 18th and beat Dale Earnhardt across the line. Martin also has 11 top-five finishes and 24 top-10s at the 2.66-mile track.
MOST RECENTLY: In April, Martin qualified third for the Sprint Cup race at Talladega. He partnered with Gordon, pushing him to a third-place finish. Martin crossed the line eighth.
SUPERSPEEDWAY NOTES: Martin has made 100 total career superspeedway starts in Sprint Cup competition at Talladega and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedways. The veteran driver has earned a combined two wins—both at Talladega—20 top-five finishes and 42 top-10s. He has completed 16,103 laps between the two tracks and has led 597 of those.
TALLADEGA VS. DAYTONA: Between NASCAR’s two restrictor-plate tracks, Martin is more successful at Talladega. Both of his superspeedway wins have occurred at the Alabama racetrack. He has 11 top-five finishes at Talladega, two more than at Daytona, and six more top 10s with 24. He’s led 55 more laps at Talladega, even though he has six fewer starts there than at Daytona.
POLE SITTER: Of Martin’s 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole positions, two of them were earned at Talladega. Martin posted back-to-back poles at Talladega in 1989. Most recently, Martin scored the pole position at Daytona’s restrictor-plate event in July.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-632 for Sunday’s race at Talladega. This is the same chassis Martin has driven in all three of the restrictor-plate events held so far this season, earning two top-10 finishes – eighth, most recently, at Talladega and 10th in the season-opening Daytona 500.
HENDRICK AT TALLADEGA: In 55 events (174 starts) at Talladega, Hendrick Motorsports has 11 wins, 45 top-five finishes and 67 top-10s. Most recently, Earnhardt pushed Jimmie Johnson to Victory Lane in the April 2011 race. Johnson matched the closest margin of victory recorded—.002 seconds – since the use of electronic scoring.
SUPERSPEEDWAY POWER: A Hendrick Motorsports driver has sat on the pole position in the three superspeedway races held so far this season. At Daytona, Earnhardt started from the pole alongside Jeff Gordon. Gordon earned the pole at Talladega in April and led the field to green with Johnson on the outside pole. Most recently, Mark Martin led the field to green at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July.
TOP FOUR: In April, Hendrick Motorsports drivers lined up in the top four spots for the 188-lap Talladega event. Gordon was first, Johnson second, Martin third and Earnhardt fourth. The teammates crossed the finish line in the top eight.
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 CHEVROLET (ON THE CHANGES HE EXPECTS IN THIS RACE.):
“I know NASCAR made some rule changes for this race, and I’m anxious to see how it affects the way we’ve been racing on these restrictor-plate tracks this year. I’m a big fan of the two-by-two racing. I like it a lot better than those huge packs that we used to race in. There’s a whole new element to this style—working specifically with another driver and having a plan in place—than what we did in the big packs. It’s intense. That may go away a little with this new package, but we’ll have to see after we get on the track and get some practice laps in.”
LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE NASCAR RULE CHANGES IMPLEMENTED FOR THIS RACE.):
“I think the changes are going to make the two-car draft a little more difficult, but I don’t think they’ll stop the style of racing completely. Drivers are going to have to adjust how they draft. The pusher may have to step out a little more to get more air into the radiator and keep it cool. The truth is, two-car drafting is the fastest way around the speedway. No one will want to give up that advantage. We’ll all be working on finding ways to keep the speed with the new package.”
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