MARTIN (ON SEARCHING FOR HIS FIRST SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP.): “Look, I’m not disappointed in the things I haven’t accomplished. I’m proud of the things that I have. And that’s the way I’m going to look back on my career. I have finished second to (Dale) Earnhardt, Tony (Stewart) and Jeff (Gordon), all of them great drivers in this sport. And I’m not embarrassed to finish second to those guys. And I wouldn’t be embarrassed to finish second to Jimmie (Johnson). I have the greatest amount of respect for those guys. I love what I’m doing. I love this sport. And I won’t sit here and worry about the things that haven’t happened to me or for me.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG’S CHEVROLET (ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE.): “We’re in a big hole. The deficit is getting bigger and the opportunities we have to make it up are getting smaller. That’s not good. Two of the last three weeks have really cost us. It is what it is. We have to fight as hard as we can. There are still some good things to race for even if it’s not the championship. We need to find as much motivation as we can to do the best we can.”
GUSTAFSON (ON WHAT THE TEAM IS RACING FOR.): “Winning. Winning is the biggest thing. It’s a huge deal. There are a lot of good teams and good drivers that haven’t won a race. We have to stay hungry. We have a chance to win at Texas, which is a place I’ve never won at and would love to do. We have a chance to sweep Phoenix. That would be a nice thing to say that we were able to accomplish. And we have a chance to win Homestead (Fla.). A Hendrick Motorsports car has never won there so that would be a great thing to do. You always want to finish the year strong and still put ourselves in the best position we can in the championship. There are a lot of things to race for, but it comes down to perspective. Our perspective is that we were leading the first four weeks into the Chase and now we’re not, so there’s some disappointment there. If your perspective is that you are coming from the back and gaining momentum, then racing for second would be huge motivation. We have to realize that our perspective is a little different and find the motivation still to compete at our highest level possible.”
GUSTAFSON (ON WHERE HE SEES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NO. 48 TEAM AND THE NO. 5 TEAM.): “Lowe’s Motor Speedway is the difference to me. That’s where they won and we finished 17th. That’s the biggest thing. At Talladega (Ala.), I don’t feel like there’s a whole lot of skill involved in that. Things happen however they happen, and for some reason Jimmie (Johnson, No. 48 driver) missed the wreck by two feet, and we were right in the middle of it. I don’t think we can reflect on that and say, ‘That was a weakness in our team.’ Lowe’s was our biggest issue. We needed to run better at Lowe’s and change the dynamic a little bit.”
GUSTAFSON (ON HOW HE WILL VIEW THE 2009 SEASON.): “If we do not win the championship, I’m going to be disappointed. A lot of guys on this team are going to be disappointed. It won’t override what we’ve accomplished. They are separate entities. Where we’ve succeeded is one thing and where we’ve failed is another. One isn’t more important than the other. When you win a race, it’s still a success. But it’s like winning a battle or winning a war. We want to win the war. Yes, we’ve won some battles, but we haven’t won the war. I will be disappointed, but I won’t be ashamed, and this team has no reason to hang their head. This team fought very hard and it will continue to fight hard to do everything we can possibly do. I want to win a championship and so does everyone on this team. That was our main focus when we came into the year. So, there is some level of disappointment. If we win at Texas and Jimmie finishes second, I’m going to be happy. I’m going to realize that I’ve got less of a chance to win a championship, but I’m still going to be happy. They’re separate things. There’s going to still be a strong sense of accomplishment and commitment and a lot of payoff for the hard work, but there will still be some disappointment as well.”
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