News & Notes
CARQUEST: CARQUEST Auto Parts, a major partner with the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet since 2005, will be back on the hood this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for its eighth and final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season.
ONCE A COWBOY: Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 CARQUEST Auto Parts/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, wore the famed cowboy hat in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway on April 5, 1998. Martin started seventh and led 37 laps, earning his second of seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins that season.
MARTIN AT TEXAS: Along with his 1998 victory at Texas, Martin has earned seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 21 career starts. He’s led a total of 208 laps at the Lone Star track and has a 13.5 average finish.
LOOP STATS: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Martin is tied with Tony Stewart for the fifth-best average finish – 12.7 – in the last 13 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
POLE SITTER: Texas Motor Speedway is one of only seven active tracks where Martin has not yet started from the pole position. Martin earned his 51st career pole at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last month.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-625 for Sunday’s race in Texas. This is the same chassis Martin drove to a 12th-place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March, a runner-up finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in May and 18th-place result at Pocono Raceway in June.
HENDRICK AT TEXAS: In 21 races (85 starts) at Texas, Hendrick Motorsports has three wins, 20 top-five finishes and 34 top-10s. Martin ranks tied for second with seven top-five finishes at the 1.5-mile track along with teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Martin and Johnson also rank tied for first with12 top-10s there.
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 CARQUEST AUTO PARTS/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON RETURNING TO TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.):
“When we were at Texas earlier this year, we really struggled. We just couldn’t get the handling right and then ended up in a big wreck toward the end of the race. Since then, though, I think we’ve got our intermediate program headed in the right direction. The last few races have been really hard for us with unfortunate accidents at Martinsville (Va.) and Talladega (Ala.) and a part failure at Charlotte (N.C.). We need a good weekend.”
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