NEWS & NOTES
GOING FOR FOUR: Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet, is a three-time winner at Watkins Glen International. The 50-year-old driver started from the pole position and won the road course event three years in a row (1993-95). He led a combined 183 laps during his wins.
MARTIN AT THE GLEN: In 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen, Martin has earned three victories, three poles, 12 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s. He has led 204 laps and has completed all but four laps attempted. He holds an average start of 8.1 and average finish of 6.9 at the upstate New York road course.
ROAD COURSE RETURN: Martin has not competed at Watkins Glen since 2006 when he started and finished 20th. Martin drove a part-time schedule in 2007 and 2008, and the Glen was not on his docket either year.
TOTAL ROAD COURSE EXPERIENCE: In his 27-year Sprint Cup career, Martin has competed in a total of 42 road course events: 19 at Infineon Raceway, 19 at Watkins Glen and four at now-defunct Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. In those 42 starts, he has earned four victories, scoring each one from the pole position. He also has recorded a combined 20 top-five finishes and 32 top-10s, while leading 365 laps.
THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team has earned two top-10 finishes in four Cup events at Watkins Glen. The team earned its best finish—seventh—at the road course with Gustafson in 2007.
CHASE RACE: With his seventh-place finish at Pocono Raceway, Martin ranks 10th in the Sprint Cup standings. He trails fifth place by just 91 points.
ROAD COURSE CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-550 for Sunday’s race at the Glen. This is the same chassis that Martin raced at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., in June. It also was tested at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., in June.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Gustafson will be 34 years old on Wednesday. He shares a birthday with fellow Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus. Gustafson and Knaus have combined to earn seven of Hendrick Motorsports’ eight wins this season. According to the science of numerology, people born on the 5th “perform best under pressure.” As Leos in the astrological horoscopes, both men are said to be “strong, intelligent and ambitious leaders.”
HENDRICK AT THE GLEN: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, has scored six wins, 17 top-five finishes and 30 top-10s in 24 Cup events at Watkins Glen. Tim Richmond forecast success for Hendrick Motorsports by winning the organization’s first WGI event on Aug. 10, 1986.
APPROACHING MILESTONE: On Aug. 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Martin will make his 1,000th career NASCAR start. That date will mark his 746th Sprint Cup race. Martin also has competed in 231 Nationwide Series and 23 Camping World Truck Series events. He is the third driver to achieve this mark, behind only Richard Petty and Michael Waltrip. Across all three series, Martin has won 93 points-paying events.
QUOTES
MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG’S CHEVROLET (ON WHY HE HAS HAD MORE SUCCESS AT WATKINS GLEN THAN AT SONOMA.): “It is the superspeedway of road courses, and Sonoma is the Martinsville (Va.) of road courses, so to speak. Let’s say it like this: I think that 1.5-mile racetracks are my strong suit, and the Glen is an intermediate, bigger track. It’s like a superspeedway road course. I like the higher speeds. I feel a lot more comfortable going back to the Glen than I did going to Sonoma earlier this year.”
MARTIN (ON HIS EXPECTATIONS FOR THE RACE WEEKEND AT WATKINS GLEN.): “I’m a little bit concerned because we didn’t handle well in Sonoma. So I’m a little concerned, but I think we’ll do better this time. They’re not the same racetracks. I can’t imagine going to the Glen and struggling with handling like we did at Sonoma.”
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