Mark Martin called it a “tough night” after posting a 16th-place finish in Saturday night’s Nextel Cup race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
The U. S. Army driver was in position for a possible top-10 finish when the race went into overtime with a green-white-checkered finish. Martin was running in 13th place for the final restart and it appeared that his 01 Chevrolet had the speed to pick up a few more spots on the 1.5-mile oval.
“I had a good run on the No. 84 (AJ Allmendinger) and it looked like were going to get a good finish, ” explained Martin. “But he was able to close the door on me pretty quickly and I picked up some damage to the fender. After that we just had to take it home the best we could. “
Martin started the race 12th and hovered in and around the top 15 for the majority of the race. He did run as high as third after a two-tire stop on Lap 159 of 337.
“Basically we had about a 15th-place car, ” said Martin. “But no one can say we didn’t battle right to the end. Our U. S. Army pit crew hung in there and did another tremendous job. The Army spirit of never giving up is very strong on this team. “
The 01 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team is ranked 14th in owner points. Martin, who has missed 10 of the 31 Cup races due to a part-time schedule, is 25th in driver points.
The next stop for the Army team will be Sunday (Oct. 21) at Martinsville (Va. ) Speedway. Aric Almirola will pilot the 01 Chevy at the historic short track.
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