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Last season's slump had many counting Mark Martin out. Now he's 2nd in Winston Cup points.
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 13, 2002
DAYTONA BEACH -- With NASCAR's season not half completed, Mark Martin has more than twice the top-five finishes he had last season, the latest a fifth-place showing at the Pepsi 400 on July 6.
After a winless season that saw fans questioning his future in the sport, Martin is second in points and back among Winston Cup's elite drivers.
"Last year was really miserable," said the 43-year-old Ford driver, who finished out of the top 10 in the standings for the first time since 1988. "I only hoped that it could get better. I didn't know if it could."
Martin went through last season without a win, the first time he has done that in five years. The drought ended in May with a victory at the Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C. In his past four races, he has finished no lower than ninth.
"Mark is having the kind of year this year we hoped he'd have last year," team owner Jack Roush said. "I knew he was better than he was last year. That was very painful for him.
"I'm sure he was looking forward to the end of his career, based on the fact that he wasn't doing what he wanted. He's got that turned around now."
Martin took on a new primary sponsor last season in Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, and while his fans could take seeing that on the hood of his car, the drop in the standings wasn't as easy to accept.
The same was true for a driver who didn't expect to be one spot from finishing third on his own team, behind Roush colleagues Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth.
"I don't race to run like I ran last year," Martin said. "I don't want to race if that's how I'm going to run. There were questions in my mind as to what I was doing."
His age might have put him in position to consider retirement, but the maturity that comes with 21 years of NASCAR racing kept him from deep-sixing the ride in the No.6 Ford.
"It demands patience," Martin said. "It demands incredible dedication. I have much more dedication than I have patience, but I've learned a lot of patience.
"I wouldn't be racing today had I run like that 10 years ago. I would have found something else to do."
One spark to this year's success is a switch in crew chiefs. Roush switched Martin's crew with that of 23-year-old Kurt Busch, who had finished his first full season of Winston Cup.
The switch created two pairs of old and young, coupling Martin with 29-year-old Ben Leslie and Busch with Martin's former crew chief, 48-year-old Jimmy Fennig.
Last year, only one Roush team finished in the top 10. Entering Sunday's Tropicana 400 in Chicago, Martin (second), Kenseth (eighth) and Busch (10th) were in the top 10, with Burton 13th. The teams have combined for four victories in 17 races.
"We're making more horsepower, we're making better handling cars and running faster pit stops," Martin said.
The resurgence has Martin within 77 points of Winston Cup leader Sterling Marlin, in reach of a points championship that always has eluded him and Roush. Martin has finished second three times and third in another four seasons, but Roush isn't thinking about the past.
"You don't dwell on missed opportunities," he said. "You just try to make the most of every race, which is what he's been doing."
Martin is invigorated, leading an old-school charge to help keep a young generation of drivers from taking over the Winston Cup ranks.
What has changed most for him in the past year is the confidence that comes with knowing he can win any race he lines up in, a luxury he didn't have this time a year ago.
"You can have a run where you don't win, but you're running really good. That's okay," Martin said. "But when I don't have a chance to win, that's when it gets to me."