Despite his success, retiring Mark Martin will not admit he is one of his generation's best.
By BRANT JAMES, Times Staff Writer
Published May 28, 2005
CONCORD, N.C. - Mark Martin wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to be too happy, definitely not seem too happy.
Auto racing had hard-knocked him around too much in the last 30 years to get haughty about setting some IROC record. Yes, he was as thrilled as his tempered sense of excitement would allow, but circumstances had taught him to keep things in perspective.
Days before the season-opening Daytona 500, Martin won his 12th IROC race to become the all-star series all-time leader. It was quite a way to begin a year he had pledged would be his last in Nextel Cup.
In 23 seasons, Martin had won 34 races, finishing second in the driver standings four times. He'd finished fourth in the standings in 2004 to stop what he thought would be a slow bleedout to his career after finishing 17th in 2003.
Please, someone extolled the 46-year-old, can't you finally say out loud that you're one of the best drivers of your generation?
"That's probably not going to happen," Martin said, his gaze narrowing to a squint that revealed the lines around his eyes. "I've been real fortunate. I've been real successful. If you look at my record, it looks nice on paper. I'm very proud about it. I'm not sour about the things I haven't accomplished. But at the same time I am pretty humble."
More than three months later, things have continued to go well. Eleven races into the Nextel Cup season, he has three top fives (including third at Martinsville), five top 10s (including sixth in the Daytona 500) and is in contention for that elusive first championship at 10th in the standings. Martin, the Busch series' all-time wins leader, also added two more for 47, and his victory in the Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 21 added another memento to his farewell season and another chance to boast. He declined, of course, calling it "a bit of a miracle" delivered by crew chief Pat Tryson and his No.6 Ford team.
Others spoke for him.
"I'm beyond words for how cool this is," defending series champion and Roush Racing teammate Kurt Busch said.
Perhaps as a result of his self-effacing manner, Martin seems to have more drivers openly rooting for him than the cocksure Rusty Wallace, who also is retiring from Cup racing at the end of the season.
"Obviously, we wanted to be in Victory Lane," said 21-year-old Brian Vickers, who finished third in the all-star race. "We had a great car, but you know, I'm happy for Mark. It's his last (all-star) race and he earned it."
Martin and team owner Jack Roush, who have been together since Roush started his Cup team in 1988, were twice denied titles through bizarre circumstances. In 1990, Martin was fined 46 points for using an illegal carburetor spacer at Richmond and lost the title by 26 to Dale Earnhardt. In 2002, Pontiac-driving teams were granted a late-season adjustment to the nose of their cars, and Tony Stewart passed Martin late in the year to win the title by 38. Roush gives the impression that winning championships with Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Busch in 2004 would not mean as much as celebrating at Homestead with his longtime associate.
"If I had been better connected, if I had been wiser, if I had done a better job, he'd have had two or three championships right now," Roush said. "The fact he doesn't have those is my fault. I bear the responsibility for it. And that'll be diminished some if we can save this year."
Martin has rebuffed several scenarios that could put him in a Cup car next season on a part-time basis, citing the difficulty of competing under such circumstances. Martin constantly reference's former IndyCar driver Gil de Ferran's farewell season as his dream. In 2003, de Ferran won the Indy 500 in his last try and finished second in points.
Martin plans to make a clean break from Cup racing with the exception of the nonpoints Bud Shootout and all-star race. He will compete for fun in the Craftsman Truck series.
"This is exactly the kind of season I had hoped and dreamed for," Martin said. "If we're lucky we might not be done yet."
But even if he were able to go out on top, no one is likely to coax a boast out of him. Even with a championship trophy in hand, he's not sure how he would compare against the other titans of his era.
"Gosh, when I look at Rusty Wallace's 50-some wins, at Dale Earnhardt's 70-some wins, Darrell Waltrip's 80-something, Jeff Gordon, his (four) championships at such a young age, I doubt if you're going to get me to stand around with my chest out," he said. "These guys are pretty awesome. On my good days I beat 'em and I'm proud of that ... on a good day."
