Martin gearing up for Michigan's wide-open spaces
By Jeff Owens
SportsLine Sports Writer
To Mark Martin, torture is having a fast racecar and nowhere to go.
That's why Martin loves racing at Michigan Speedway, a wide, two-mile oval that lends itself to three- and sometimes four-wide racing. There is nowhere on the Winston Cup circuit Martin would rather race, and his record proves it.
He has won two of the past three races at Michigan and his four victories there are more than all but two active drivers (Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott).
"I hate a racetrack where you're faster than a car that's in front of you and you can't pass them," Martin says. "That's just torture to me. It's just a huge waste of time. I love racetracks where when you have a faster car you can mash the gas and find a way around them, and Michigan is one of the greatest I've ever driven on for that."
Both of Roger Penske's big tracks have been kind to Martin. He has finished in the top five at Michigan 11 times since his first victory there in 1990 and won last year at both Michigan and California Speedway.
"Mark really gets around Michigan," crew chief Jimmy Fennig says. "He's just an awesome driver everywhere, but he really gets around Michigan good. We get the car close for him and then he can find a way around Michigan."
BUT BOTH HAVE ALSO BEEN THE SOURCE of considerable heartbreak. Martin lost the inaugural California 500 in 1997 when he ran out of gas with 11 laps remaining. He has also lost his share of races at Michigan the same way.
It's a feeling he'd rather not repeat.
"I've been losing races at Michigan for 10 years to gas mileage," he says. "It feels better to get beat than it does to get robbed. When you get beat on gas mileage you can't hardly help the feeling of being robbed, especially when you clearly had the best car."
Martin experienced a roller coaster of emotions at Michigan last year. He won the June race, taking the lead with 19 laps to go and beating Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon.
Two months later, he arrived in the Irish Hills with a heavy heart. A week earlier, his father, stepmother and stepsister were all killed in an airplane crash in Nevada. Martin was informed of the tragedy after finishing second in the Aug. 9 race at Watkins Glen.
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| Mark Martin loves Michigan Speedway, as evidenced by this victory in the NASCAR DeVilbiss 400 there in 1997.(Allsport) |
The following week at Michigan, he wanted to win the Pepsi 400 so he could dedicate the victory to his father, Julian, who helped launch his racing career. He dominated the race, leading 57 laps, but lost when a late caution flag erased his big lead and allowed Gordon to beat him.
"It's pretty disappointing," Martin said after the race, his voice quivering with emotion. "I don't care if I'd never won another one. I wanted to win this one. It was almost a storybook ending, but it just wasn't meant to be."
A week later, Martin finally got his wish when he honored his late father in victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway.
With a victory there in each of the past two years, Martin returns to Michigan as the heavy favorite for this week's Big Kmart 400. He has finished second or third in his last three races and generally uses the first Michigan race to launch a strong second half of the season.
BUT AS MARTIN KNOWS, IT OFTEN takes more than a fast car to win. Bobby Labonte won last week's race at Dover Downs International Speedway when Martin and Gordon had to pit for fuel late in the race.
Based on recent history, a similar scenario could present itself at Michigan.
"It is extremely frustrating to the guy who probably has the fastest car, and that has been me a lot," Martin says. "But since '97, we have gotten our fuel mileage to where we can possibly win on fuel."
But Martin would rather win the old-fashioned way -- by passing the fastest cars and outrunning them to the checkered flag.
"I'm a big fan of racetracks where you can race side-by-side, you can pass and do what you need to do," he says. "And Michigan is like that."
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