The Old Man

"Mark Martin Advance - Michigan

Article date: 8/13/2008
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MARTIN BACK IN NO. 8 U.S. ARMY CAR AT MICHIGAN

After a taking a week off from Sprint Cup racing, Mark Martin will step back into the No. 8 U.S. Army/DEI Chevrolet this weekend when he makes his 46th career Cup start at Michigan International Speedway. Martin, who had a dominant car and led a race-high 55 laps two weeks ago at Pocono, will be looking for his fifth Cup win at the 2-mile track.

AT MICHIGAN...

Starts: 45 (22)

Wins: 4 (3)

Top 5's: 16 (10)

Top 10's: 27 (14)

Poles: 1 (1)

Highest finish: 1st (4 times)

First time: 6/20/82 (33rd)

Last year: 8/21/07 (42nd)

Last time: 6/15/08 (25th)

Worthy Note: Martin has four wins at Michigan in the Cup car, two more in the Nationwide Series and one in the IROC Series.

MARTIN AT MICHIGAN

This will be Martin's 46th run at MIS, where he boasts four wins, 16 top fives, 27 top 10s and a pole. Martin has finished inside the top 10 in seven of his last 14 races at Michigan. He has four wins at MIS, where he first won on Aug. 19, 1990. Martin has won three more times at MIS, with the last trip to Victory Lane coming on June 14, 1998. Martin ran out of fuel late at Michigan in June, being forced to settle for a 25th-place finish in what looked to be a sure top-five run.

DRY SPELL AT MICHIGAN

In additon to his 25th-place finish there in June, Martin finished 29th and 42nd at Michigan in 2007. The 42nd-place finish - due to engine issues - was Martin's worst in 44 starts at the 2-mile track. In addition, last year's 34.5 average finish at Michigan in 2007 is Martin's worst ever in 25 years of racing at MIS. Last season was only the second time since 1988 that Martin has failed to post a top-10 finish at MIS. Martin has now finished 25th or worse in his last three races at Michigan and in four of the last five; his worst streak there since 1983.

THE WINNER

Martin has taken seven trips to victory lane at MIS. In addition to his four wins in the Sprint Cup Series, he boasts two Nationwide wins and a win in the International Race of Champions Series. Also, three of Martin's four wins at Michigan came in the fall race.

DOUBLE DUTY

In addition to Sunday's Sprint Cup race, Martin will race in Saturday's Nationwide race, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. It will be Martin's 11th Nationwide race at Michigan, where he has seven top-fives, eight top-10s and two wins.

QUOTING MARK:

"Michigan is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. It's big and wide and you can really pass there. If you are able to get your car set up right, you can do a lot of passing and have a whole lot of fun there. We were pretty good there in the spring race, but came up short on the fuel mileage at the end. It cost us a certain top-five finish. We should be able to take what we learned back there and have another strong run. Hopefully this time we won't get burned on the fuel mileage.

"We had a great car at Pocono and a rocket ship at Indy, so this team is really building momentum. We are getting really close to winning a race, and these guys on this No. 8 U.S. Army Team really deserve it. They have worked so hard and they give me great cars to drive each weekend. They are the best on pit road and if we can keep coming to the track with these types of race cars, I think we will have a good chance at winning one or two of these races.

FAST FACTS

· Martin's 27 top-10 finishes at Michigan are the most of any driver.

· Martin's 16 top-five finishes at Michigan are the most of any active driver.

· Martin has four wins at Michigan in the Cup car, the third most of any active driver.

· Martin has led 22 races at Michigan for a total of 851 laps.

· Martin has finished in the top 10 in seven of his last 15 races at Michigan.

· Martin has finished in the top five in four of his last eight Cup starts at MIS.

· Martin boasts two Nationwide and an IROC win at Michigan.

· The No. 8 DEI Team is currently 15th in the Sprint Cup Owner points.



LAST YEAR AT MICHIGAN...

August 21, 2007 – Michigan International Speedway

Started 10th, Finished 42nd

One of the longest NASCAR weekends in series history culminated in a frustrating ending for Mark Martin and the No. 01 U.S. Army Race Team. Running in 16th position just prior to the half-way point, Martin’s U.S. Army Chevrolet began to smoke heavily, bringing out the third caution of the race.

Martin and the team were forced to take the car behind the wall, eventually repairing a broken rear seal in the engine. The repairs were extensive and took several laps, before Martin was able to go back out for a handful of laps, before finally losing the engine on lap 170.

In a race that was delayed two full days for rainfall, Martin started 10th based on Friday’s qualifying effort. With the race conditions much different than they were for the final practice on Saturday, Martin started the race ‘tight’. The team made adjustments to loosen the cars handling on lap 31.

With the car too loose in the corners, Martin fell back as far as 17th, before the car’s handling started to come around. He moved back to 15th by lap 73, before having to go behind the wall on lap 88 to attempt repairs.
" MarkMartin.com: News