No matter how important the Chase for the Sprint Cup is over the
next 10 weeks, please pay some attention to the race winners.
Martin and 31 other non-Chase drivers will be racing as hard as ever
when the Chase begins Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. Martin’s teammates,
Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, earned Michael Waltrip Racing its first-ever
berths in the Chase, and the 53-year-old Martin says he’ll do anything he can
to help them claim the championship. But when the green flag drops, he says his
primary goal is to do everything possible to race his way to Victory Lane.
“We race for the same reasons we
raced before the Chase started,” he said. “And that’s to win. The Chase does a
lot of wonderful things, but it isn't the only thing going on. The event is
about winning. Clint Bowyer won Richmond. That, to me, is more important than
points. The championship, the points and the Chase all add to what we do. I am
not degrading it. But I also think in today’s age that winning a race is
underrated.”
An MWR Toyota has had a shot to win each of the last four races.
Martin dominated Michigan and Truex Atlanta, Brian Vickers came close at
Bristol and Bowyer won last weekend in Richmond a few seconds in front of
Martin in third-place.
“We won there in 2009 and (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) won in
2010,” recalled Martin. “The way we are all running, I think that one of the three
MWR cars might end up in Victory Circle after it is all over with. That’s
really why we all do this. You don't get to experience this all the time. It is
really the driving factor of why we all do this. It’s to run up front, compete
and challenge for wins.”
Having run for many of the top teams in
NASCAR over his long career, Martin said MWR has everything it takes to win a Sprint
Cup Series championship. “We have great
teamwork there, the best teamwork that I've ever seen,” he said. “The
atmosphere at MWR is serious, but light. We're having a blast. We have really
great people there. I couldn't be more proud to have both teammates in the
Chase.
Martin said that among MWR’s drivers, teammate Martin Truex, Jr.,
deserves a lion’s share of the credit for the team’s success.
“When I came to MWR, I just wanted to be able to help them achieve,
and maybe get lucky and stumble into a win,” he said. ”I'm having a blast. I
deserve no credit for them getting over that hump. Martin Truex, Jr. deserves
the most credit, because he suffered through the building stages of the
organization.
“Starting with Texas last fall, you started seeing the momentum
building in the No. 56 car. So the groundwork was starting to get laid and had
been coming for years. The addition of Scott Miller has helped, too. But I
think that we need to not short-change Martin Truex, Jr. for all the work and
the suffering through the building stages. I was just lucky to come in when I
did and get to be a part of it.”
Photos: aaronssports.com, michaelwaltripracing.com
the fans say they want to hear about all drivers, yet espn will only show the top 12(mostly jj since he seemss to be espns favorite) Mr. Moody I dont know weather or not you look at races on tv, but have you noticed that tv networks seem to zoom ther e cameras in so close that you only see one or two cars for most if not the whole race. unlike radio that talks about the best battles
ReplyDeleteMark Martin has a point, there are 32 non-chasers counting Brian Vickers and Mark Martin in the #55 that are all racing for something including victories. However I believe that it really isn't the fans that you have to say that too as much as the media, especially the ESPN who covers the race.
ReplyDeleteBasically once the green flag waves, as far as ESPN and the other media is concerned, there is only 12 drivers on-track will fillers around them. I would like ESPN especially to cover more than just the chase. Watch the race on Sunday and most of the talk will be on how the chasers are doing.
And the only time they will highlight a non-chaser will be if one finishes in the top 5 or wins.
One way to be covered by ESPN or any other network if your not in the chase RUN BETTER!!!! Simple
ReplyDeleteYes non-Chasers have always mattered, but this is unrelated to Mark's Chase point.
ReplyDeleteMartin Truex suffered through the building stages at MWR??? Seriously???
David Reutimann is the one who won MWR's first two races. He is the one who missed ten races in 2007 because he had to qualify for every event. He managed to get his 00 car into the top 35 in 2008 and did the same for the 44 when that car fell out later that season.
When Truex showed up, the team had already found it's footing. And he still has yet to win a race in the 56. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
Reuti will never get the credit he deserves for doing what he did at MWR, but that team would not be close to where they are today without his loyalty and skill. Drivers like Truex and Martin wouldn't have gone near MWR when it was in it's infancy. Nobody would have ever thought about driving for them.
Reutimann did. And he succeeded.