On the Mark
5/4/2009There was a time, not all that long ago, when Mark Martin would have won at Phoenix and immediately started stressing about Talladega or worrying about making the Chase or otherwise giving himself a cold Gatorade bath of negativity.
That was the old Mark Martin. The Mark Martin of the No. 6.
"I'm not going to wreck a good time by worrying about a championship," Martin said a few minutes after his victory lane celebration at the Arizona oval a few weeks ago. "I'm having a ball . . . Let me enjoy this. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and that's where I am on that."
That's the new Mark Martin. The Mark Martin of the No. 5.
He's subtracted one number from his car and added positivity to his mindset.
It's nice to see.
Credit, as you may wish, the atmosphere created by owner Rick Hendrick. Or crew chief Alan Gustafson. Or the natural progression of life.
Me, I point to Martin's two-year self-imposed limited schedule. He contested only 48 of the 72 Sprint Cup races before agreeing to a full-season run in Hendrick's Chevrolet Impala SS.
"I'm really glad I got out of the car," Martin says of the decision he made after 2006, when he left Jack Roush for part-time duty with Bobby Ginn and then Teresa Earnhardt. "I have a reputation going of being a flip-flop. And I have flip-flopped on some things. But I didn't flip-flop on that. And I'm glad that I did what I did.
"It was my commitment to myself and to my family, and it's what I needed to do. And I wouldn't have been a happy person had I gone forward. I needed that. And that's changed me, and I believe that everyone that knows me has seen a difference in me. I needed to do what I did."
Over the years, I've often watched Martin when he's not in the car. If not otherwise informed, I would have believed him to be president or the scientist in charge of finding a cure for cancer or someone else with the burdens of the world bearing-down on his fit frame. Yes, you bet, racing is serious business. But I couldn't help but wonder: Was it taking such a toll on Martin so as to affect him, to make doing it truly worthwhile?
"I've carried a lot of weight on my shoulders," Martin admitted.
"Most people don't get a second chance. My dropping back to a limited schedule . . . most careers . . . you don't really get a chance to resurrect. I'm not as smart as I look. I'm lucky I have stumbled and tripped and fell into . . . (it) seems like things have worked out for me.
"I didn't plan all this out. It's been an incredible ride since stepping out of the 6 car, and you know, having a chance to re-energize myself and realize how much I love it . . . The performance level that I have and the cars that I get to go drive right now, I love it."
So that's really the BIG story to come out of Martin's victory - He's smiling and loving life. Although, certainly, it was a feel-good story that he became only the fourth plus-50 driver to win in Cup.
"I was really happy in 2008, and have been even more happy in 2009, and I didn't think that was possible," Martin said after his first win since 2005. "I am in a different league stress level compared to last year. But working with these guys puts so much more fun in the factor that it overcomes the stress level of measuring up. I don't want to let anybody down."
Said Gustafson: "Age is irrelevant with Mark. You hear his age come up and people ask me a lot . . . I don't even think about it.
"Mark's enthusiasm, his energy, his drive -- he has more drive than any other person I've probably met in my life . . . Mark is really special for a lot of reasons. Mark was a guy that I watched growing up and had a huge amount of respect for. I loved the way that he raced. I loved his attitude and his working man's ethic and how he went about his business, how appreciative he is, how he understands the magnitude of the situations."
Martin continued: "I really, really, really wanted to win. I hoped it would happen. But I didn't expect it to happen. Rick Hendrick, I sat and watched him make Tim Richmond's dreams come true from being sick, and this may not be as dramatic, but big to me.
"I do it for the passion of what I have, and I don't have anything else with that kind of passion. I haven't found anything to fill that void and drives me like racing.
"But there is a little voice in the back of my head, asking, 'Are you sure you're worthy of this opportunity?' And that's part of the reason I've been successful. And if you'll check with successful people, they are insanely driven, and so yeah, there's been a little voice in the back of my head saying, 'Are you worthy of this opportunity?'
"I know that they thought so. I know that Jeff (Gordon) did and I know that Rick did. And I've still got to produce. This is not over . . . I can't just go out and start riding around now."
And, then, Mark Martin laughed.
It might have been the best moment of the NASCAR season.
[ Next column: May 18 ]
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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)
BackAbout I.N. Sider
I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.