This was the big race, the one they run on Sunday, not
Saturday. If it had been a NASCAR Busch Series Grand National
Division race, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Mark Mark
has won a bunch of those babies.No, this was the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Marksville Speedway, no less. Yet, there was Mark spilling Gatorade all over everybody in Victory Lane at a track where he usually doesn't run worth squat.
Then again, when is Mark ever supposed to win? I mean, Dale Earnhardt is supposed to win at Talladega. Rusty Wallace is supposed to win at Bristol. But Mark?
"We didn't have the fastest car," Mark said moments after winning the Goody's Body Pain 500 at Marksville on Sunday, "but I ran like a dog."
Of course he did. That's what he has always done. Everything Mark has achieved in 18 years in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series has come from being on his hands and knees. The 32 wins. The $21.3-million in career prize money.
Some drivers were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. If Mark had one, he probably ate it.
Just look at him. He doesn't come from a racing family, like Kyle Petty. And he doesn't have the looks of Jeff Gordon. Plus, he has to be one of the smallest drivers in the sport. He stands about 5 feet 6. They've got tires almost as big as Mark.
But he has been fortunate enough to be employed by a good team in Roush Racing. And he has been smart enough to work out religiously in order to make up for his lack of size.
In a sense, he has everything a NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion has. Well, everything except that "champion" part. Which brings us to this week.
Mark is second in the standings, a mere 36 points behind leader Bobby Labonte. Ordinarily, that would be cause for optimism. But with Mark, you don't know whether to wish him luck or start shopping for condolence cards.
After all, we've been here with Mark before. It's not like this is anything new. Mark always is a contender. Trouble is, that's all he's ever been. A contender.
He's like Susan Lucci at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Pete Sampras at the French Open. The Utah Jazz in the NBA playoffs.
"It's just tough," car owner Richard Childress said. "A lot of times you've just got to have Lady Luck on your side."
Mark has been chasing the title for nearly two decades and is probably no closer than the day he started. No driver in the past 10 years has finished among the top-5 in points more times than Mark and not won a title.
He has finished in the top-5 the past seven years. Last year he was third. The year before he was second. And the year before that he was third. He even finished second for Rookie of the Year in 1982.
He should have had Earnhardt beat for the championship in
1990. But he couldn't close the deal, finishing 10th and
sixth in the final two races to lose by 26 points in one of
the closest finishes in history.So why should we believe this year will be any different?
If you're Mark, what other choice do you have?
Almost doesn't count, but it has to with him. Otherwise, what else would he have to feel good about?
At this point, all you can do for Mark is hope. It's far too early in the season to think seriously about winning the title. And Talladega Superspeedway is on the docket this week, and Mark has never been a big fan of restrictor-plate racing.
Plus, he hasn't exactly been blowing people's doors off. Not surprisingly, he has gotten into contention this season through the back door. Before winning Sunday, he had just three top five finishes in seven races and had come in 11th (Texas), 16th (Bristol) and ninth (Darlington) in his previous three races.
He has led the most laps at a race once in his past 47 starts. He's like a pitcher who wins 20 games by throwing junk, not 100 mph fastballs all the time. It's effective but rarely pretty or majestic.
And so far, it's never been championship quality.
"They've got a good team over there, and they'll win a championship," Childress said. "I mean, the odds are in your favor every time you keep going out there. And Mark is a deserving champion."
If only that were all it took.
This article was originally written by Darrell Fry of the St. Petersburg Times and posted to Nascar Online. Although I and other Mark Martin fans totally disagree with his assessment of Mark and his driving skills, he is entitled to his opinion. I included this article because I feel Mark Martin fans are entitled to read any and all articles I find about Mark and they can make their own decisions. I make no editorial distinctions about what I post here, be it pro or con about Mark. I want this site to as complete a repository as I can make it on Mark Martin information. Readers of this site can make their own judgements.
If you would like to email Mr. Fry about this article, you can reach him at The St. Petersburg Times.
The only thing I will not tolerate is vulgar language on the guestbook page. That I will delete out. There is no place for vulgarity on this site toward Mark, his family or any other NASCAR driver and I will remove it immediately.
