Ageless Warrior

Posted April 19, 2009, 7:17 am in Motorsports


Mark Martin continued his 2009 dominance in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, with a cool-headed, come-from-behind win at Chicago Speedway. Martin had led 179 laps at the beginning of the race, but Jimmie Johnson moved ahead and looked to be the favorite.

Martin knew he needed to win the race to move up in the standings and continue a chance at making the Chase for the Championship, so he and his crew decided to get aggressive. And it's no surprise to team owner Rick Hendrick, who celebrated his 60th birthday the day after the race. He tells FoxNews.com that he and crew chief Alan Gustafson had faith in Martin after the first race of the year. "When you ask Jeff Gordon what he thought, you ask Jimmie Johnson, Can you get Mark to drive all the races? I said, I think so," Hendrick said. "He's awesome. And Alan and I, again, witnessed it, just knew you can tell when a guy is so smart on a chassis that he knows how to run a fuel run. I'll put him up against anybody I've had on a car, planning a full fuel run and tire run.

"I just knew the two of these guys would be good."

Earlier this year, Mark Martin became the third oldest winner in NASCAR history with a dominating run at Phoenix International Raceway. That made him the first 50-year-old to win in 16 years. The last was Morgan Shepard in 1993. Harry Gant holds the record as the oldest driver to win a Cup race. He was 52 when he won at Michigan in 1992. Before Martin, only three drivers 50 or older won Cup races: Gant, Shepherd and Bobby Allison.

"Age is irrelevant with Mark," crew chief Alan Gustafson said. "I don't even think about it. It doesn't even come into the equation. Mark's enthusiasm, his energy, his drive ... he's incredible. He's as good as any of them."

Tony Stewart finished second in Phoenix. "There's no shame in losing to a guy like Mark Martin," said Stewart. "I am really happy for Mark. Nobody works harder than Mark to be fit, to stay in shape and be ready to go."

Martin, widely considered to be the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship, celebrated his win with a backward victory lap as a tribute to his late friend Alan Kulwicki.

Mark Martin becomes the fourth driver age 50 or older to win a Cup race.
Harry Gant            Aug. 16, 1992   Michigan   52 years, 7 months, 6 days
Morgan Shepherd  Mar. 20, 1993    Atlanta      51 years, 5 months,  8 days
Mark Martin           Apr. 18, 2009    Phoenix    50  years, 3 months, 9 days
Bobby Allison        Feb. 14, 1988    Daytona    50  years  2 months, 11 days


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