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Mark Martin Advance - Charlotte

Wednesday October 8, 2008

 

MARTIN RETURNS TO TRACK FAVORITE CHARLOTTE

After taking a week off from Talladega, Martin returns to the No. 8 U.S. Army/DEI Chevrolet this weekend at one of his favorite tracks on the circuit, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where be has won 10 times in NASCAR competition.

At Lowe’s
Starts: 47 (22)
Wins: 4 (3)
Top 5’s: 17 (10)
Top 10’s: 21 (12)
Poles: 2 (1)
Highest finish: 1st (4 times)
First time: 10/10/82 (38th)
Last year: 10/13/07 (16th)
Last time: 10/25/08 (15th)

Worthy Notes: Three of Martin’s four wins at Charlotte have been in the fall race.

Martin has finished top-10 in four of his last five starts this season.

BESTING THE BEAST
Martin has four wins at Lowe’s, including one in the 600. In addition, he has won twice at Lowe’s in the All-Star event. His 17 top-five finishes are the most of any active driver at the 1.5-mile track. He also boasts six Nationwide Series wins and two IROC victories at Lowe’s.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING – LOWE’S
Martin has led 1,168 laps at LMS, the third most ever. He has an average finish of 16.1. In addition, his 21 top-10 and 17 top-five finishes are tops among active drivers and the veteran has scored the sixth most points in the last six races at The Beast.

FALL FEVER
Three of Martin’s four Sprint Cup wins at Lowe’s have come during the fall race.

ROLLING ALONG
Martin has finished top 10 in four out of his last five starts, including top fives at Richmond and Dover.

FINISHING OUT 2008 STRONG
Martin will make four more starts in the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy including this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. After that Martin will drive the car at Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix. Rookie Aric Almirola will pilot the car two more times in 2008, with starts at Martinsville and in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami.

ON POINT
Martin and co-driver Almirola currently have the No. 8 U.S. Army Team sitting at 14th in the Sprint Cup owner points; 91 points behind 13th and the first car not in the Chase. Martin is 28th in Sprint Cup driver points, despite missing 10 races thus far in the season. He leads 12 drivers who have started more events in 2008 and seven racers who have started at least eight more events.

QUOTING MARK
“There is no better track on the circuit than Lowe’s Motor Speedway. I absolutely love racing there and it’s probably my favorite track that we go to. I can remember the first time that I ever went there in 1981 and thinking ‘wow’ this is just like a small quarter-mile track somewhere, except it’s huge, but you could race just like that. “Normally when we go to Charlotte, I’ll take one or two laps and come across the radio and remind my team just how much I love racing there. Quite a few of the newer tracks have tried to copy Lowe’s, but for some reason none of them have really had a lot of success in replicating the feel of the place. It’s just the perfect track for my style of racing and I always enjoy going there.

“We tested there a couple of weeks with the No. 8 team and the car was really good. I’m looking forward to getting back there and working with the car some more this weekend, to see just how much more speed we can pick up. Tony Gibson (crew chief) and these guys have done a fantastic job all season and it is still my goal to help get these guys into victory lane. I’ve had some really big victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but I can’t think of anything that would be any bigger than taking that No. 8 U.S. Army car to victory lane this Saturday night.”

FAST FACTS
· Martin has four wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, including the 2002 Coca-Cola 600.
· Martin has 21 top-10 and 17 top-five finishes at Lowe’s.
· Martin has led 1,168 laps at Lowe’s, the most of any active driver.
· Martin has won six Nationwide Series races at Lowe’s and two All-Star events (1998 and 2005).
· Martin won both IROC races at Lowe’s in ’96 and ’97.
· Martin finished 15th at Lowe’s in this season’s Coca-Cola 600 and ninth in the All-Star Race at LMS.
· The No. 8 U.S. Army Team is ranked 14th in Sprint Cup Owner points.
· Martin has totaled four top-five, 10 top-10, 12 top 15 and 16 top 20 finishes in 20 starts in 2008.
· Martin has finished top 10 in four of his last five starts with top-fives at Dover and Richmond.

FRONTSTRETCH LIVE AT THE TRACK THIS WEEKEND AT LOUDON!
Popular writer Amy Henderson will be tracking all the action at New Hampshire from inside the garage, giving you the stories you’re looking for with a special edition of our Newsletter planned over the weekend. It all culminates on Sunday with her special participation in our LIVE blog during the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, paired with our usual panel of expert analysts! It’s three days of going the extra mile for you … so we hope you enjoy it!

This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.

 

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