NASCAR Cup
Las Vegas: Martin post-race interview
MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 5th; NNCS Points Leader "I was just telling Ryan Pemberton that he is one of the best I have ever worked with -- what a strong crew chief. The U.S. Army Chevy was fantastic. We were ...
Published: Mar 13, 2007, 12:15 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 5th; NNCS Points Leader
"I was just telling Ryan Pemberton that he is one of the best I have ever
worked with -- what a strong crew chief. The U.S. Army Chevy was fantastic. We
were looking like a third place car but then on the (final) restart the car
picked up a real bad push. It was a great run -- I am so proud of this team
-- I am having the time of my life driving this car. It's going to be hard to
get out of it."
AS LONG AS YOU KEEP COLLECTING THESE POINTS WE'RE GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT
BRISTOL -- ANY CHANGE OF MIND?
"You keep asking -- no change yet."
DESCRIBE HOW THIS SEASON HAS UNFOLDED FOR YOU SO FAR
"A dream, just a dream. I was telling Ryan he's one of the strongest crew chiefs I ever worked with. So proud of this U. S. Army team. We had a better car than fifth; it was a third. I couldn't run with those first two -- Gordon and Johnson. On the (final) restart it just picked up a real bad push. I don't know if we had a tire going down or what. I just had to stop going into the corners. I'm thrilled to get a top five when we weren't at our best at the end. It's really a privilege to work with these guys. I am just loving life."
DID YOU EVER IMAGINE IT WOULD BE GOING THIS WELL?
"When we made the announcement in Talladega in October I saw a lot of headlines like Why Mark, Why? I believed this was the place for me and I am really happy I made the move. This is a fantastic organization. It isn't as good as it's going to get. We're going to keep working. I think they want me to hang around for a long time and I like that because I love racing and I love the fans and I'm having the time of my life."
IF YOU'RE STILL THE POINT LEADER GOING INTO BRISTOL WILL YOU STILL STEP ASIDE?
"This was an awful good car today...I was out there having fun. I don't want
this to get away as far as having a great team and a great opportunity. We
made this deal, they made the deal and Bobby Ginn told me a deal was a deal. I
am still happy with the decision I made. But I will tell you with cars like
I had at the last three races -- especially today because this was a race I
was dreading with this tire and racetrack -- but it was just a dream."
HAS THE THOUGHT AT ALL ENTERED YOUR MIND THAT YOU NEED TO ALTER YOUR PLANS A
LITTLE BIT AND CHALLENGE FOR THIS CHAMPIONSHIP?
"Let's just worry about that later. I was happy with the run; I'm happy with
the team and happy with what I laid out. We don't need to be talking about
that right now."
WHAT WERE THE CONDITIONS LIKE TODAY?
"Not as bad as I expected. Maybe I had a better car. I am just tickled with
this U.S. Army Chevy. I expected it to be one of the most painful days on
the racetrack that we've had. All the drivers did a fabulous job. They were
very careful around each other. I'm not a good driver on this kind of
tire...it's not my specialty. I love this car, but we can't take it next week (to
Atlanta). And what Ryan (Pemberton) is saying right now, I'm believing. Whatever
he says I am taking it to the bank. He's on it."
-credit: gm racing
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Atlanta Motor Speedway - Toyota spotlight
Next article BUSCH: Atlanta: Matt Kenseth preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
Latest news
Toprak Razgatlioglu to miss the rest MotoGP season due to shoulder injury
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
42 min
Toprak Razgatlioglu to miss the rest MotoGP season due to shoulder injury
MotoGP teams told Qatar Grand Prix expected to go ahead
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
1 h
MotoGP teams told Qatar Grand Prix expected to go ahead
Honda confirms Diogo Moreira for factory team in 2027; David Alonso heads to LCR
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 2 h
Honda confirms Diogo Moreira for factory team in 2027; David Alonso heads to LCR
Vincent Biard: “The Maserati GT2 was thrilling in 2026; next year we want continuity and progress”
Sponsored
Sponsored
Portimão
2 h
Vincent Biard: “The Maserati GT2 was thrilling in 2026; next year we want continuity and progress”
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe