Working On My Redneck ™ » mark martin

Martin-Hendrick: Could Get Ugly

Leon — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:23:13 +0000

(photo courtesy Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

If anyone doesn’t think that Mark Martin is a proud old warrior, you better rethink that thought! Martin made it clear last week in a very rare flare of anger after ESPN analyst, former crew chief and team owner, Ray Evernham, suggested that Mark Martin should bow out gracefully from the Hendrick Motorsports stable of drivers to allow Kasey Kahne into the #5 Chevy.

The audacity of that suggestion struck a very raw nerve in the 51 year old warrior. An irate Martin made it abundantly clear that he will not give up his ride without a fight! He has a contract with HMS and fully expects Hendrick to fulfill his part of the contract! Anything less than that is totally unacceptable to Martin.

Rick Hendrick created this mess by signing Kasey Kahne to a contract that is not starting until 2012. Granted, Hendrick needed to strike and sign Kahne early, however what is a driver of Kahne’s caliber to do for the 2011 season? Therein lies the confusion, the rancor, and a huge logistics problem. Hendrick has five drivers signed with the maximum of four race teams allowed by NASCAR. No problem according to Hendrick, Kahne will join the team after Martin leaves at the end of the 2011 season!

Obviously Hendrick wanted Kahne to join his company, no matter what the cost. However, it has been a disaster in the making from the start. Why make the announcement in early 2010 for the 2012 season? That announcement only fueled the fire of speculation over Kahne’s future employment status for 2011. The collateral damage from Hendrck’s announcement has caused the waters surrounding Mark Martin to become muddied, turbulent, and infected with alligators waist deep!

In 2010, Martin’s team has struggled with their performance, adding additional fuel to the fire, and magnifying this tenuous position that Martin has been thrust into! The outside speculation and pressure continues to mount weekly

So this is the deal. HMS has five very talented drivers, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt,Jr.,Mark Martin, and Kasey Kahne, signed to drive four cars. It doesn’t appear that Hendrick has been able to line up a ride for Kasey Kahne for the 2011 season, at this point in time. A talented driver, such as Kahne, will not be willing to sit out an entire season waiting for the contract to become enforceable.

Therefore, having five drivers for only four race teams has put rick Hendrick into a very delicate situation. Martin has made it very clear that he is not “expendable”, and is not going to be pushed out of the #5 Chevy! Hendrick has been extremely busy trying to line up employment in 2011 for Kahne. As the season starts to draw to close, the possibilities for Kahne’s 2011 season are not looking so bright!

The Kanhe signing has had many side affects within the HMS organization. Nevertheless, you can’t fault Hendrick for grabbing Kahne when he could, even though it has turned into a car owners worst nightmare!

Hendrick’s options seems to be dwindling as the days tick off! What is car owner to do?

What are your thoughts as to how Hendrick could solve his delicate problem?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Is Dale Jr’s Fortunes Martin’s Misfortunes?

Leon — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:33:01 +0000

(photo courtesy Tom Whitmore/Getty Images)

Could it be that Dale Earnhardt,Jr.’s rise in the standings this season is related to the fall of Mark Martin?

Earnhardt finished fourth last Saturday night at the Coke Zero 400 and climbed up to 12th position in the Chase. Meanwhile Martin was caught up in one of the “big ones”, finished 28th and fell out of the Chase to 13th place.

Is this just racing luck or is there something to this analysis? If you look at the bigger picture, maybe there is something here. During the off season Rick Hendrick made some changes to try to bolster the sagging performance of “NASCAR’s rock star”, Dale Jr. and the #88 race team. Hendrick moved some “key players” from Martin’s team over to Earnhardt, Jr.’s team. It was explained as part of “reorganization “ effort to help both teams.

After last year’s performance, Mark Martin’s team really didn’t need any help, they had 5 victories to show for themselves. What needed help? Now 18 races into the season, Martin has zero victories and has fallen out of the Chase.

There is also this small item, what to do with the new Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kasey Kahne, for the 2011 season? There is much conjecture on the future of Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, and Hendrick Motorsports. Martin has a contract to drive full time with HMS in 2011, but the water is still very murky as to how the pieces of this puzzle will fit together.

Does any or all of this Kahne, Martin, and HMS negotiations have an affect on the Martin’s 2010 performance? One thing that is for sure, winning in NASCAR requires a multitude of factors to fit together snugly, from mechanical to mental, and many things in between. There are some people that may wondering if Hendrick’s tinkering may have upset the apple cart.

Nevertheless, there is some happy news for the ardent Mark Martin fan. Martin is only a handful points out of 12th place. The driver currently in 12th place is Carl Edward, hardly a powerhouse and winless in 2010.

What is your view on Martin’s slide and Junior’s ascent?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Is He That Good?

Leon — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:43:52 +0000

(photo courtesy Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)

Hey Brian France are you listening?

I propose that you change the name of the Nationwide Series back to the Busch Series. Better yet, the Kyle Busch Series!

The 25 year old throttle jockey from Las Vegas had just another day at “the office” Saturday at Louden, N.H. Busch lead 125 of the 200 laps to win the Nationwide race there. That propelled Busch into the position for all time laps leader in that series passing Mark “The Kid” Martin! Kyle has now lead a total of 8,117 laps in the Nationwide Series, and he is only 25 years old!

In the 2010 Nationwide Series Busch has won 6 of the 13 races, additionally, he has not raced in all the races this season. To show how dominating that Kyle has been in the Nationwide Series, he has won 36 races in his 186 starts since 2003. That is a great average, winning 19.35% of all races that he has competed in for this series!

With 36 wins in this series, Busch has now tied Kevin Harvick for second place on the all time win list. The overall leader for most wins is Mark Martin with 48 victories, but that was accomplished over a 21 year career in this series. Busch has accumulated his 36 victories in less than eight years racing in the Nationwide Series!

Last year ol Kylie ran away with the series championship winning nine races and finishing second in eleven other races. Think of that statistic, in 20 of the 35 races Busch was either first or second! That is just udder domination! Most likely he would be on another dominating run this year had he opted to run a full Nationwide schedule. (Actually J.D. Gibbs opted for him!)

There is one thing for sure, like him or hate him, nobody can dispute the talent of this young, edgy, arrogant, some might say cocky “Las Vegas Weasel”! At just 25 years old, Kyle has already established himself as one of the elite talents in NASCAR.

Just think how good he might be when he gets a little experience at this racing game!

What is your opinion of the ol Kylie?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Kahne To Phoenix Racing’s 09 Car in 2011?

Leon — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 14:08:29 +0000

(photo courtesy Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

Breaking news from SI.com:

Hendrick Motorsports and James Finch are working on a partnership to put Kasey Kahne in the #09 car for 2011, SI.com has learned. Multiple sources indicate the deal could be completed within the next few weeks. Hendrick will not be allowed to own the car under NASCAR’s four-team rule, leaving Finch in the position of ownership, although engines and chassis would continue to come from Hendrick.

Once completed, the partnership solves the HMS dilemma of where to put Kahne next season. Signed to take over the #5 car in 2012, Kahne leaves RPM at the end of the year but Hendrick already has four signed drivers — Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson — under contract for 2011. Stewart-Haas Racing was the first option for Kahne, but sources claim sponsorship and financial constraints for that team have made such a move impossible.

Instead, the partnership with Phoenix Racing is a compromise solution. Under a one-year deal, Kahne will be installed with a single-car team that gives him the opportunity to continue running full-time. Here’s the kicker: once Kahne moves to HMS, sources claim the man he’s replacing, Mark Martin, may be interested in purchasing the Phoenix team for 2012 as he scales back his driving career.

Spokesmen on both sides have denied a deal is in the works. According to Hendrick spokesman Jesse Essex, “Our position with regard to 2011 has not changed. We continue to be open to various options, and nothing has been determined at this time.” The 51-year-old Martin also remains uncommitted to his future beyond 2011.

“I have to say options are in the beginning stages of formulating for what ’12 would bring,” he said at a press conference Friday morning in Michigan. “With not a very high sense of urgency, since I have actually made it clear that I am going to be driving the #5 car next year. It’s still real early to talk about ’12. I don’t think that anything that we had initially had thrown up in the air works great with me driving the #5 in ’11 and getting involved with some other team… although you never know what might happen.”

The dominoes are starring to fall into place regarding Kasey Kahne’s 2011 driving future. Never underestimate the creativeness and power that Rick Hendrick possesses!

What do you think about this possibility for Kahne?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDECK!

Is Martin A Lame Duck?

Leon — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:01:12 +0000

(photo courtesy Jason Smith/Getty Images)

The big news in the NASCAR garage this week is the Hendrick Motorsports signing of Kasey Kahne to drive the #5 HMS Chevy staring in the 2012 season. That headline puts Mark Martin, the current driver of the HMS #5 GoDaddy.com Chevy, in very precarious position.

It’s not like Martin is building this team for a very young inexperienced driver to take control of once Martin retires. Quite to the contrary, Martin will be turning over the reins of the #5 Chevy to a very capable and experienced driver, Kasey Kahne. Kahne is a proven winning driver, in waiting! If the facts are correct about this new Hendrick-Kahne contract, it would appear that the sooner that Kahne takes over the driving status of the #5 team, the better it is for the entire race team. No Lame duck!

This story has a very familiar sound to it. It mirrors a story that erupted back in 2004 when, this very same, Kasey Kahne make his entrance into the Sprint Cup scene with Evernham Motorsports. In 2004 Kahne took over the driving duties in the Evernham #9 Dodge from a very capable veteran, Bill Elliott. In the last 7 races of 2003, Elliott had an average finish of 4.56 including a win at Rockingham. Is this current Hendrick-Kahne situation deja vu?

Martin, like Elliott, has shown that he is still a very capable race car driver. But with this HMS logistical dilemma, what is Mark Martin supposed to do?

Does Martin stubbornly stay in the driver’s seat of the #5 car through the end of 2011? Should he volunteer to step out of the car at the end of 2010 and request to drive for JR Motorsports in the #88 Nationwide Chevy in 2011? Martin then could try to make an arrangement to race for a team that is closely aligned to HMS, Stewart-Haas, or Phoenix Racing, in selective Sprint Car races at Martin’s favorite tracks?

It is very obvious that Martin needs to formulate a good and graceful exit strategy for his Sprint Cup driving duties at Hendrick Motorsports! There are a number of options that must be explored and negotiated very soon!

What are you views?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Mark Martin: Daytona 500 Polesitter

Leon — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:42:56 +0000

(photo courtesy Jason Smith/Getty Images)

Apparently Mark Martin’s fairy tale 2009 season was no fluke! However, it appears that Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s horrendous 2009 season was just that, a fluke! Likewise it appears that Hendrick Motorsports is the team to contend with again in 2010! That is the case if the 2010 Daytona 500 qualifying session means anything for the up coming season.

Mark Martin, the ageless wonder at 51 years old, captured the pole for the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 on February 14th. It was Martin’s first Daytona 500 pole of his career. Martin’s team mate and building mate, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sits along side him in the front row, qualifying second, when the green flag drops next Sunday for the Daytona 500! That means that it is an all Hendrick Motorsports starting front row. The rest of the starting line will be determined after the running of the Twin 150′s next Thursday.

During the off season Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, handed down a directive to both of the crew chiefs of the #5 and #88 teams to work together to ressurect the free-falling #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevy driven by Dale, Jr. If the Daytona 500 qualifying session is any indication of what has transpired in the off season, then it would appear that the directive was heeded, the crew chiefs collaborated, and results are there.

The other two race teams of HMS also qualified well today. The four time defending champion, Jimmie Johnson, qualified in the sixth position, while Jeff Gordon qualified in the tenth position.

Now that qualifying is competed, the starting lineup for the Twin 150′s are set. Let’s go racin’ boys!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

History Was Almost Made At Texas!

Leon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:29:58 +0000

(photo courtesy Rusty Garrett/ Getty Images)

On more than one front, history was nearly written at the Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won two of the three races scheduled during the Texas NASCAR weekend at Fort Worth! He came within 3 laps of winning the Sprint Cup race at Texas, thereby winning all three events at one venue. That would have been a very historic event, since that feat has never been accomplished! Additionally, Jimmie Johnson could have “iced” all the competition with a top 10 finish. But unfortunately neither of those historic events occurred.

Instead, Jimmie Johnson was involved in a lap 3 wreck losing more that 100 points of his 184 point lead. Kurt Busch passed his younger brother, Kyle, with 3 laps remaining when the younger Busch ran out of gas.

Now the venue changes to the Phoenix International Raceway. With 2 races left, the intensity cranks up. The door has been reopened to both Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. With two races left, it is a three horse race.

Workingonmyredneck is looking forward to the trip to Phoenix this weekend to catch the Copper Classic, midgets and Silver Crown cars, Camping World Trucks, Nationwide, and sprint cup races!

Does the HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy driven by Jimmie Johnson still have the championship locked up? Can either the HMS #5 Kellogg’s Chevy driven by Mark Martin, or the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy driven by Jeff Gordon make a run for the championship with just 2 races left?

What do you think?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

McMurray Wins Amp Energy 500!

Leon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:15:21 +0000

(Photo By Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

As this reported crept onto the property through the fog and the mud to find a parking spot at Talladega Superspeedway at 6:15 am Sunday in the rental car, it appeared that the race may be in jeopardy of postponement for lack of visibility! The actual visibility at that time was approximately 150 feet. The fog resulted from all the rain that fell in the area from Friday evening through Saturday afternoon, saturating the ground and providing all the humidity in the air.

What started out as a cold, muddy, soggy, and extremely foggy Sunday morning in Talladega, Alabama turned into a bright joyous celebration for the victorious Roush-Fenway #26 Irwin Tools Ford driven by Jamie McMurray. McMurray’s Ford ran up with the front runners all afternoon on the 2.66 mile high banked race track at Talladega.

However, the racing itself was single file and very boring for the first 160 laps. That was, in part, the doing of NASCAR President Mike Helton who issued one big directive to the race car drivers during the pre-race drivers meeting. Helton instructed the drivers not to bump-draft in the turns. The NASCAR officials would be scrutinizing the cars very closely, and there had better be spaces between the bumpers in the turns! There would be penalties handed out if the drivers disobeyed that directive!

With that very strict edict from the “grand pooba” of NASCAR, the racing, or lack thereof, was actually a “follow the leader” type race for 178 laps. That mundane, follow the leader, single file racing came to a screaming halt when the first “Big One” happened involving the Stewart-Haas Racing #39 Army Chevy driven by Ryan Newman who had a spectacular pirouetting flip on the back stretch, coming to a halt on his roof.

When the race was restarted, the drivers threw caution to the wind in trying to race for the win. Unfortunately, that forced another carnage filled wreck in the tri-oval. The HMS #5 Carquest Chevy driven by Mark Martin to got caught up in the melee and became airborne and flipped. Unlike Newman’s crash, Martin ended up coming to a rest on all four wheels!

Workingonmyredneck believes that Mike Helton’s edict did more harm than good for the race at Talladega. His stern warning to the drivers put them on notice more than was necessary. More importantly that warning took the raciness right out of the drivers hands, and therefore there was 180 laps of mostly follow the leader.

NASCAR sanctions automobile “racing” not single file driving! Let the drivers police themselves, but by all means let them RACE!! That is, after all, what we as fans pay big money to see!

What is your take on Mike Helton’s stern admonition? Did NASCAR go way too far in instilling fear of repercussions from NASCAR for bump drafting?

TILL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Hamlin Wins At Martinsville

Leon — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:07:58 +0000

(Photo courtesy of NASCAR)

At the last Martinsville race in the Spring, Jimmie Johnson punted Denny Hamlin for the victory. Sunday in the Fall race at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin found the perfect fix to that problem. Hamlin, in his JGR #11 FedEx Toyota, simply didn’t allow the #48 HMS Lowe’s Chevy to get close enough to his bumper to replay the end results of the Spring race! Therefore, Hamlin was fortunate enough to score his third victory of the season and his first in this season’s Chase races.

However, this victory for Hamlin has come much too late to allow him any chance to catch the leader. After the Martinsville race, Jimmie Johnson has a 352 point lead over Denny Hamlin.

The Chase for the Cup standings looks like this, the HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy appears to be heading for his fourth consecutive championship! Johnson is still leading the points with the HMS #5 Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevy driven by Mark Martin still in second place trailing the leader by 118 points. Still holding on third place is the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy driven by Jeff Gordon trailing the leader by 150 points. The Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy is in still fourth position back 192 points. Juan Pablo Montoya (JPM) moved into fifth place in his EGR #42 Target Chevy back 200 points from Johnson.

Next Sunday is Talladega! This race is always exciting and could prove to be one of the top five Chase cars’ down fall, if they are involved in one of “THE BIG ONES” that can occur there! ” THE BIG ONE” most definitely will happen and take out a number of cars, you just have to figure out when it is going to happen at Talladega! With even a smaller restrictor plate for this Talladega race, the cars will be bunched even tighter. That may lend itself to triggering “THE BIG ONE”! That could spell catastrophe for some Chase teams!!

Traditionally the fall race in Talladega comes up with some very surprising finishes. Remember the fantastic driving of Dale Earnhardt, Sr? He started the last restart from something like 18th place and drove through the crowd to win his final NASCAR race before his untimely death in the following Daytona 500. Last year, Carl Edwards started the multi-car crash that ended his chances of dethroning Jimmie Johnson.

Workingonmyredneck is anxiously awaiting his trip to Talladega to witness this race for the first time! Having made six Daytona 500′s in the past, this trip to Talladega is like a cherry on an ice cream sundae!

The end of the season is in sight with only four more races left in 2009. What is your take on who will be crowned the 2009 Sprint Cup Champion at the Miami-Homestead Speedway? Is it time to turn out the lights and give the championship for the fourth consecutive time to the #48 Lowe’s Chevy? Can Martin or Gordon mount a charge to overhaul the leader? Can “Smoke” smoke them all? Can JPM pull off the all time fairly tale in NASCAR?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Time Is Running Out For Some Teams

Leon — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:29:46 +0000

(photo courtesy John Harrelson/Getty Images)

With the teams unloading in Martinsville this week, the bell is tolling for all but the top four Chase teams. All the teams that are outside 4th place now are more than one race worth of points behind the leader, and therefore, have a very daunting task at hand. If they leave Martinsville in that same condition, you might as well put the “hot rod on cruise control” because it is over for them with just 4 races remaining! In fact if Jimmie Johnson and team continue to perform in their ” traditional take no prisoners Chase fashion”, then it is time to “turn out the lights the party is over” for everybody ( that was a favorite song that “Dandy” Don Meredith, the former Dallas Cowboy QB and ABC Monday Night football announcer would sing when the game was out of hand)! Remember Johnson and crew have won 3 out of the first 5 races in the Chase, additionally that team has won 17 out of the 55 total races run in Chase history! The #48 Lowe’s team just has something for everyone when those last 10 races come around. They have scored 850 points more than any other driver during the Chase in its six year history!

Here at Workingonmyredneck, it appears that if any of the top four Chase teams want to make a serious run at the championship and at the HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy, the time is now the track is Martinsville! Unfortunately, the #48 Lowe’s Chevy is extremely strong at this track, and for that matter all ten tracks in the Chase! It will take a very strong run by the other 3 teams, the HMS #5 Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevy of Mark Martin, the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy of Jeff Gordon, and the SHR #14 Office Depot/Old spice Chevy of Tony Stewart, in conjunction with an extremely poor run from Jimmie Johnson’s # 48 Lowe’s Chevy this weekend.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!