News and Media Releases

Mark Martin Scores Fifth Win

20/09/2009

Veteran Driver Maintains Points Lead with Nine Races Remaining in the Season

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headed to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for the first event of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin was able to pull out the win claiming his fifth victory of the season. Fellow HMS teammate Jimmie Johnson scored a fourth-place finish while Jeff Gordon fought handling problems late in the race and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fell victim to a late-race incident.

Martin started the Sylvania 300 in the 14th position and took the lead late in the event. He led two different times for a total of 68 laps before taking the checkered flag for his fifth win of the 2009 season. With his win, Martin maintained the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings as well.

"Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) won that race -- that's all I got to say," commented an elated Martin from Victory Lane. "He took a driver that can't drive Loudon and put a set-up in it that we could run along reasonable.  Just like I said before the race, if they can stumble around and get me in the front then I might be able to stay there with it.  That's what we did, but it was sure tough."

Jimmie Johnson's fourth-place finish moved him up into the second position in the point standings as he goes for a record-setting fourth consecutive championship. Fellow Quaker State driver Jeff Gordon has a strong car at the beginning of the race but the handling went away causing the four-time champ to lose many positions on the track before finishing 15th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also had a solid run going and was running in the top-five when another car made contact with him late in race sending him hard into the outside wall. He was able to drive the car back to the garage but unable to return to green-flag racing.

Gordon slipped to the 10th position in the point standings while Earnhardt maintained his 23rd position. Behind Martin were Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya finishing second and third Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five.

Flag-to-flag coverage of the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, Sept. 27 beginning at 1 p.m. (EDT) on ABC.  The race will also be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio beginning at 1:15 p.m. (EDT).