"If I want to change [my schedule] I have that luxury," Mark Martin said. "I've learned to never say never, so I'm not going to do that. I haven't gone and asked [to run the whole schedule], but I can tell you they haven't said no to anything else. I don't think that'd be a problem, but I also don't think that'll happen."
Martin's current projected schedule is quite front-loaded. He knows he might get bored in the second half of the year.
After the Bristol race [in March] I'll probably know a lot more about how I feel about things." Why? He doesn't plan to be there. If he is not, The Food City 500 will mark the first race since Valentine's Day 1988 that Martin won't be in the Cup Series field. That's 617 straight races.
Martin is scheduled to be in Lake City, Fla., that weekend to be Ricky Carmichael's crew chief in a late-model race. That's right, crew chief. "I can't spot for [son] Matt," Martin chuckled. "They always seem to run better when I'm not around, so I figure I'll stay away and just talk to Ricky, cheerlead for Matt.
"Matt Kenseth has 200 bucks that says I'm going to run them all -- and he's so tight he squeaks when he walks," Martin laughed. "I think he'll lose the money.
This does not surprise me about Mark. He is too hooked on racing to retire permanently ( although he should). I can see Mark 30 years from now rolling his wheelchair to his race car to run another cup race.
No surprise here, either. I do think if he gets too burned out, though, he might relent towards the end. Everything looks rosy right now; wait until after Watkins Glen. Then we'll see. Great reporting, as always, Falcon!
More than Mark is hooked on racing, he has a son who's growing up he'd like to hand the keys to at some point. The earlier he gets out, the less control he has over that situation. Kind of like a Rusty Wallace/Steven Wallace kind of deal.
i also think he front loaded the schedule on purpose, if he is in points contention he will run a full schedule, however, if he drops way down, thats when you'll see him begin to miss races.
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