Martin Ends Streak of 621 Consecutive Starts on Top
Mark Martin closed out the current longest consecutive streak start in NASCAR with a top-10 finish in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With the finish, Martin maintained his lead in the Nextel Cup point standings, despite the fact that he will not race next week in Bristol. With the finish, Martin opens the season with four consecutive top-10 finishes, for the first time since 2000 and for only the third time in his career. Martin will now bow out of the car next weekend as the oldest driver in NASCAR history to lead the points for more than one week. Martin and the U.S. Army Team started the race fourth after a strong qualifying effort on Friday, but struggled early with a loose race car, dropping as far back as 16th during the race.
"It is really cool and I guess it's kind of a story book way to go out leading the points after chasing those points so hard for the last 20 years," said Martin. "It's definitely the way to do it and I just can't say enough about this U.S. Army Race team. They are a fabulous team and an awesome group of guys and it's just so awesome to finally see them get the recognition they deserve. I sure wish I had been driving their car a little sooner."
"We weren't as good today as we had been the first couple of races," said Martin. "But the guys on the Army team never gave up and we kept getting a little bit better each time. They were able to gain positions on pit road during those last two stops and we were able to bring home a top-10 finish. "They also allowed me to leave here the point leader and I have to thank them for all they have done for me this year," added Martin. "These guys are just fabulous and they give their heart and soul and they are finally getting the recognition they deserve."
Check out that smile on Mark's face and tell me he is not having the time of his life.
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