The Mark Martin 2007 story got even more interesting following his impressive third-place finish in Sunday's Samsung 500 Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. After taking the previous two races off as part of his limited schedule for Ginn Racing, Martin came back with another solid performance. The U.S. Army driver, who has now competed in five Cup races this season, posted his fifth straight top-10 result and fourth top five. Despite missing the two races in Bristol, Tenn. and Martinsville, Va. Martin is 11th in driver points,within the top-12 of the Chase cutoff. In Nextel Cup owner points, the 01 team jumped from sixth to fourth.
"This team is just awesome -- they are the best I've ever worked with," said Martin moments after climbing out of his No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet. "I want to be careful about bragging too much, but I have hit the lotto. To be able to drive these cars for this team is a dream come true. And to be able to step away when I want to, I just could not imagine having that kind of privilege. I just really, really love working with Ryan (Pemberton, crew chief) and the team. They are so excited and that makes it so much fun to go to work."
Clint Bowyer feels he should have had a better ending to last spring's race at Texas Motor Speedway. “Well, we should have finished in the top 10 last spring but we got some help off of turn two on the last lap and I spun out. So that 19th-place finish doesn’t really reflect how we ran. The fall race was really good for us. I think we can go back there and have a top-five car and possibly race for a win. If I had to call a race for us to win, I think it’s going to be on a mile-and-a-half -- I really do.
In the season’s first six races, Bowyer has earned three top-10 finishes and has only finished outside the top 20 once. He currently enjoys a solid 14.5 starting average and a 14.2 finishing average. The 27-year-old driver has completed 2,020 of the 2,048 total laps run this season (98.63 percent) and is seventh in the championship point standings. Over those same six races last season, Bowyer’s average start was 29th coupled with an 18.8 finishing average. He was 16th in points at this time last year.
“Except for a couple of occasions, things have gone really well," Bowyer said. "Obviously, Las Vegas is a sore spot. I had a really good car and should have finished in the top five. Instead, we wound up wrecked and finished in the back. It’s been a good season so far and for the most part, things are going our way. Hopefully, we can keep Lady Luck on our side and try and control our own destiny.”
Live coverage of the Samsung 500 from Texas Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, April 15 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the seventh of 36 points-paying races on the 2007 NEXTEL Cup schedule will be televised live on SPEED Friday, April 13 at 5 p.m. EDT.
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