Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 | 10:30 a.m.
Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Mark Martin, who is in the hunt for his first NASCAR Cup championship, will make his 600th career start in the premier series Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.
Martin credited the crew chiefs with whom he has worked, as well as team owner Jack Roush, for allowing him to reach the milestone.
"It's hard to believe that we've been around that long," Martin said. "I've had the chance to live out my dreams over the past 20 years and the credit for that really goes to a lot of other people. I really have to thank the Robin Pembertons and Steve Hmiels of the world, as well as people like Jimmy Fennig and Ben Leslie and Pat Tryson. It's really a testament to all of the guys who gave a lot up over the years.
"It also says a lot about Jack Roush -- he got this thing started and stuck with it and he took a chance on me back in 1988 and here we are today. I also have to thank all of the fans who have stuck with us throughout the years. Without their support, we surely would not have been able to accomplish the things that we have."
Martin, 45, has finished second in the championship four times in his career. He is fourth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings, 81 points behind series leader Kurt Busch, going into Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500.
Martin has eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 16 career starts at Phoenix International Raceway. He also has five runner-up finishes on the 1-mile oval.
"We've ran really well at Phoenix over the years and it's been a pretty strong track for us," he said. "We won there in 1993 and we've had quite a few second-place runs as well. We'll be making our 600th career Cup start, so we'd like nothing more than to get a win on Sunday.
"We had a great car last week and we were able to make up a lot of points and get back in the chase, although we were pretty disappointed that we didn't get the win."
Martin, who finished second last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, announced last month that 2005 would be his last full-time season in the Nextel Cup Series.
"It's kind of a difficult spot because you get up on the bottom there, and the guy's got a lot of momentum coming off the corner, he's going to get back beside you if you can't get in front of him fast enough," Earnhardt said. "And we kind of just came to a meeting there and it wasn't good for me.
"You know, I'm not mad at Carl. He had control of his own car and he did what he wanted to do. It wasn't wrong; it's just what happened."
Earnhardt said Edwards still is learning that the style of racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series doesn't always work in the Nextel Cup Series -- a fact he said Las Vegas native Kurt Busch learned after making the jump to the Cup Series in 2000.
"I've never raced in the Truck Series, but I can assure you that the style of give and take and the style of racing is different in the (Nextel) Cup Series than it is in the Truck Series," Earnhardt said. "I think a lot of the veterans in the Truck Series that have raced in the Cup Series will tell you that's probably true.
"Kurt came from the Truck Series and he raced as hard when he first came here and over time (he) kind of learned patience, I guess. I'm not one to really speak for him, but I thought over time he got more patient with the car. As he started winning more races, he started having just a more laid-back approach to each weekend instead of the rough and tumble of the Truck Series."
Earnhardt, the defending race winner in Phoenix, trails Busch by 98 points going into Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500.
Miller will drive in 20 Busch Series races next season while Harvick will be in the No. 21 for the remaining 15 races. Harvick will compete in the first four races of the 2005 season, including the March 12 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Miller will make his 2005 debut in the car March 19 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Miller replaces Clint Bowyer, who is taking over as driver of RCR's No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet next season.
Teammates Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira are the only drivers mathematically eligible to win the championship, although Junqueira acknowledged he would need some help to overtake Bourdais, who holds a 22-point lead.
"For sure, Sebastien will need to make a mistake or have a problem in Mexico City for (me) to win the championship," Junqueira said. "Newman/Haas Racing (is guaranteed) a 1-2 finish in the championship no matter what happens in Mexico City.
"(We're) going to work hard and be there in the front in Mexico City. If Sebastien has a problem, I'll be there to win the championship. The race in Mexico is going to decide the championship and it's going to be a really important weekend."
If Junqueira wins the race and accumulates all possible bonus points this weekend, Bourdais needs only to finish ninth or better to clinch his first series championship. Last year in Mexico City, Junqueira struggled to a seventh-place finish after starting third and Bourdais rallied to a second-place showing after starting fourth.
"We still have a strong shot at winning the championship, but (we) really needs to finish in Mexico City," Bourdais said. "We can't afford to have any mechanical failures or get caught up in an accident.
"It's going to be a scary start over there this year (but) I think we're going to improve our starting position, hopefully, and that could help us avoid an opening-lap accident."
In announcing the decision, GM Racing director Doug Duchardt said that the IRL "no longer (meets) our business objectives," according to an Associated Press report. Duchardt cited the IRL's lagging television ratings and attendance as two of the reasons the manufacturer was pulling out of the series.
Only six of the 22 cars that competed in the IRL this season used Chevrolet engines; Honda and Toyota powered the remainder of the field. A Chevrolet-powered car did not win a race this season in the IRL.
Qualifying and time trials in 10 classes will be held today and Saturday and eliminations will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday and continue at 7 a.m. Sunday. Top Alcohol Dragsters and Top Alcohol Funny Cars will qualify at 3 today and at 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday and will run the first round of eliminations at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
Gates open at 6 a.m. each day.
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