Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Martin will slow down, but he isn’t retiring

Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 | 9:32 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Mark Martin has joined the growing list of forty-something NASCAR drivers in recent months who have announced their retirement plans. Only Martin insisted he isn't retiring.

Martin, a four-time runner-up for the championship in NASCAR's premier series, said that 2005 will be his last full season in the Nextel Cup Series but did not rule out competing on a regular basis -- perhaps in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

"I'd like to stress that I am not announcing retirement today, but 2005 will be my final year to race for the Nextel Cup," Martin said Thursday at a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. "I don't have 2006 plans totally in order yet but, certainly, I look forward to continuing driving racecars.

"In 2006, I'll still be in the driver's seat -- I just don't know exactly what seat that will be just yet. I'm actually even looking at the Craftsman Truck Series; that looks kind of interesting. I'm too young to retire, but I've had enough of this full schedule and this battle. It's been really tough on me and it's been tough on my family and I look forward to opening the next chapter."

Martin followed longtime NASCAR drivers Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace and Terry Labonte in announcing plans to wind down their careers. Elliott, 49, already is running a limited number of races this season. Wallace, 48, will retire at the end of the 2005 season and Labonte, 47, will compete in 20 races over the next two seasons.

Martin, 45, has been racing full-time in NASCAR's top series since the 1988 season -- the entire time with team owner Jack Roush. Martin has 34 career victories in 596 starts and currently is fifth in the Nextel Cup standings, 150 points behind teammate Kurt Busch with six races remaining.

One of the most respected drivers in the NASCAR garage, Martin said consistently competing at the highest level in the sport has taken its toll on him -- especially this season under NASCAR's revised championship format.

"Chasing for the Cup in 2004 has definitely been the most consuming season of my life," Martin said. "Of all the racing I've ever done, I have never been so consumed as 2004."

Martin, who has finished in the top five in points 10 times since 1988, said stepping out of the No. 6 Viagra Ford at this point in his career would allow him to leave the sport the way he had always envisioned.

"Respect is very important to me and I want to step out while I'm at the top of my game," he said.

Roush was visibly moved as he talked about what Martin -- the first driver he hired as a NASCAR owner -- has meant to him as he built Roush Racing, which now fields five cars in the Nextel Cup Series.

"Through it all, Mark has been true to himself, true to his passion for perfection in himself and true to his relentless competition with those seeking to occupy his space," Roush said.

"My enduring relationship with Mark has been the proudest accomplishment of my business life. Perhaps most importantly, Mark has been the second brother I never had, the best friend and the cornerstone of the effort to which I pursued my own competitive ambitions."

Busch, 26, credited Martin with helping him develop as a driver.

"Mark Martin was definitely the figurehead for the organization and a mentor that anyone could look up to," Busch said. "I had the pleasure of watching the way he reacted to situations on and off the track, and since then I've always tried to model myself after Mark in the way that he conducts himself."

Roush said it was his intention to continue running the No. 6 car in 2006 and beyond.

Leffler will drive the No. 11 Chevrolet with sponsorship from FedEx.

Hunicutt is a seven-time class winner in the Baja 1000. Hengeveld and Johnny Campbell have teamed for three motorcycle victories in the Baja 1000.

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Robby Gordon drew the eighth starting position in Trophy Truck. Although the Baja 1000 is scheduled for the same weekend (Nov. 18-20) as the NASCAR season finale in Homestead, Fla., Gordon plans to drive the first half of the desert race before flying to Florida for the Nextel Cup race.

Other crossover drivers scheduled to compete include Jimmy Vasser of Las Vegas and Michel Jourdain Jr. (Champ Car World Series), former Indianapolis 500 winner Danny Sullivan and sports car legend Elliot Forbes-Robinson.