Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005 | 8:50 a.m.
Although he said he might have an interest in driving for his own NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team, Mark Martin said he has no desire to one day become an owner in the Nextel Cup Series.
Martin is retiring from Nextel Cup competition at the end of this season and said he would drive in the Truck Series next season, probably for his current team owner, Jack Roush.
"Please, beat me to death if I ever owned a Nextel Cup team -- please, please," Martin joked during a break in testing Monday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
But Martin, 46, did not rule out the possibility of becoming an owner in the Truck Series.
"My son (Matt) is 13 ... I went racing with him last weekend and I love going to the race shop, I love going to the racetrack -- that's what I want to do," Martin said. "I had a ball and that's what I want to get back to. After last weekend, racing with Matt and having my own stuff ... made me consider, 'hey, maybe I'll do my own truck team.'
"But for the time being, Jack Roush and I have an incredible relationship that goes over the span of 18 years and that's where our negotiations are right now with (Truck Series) sponsors."
OOPS: John Andretti brought about an early end to Monday's test session when he spun and hit the wall in Turn 3 with approximately 10 minutes remaining. Andretti, who is driving the No. 14 Ford for ppc Racing, was not injured in the incident.
NASCAR did not bring its timing equipment to Las Vegas, so no official times or speeds were available Monday.
WORN OUT: After a break in testing, Kyle Petty admitted he was feeling the effects of running in Sunday's Las Vegas Marathon. It was the first full marathon for Petty, who ran in last year's half-marathon in Las Vegas.
"Few things in life have I conceded kicked my rear end, but that was one of them," Petty said of the 26.2-mile run. "I'm tender -- I'm not going to say I'm not tender. I'm not as sore as I was last year. I was sore last year because I didn't know what to expect. I didn't really know what to expect this year for the long haul.
"I thought I did pretty good for my first marathon."
Petty's time in the marathon was 4 hours, 16 minutes, 2 seconds. Fellow driver Michael Waltrip, who ran the full marathon to raise funds for Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp, turned in a personal-best time of 3:56:52.
"What Michael did was phenomenal," Petty said. "He ran that thing in less than four hours in that wind. To drive a racecar and train and do the stuff he did, that was phenomenal."
NICE START: Former open-wheel driver Michel Jourdain Jr. finished sixth in his NASCAR debut Sunday in the NASCAR Grand National West Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.
Jourdain, who recorded two victories in nine years in the Champ Car World Series, will race fulltime in the NASCAR Busch Series this season. He will be among 18 Busch Series drivers testing at LVMS on Wednesday and Thursday.
NASCAR veterans Kevin Harvick (13th) and Ken Schrader (31st) also competed in the West Series season opener. Spencer Clark, a Las Vegas resident, finished 14th.
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