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Daytona II: Mark Martin NASCAR Nextel Cup Race Preview
After finishing second in a controversial ending at this year’s Daytona 500, Martin returns to the famed Daytona International Speedway looking to finish the job. Martin came up just a few feet short at the finish line to Kevin Harvick in one of the most exciting endings in NASCAR history. The finish solidified Martin’s tenure in the No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet. This time Martin will look for the hardware and not all the hype and he continues to seek his first victory on the 2.5 mile tri-oval of DIS.
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MARTIN AT DAYTONA
A long-time resident of Daytona Beach, Fla., this will be Martin’s 45th start at DIS and his 21st start in the Pepsi 400. Martin has four top five and seven top-10 finishes at Daytona’s summer race.
VICTORY LANE AT DAYTONA
While the 500 just eluded him last February, Martin has visited Daytona’s victory lane on several occasions. He won the Budweiser Shootout in 1999 and the Craftsman Truck race in 2006. In addition he has two IROC victories at Daytona, with wins in 2003 and 2005.
QUOTING MARK ON DAYTONA
“Well our last trip to Daytona was quite eventful to say the least. All I asked for was a chance to win that race and Ryan Pemberton, this U.S. Army Team and everyone at Ginn Racing gave me just that and I’ll always be thankful to them for that. Daytona has been a tough place on me over the years, but that was a moment that I think most of us will always remember. We really wanted to win that race and we weren’t happy with second, but it was a great effort and a great way to start my tenure with Ginn Racing.
“We showed at Speedweeks what our cars were capable of doing at Daytona and I’m excited about going back there and seeing if we can expand on what we learned in February. We’ve been on a bit of a down in the last couple of races and maybe Daytona will give us that boost we need like it did earlier this year.
“I’ve been out of the car the last two races and I’ve really enjoyed watching the races at home as a fan. Now it’s time to buckle back up in the seat and I’m ready to go racing. We have four in a row now and it’s all tracks that we fell really good about.”
MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS DAYTONA
* This will be Martin’s 45th Cup start at the famed Daytona International Speedway
* Martin has won twice in the IROC (’03 and ’05) series at Daytona, once in the Craftsman Truck Series (’06) and once in the Budweiser Shootout ’99.
* Martin finished second in this year’s Daytona 500.
* Martin has finished inside the top six in six of the last 11 and eight of the last 15 at Daytona.
*Martin has finished top 10 in seven of his last 15 Pepsi 400’s.
* Martin has nine top five and 16 top 10’s in 44 starts at Daytona.
* Martin has led 241 laps at DIS, including 26 in this year’s Daytona 500.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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