DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July
4, 2008) - Mark Martin, a
35-time NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series race winner and the
all-time leader in NASCAR
Nationwide Series victories,
has signed a two-year
agreement to drive for
Hendrick Motorsports
beginning in 2009.
Martin will race the full
2009 Sprint Cup schedule in
the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST
Chevrolets, becoming
teammates with Jeff Gordon,
Jimmie Johnson and Dale
Earnhardt Jr. It will mark
his first full season of Cup
competition since 2006, when
he finished ninth in points.
A Batesville, Ark.,
native, Martin also is
slated to run a partial
Sprint Cup schedule for
Hendrick Motorsports in
2010, sharing the No. 5
Chevys with a
to-be-determined second
driver. Martin will enter 26
events, including the
non-points Budweiser
Shootout and NASCAR Sprint
All-Star Race.
"Mark is an incredible
racer and one of the
classiest guys around," said
Hendrick Motorsports owner
Rick Hendrick, whose
organization will celebrate
its 25th anniversary in
2009. "He is a driver who
makes everyone around him
better, and our entire
company is going to benefit
from his presence."
In the 20 seasons Martin
has completed the full
Sprint Cup schedule, he has
finished inside the top 12
in championship points on 17
occasions, including 12
appearances in the top five.
In addition to his 35 wins,
Martin has posted 41 pole
positions, 241 top-five
finishes and 390 top-10s at
the Cup level.
"I feel very fortunate to
have this chance to win
races and go after a
championship with Hendrick
Motorsports," Martin said.
"Coming back full time
wasn't something we planned,
but driving the No. 5 car,
with all its history, was an
impossible opportunity to
pass up.
"Rick and I have enjoyed
a great relationship over
the years, and we've always
talked about doing this. Now
it's working out, and we're
both excited about the
possibilities."
Martin, 49, will be
paired with crew chief Alan
Gustafson, who now is in his
fourth season at the helm of
the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST
Chevrolet team. Gustafson
has posted four Sprint Cup
wins as a crew chief and has
a history with Martin,
having worked with him in
multiple Nationwide Series
events.
THE MARK MARTIN FILE:
Birth Date: Jan. 9, 1959
Hometown: Batesville, Ark.
Sprint Cup Seasons: 26
(full- and part-time) Sprint
Cup Wins: 35 Sprint Cup
Poles: 41 First Sprint Cup
Start: North Wilkesboro,
N.C. (April 5, 1981) First
Sprint Cup Win: Rockingham,
N.C. (Oct. 22, 1989) Most
Recent Sprint Cup Win:
Kansas City, Kan. (Oct. 9,
2005) Best Sprint Cup Points
Finish: Second (four times)
Nationwide Series Wins: 48
(all-time leader)
ABOUT HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS: Since 1984,
Hendrick Motorsports has
earned 11 championships in
NASCAR's top three
divisions, including seven
titles and 169 victories in
the sanctioning body's
premier series, the Sprint
Cup. Headquartered in
Concord, N.C., the
organization currently
fields four full-time
Chevrolet teams on the Cup
Series circuit and employs
more than 550 people.
Please visit
www.HendrickMotorsports.com
for additional information.
