NASCAR Winston Cup CMT 300 Preview: #6, Mark Martin
10 September 1997
#6 Mark Martin, Valvoline/Cummins Ford Thunderbird NASCAR Winston Cup Series CMT 300 Advance New Hampshire International Speedway MARK MARTIN NOTES & QUOTES: CMT 300 LOUDON, NH - With only eight races remaining in the Winston Cup season, every race counts for Mark Martin and the Valvoline/Cummins team. Martin is in second place in the point standings, 97 points behind Jeff Gordon. Martin also feels the pressure coming from behind, as Dale Jarrett has closed within 56 points of second place. The addition of the CMT 300 at New Hampshire is a welcome addition to the fall schedule. "I'm lucky NASCAR decided to add New Hampshire in the fall since it is a pretty good track for us," Martin said. "Dover and Martinsville are tough tracks for us, so it will be nice to throw in an extra good track. We've come too far this season to let anything stand in the way of our chance for our first Winston Cup championship." In five starts at NHIS, Martin has finished in the top-five all but one time. He has yet to celebrate in victory lane at Loudon, but he is sure he won't have to wait much longer. "Everything is going so well for us," Martin said, "We had a setback at Richmond, but that was out of our control. This team is working hard and everybody is working together to make this championship happen. It's just like the T-shirts Valvoline printed for the team to wear - the right car, the right team, the right driver, the right year. I hope this is our year, and if it is meant to be, it will happen." Martin has finished second (1993), third (1995), fourth (1994) and fifth (1997) already at NHIS. The CMT 300 could be his race to finish first. MARK MARTIN'S CAREER RECORD - NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY Date Event S F Laps Reason Money Won 7/13/97 Jiffy Lube 300 16 5 300 Running 44,650 7/14/96 Jiffy Lube 300 22 33 284 Running 29,575 7/9/95 Slick 50 300 1 3 300 Running 54,650 7/10/94 Slick 50 300 10 4 300 Running 33,625 7/11/93 Slick 50 300 1 2 300 Running 74,800 Races WINS TOP-5 Top-10 Poles Money Won 5 0 4 4 2 237,300 By Roush Racing Public Relations