Catchfence

POINTS LEADER: Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet, remains the points leader after three races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Martin has maintained the lead throughout the Chase thus far, a feat that no driver has accomplished in the five previous Chase seasons. He currently owns an 18-point advantage over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.

AVERAGE FINISH: Martin holds a 3.33 average finish in the 2009 Chase after scoring a top-10 result in each of the three races thus far. Martin won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, finished second at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and took seventh last Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Johnson, the defending champion, holds the best average finish for a Chase contender, with a 5.0 finish during the last 10 races of 2007.

MARTIN AT AUTO CLUB: Martin is a previous winner at Auto Club Speedway. On May 3, 1998, Martin started third and led 165 laps en route to the victory. In 16 Cup starts there, he has earned one win, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. Although the series leader in pole positions this season with seven, Martin has yet to earn a pole at the Fontana, Calif., racetrack.

OF THE CHASERS: Martin has led 273 laps at Auto Club Speedway, the fourth-most of any driver inside the Chase.

MOST RECENTLY: On Feb. 22, his last outing at Auto Club Speedway, Martin started 18th and steered his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the top 10 before an engine issue ended the team’s day on Lap 167. He finished 40th.

GUSTAFSON AT AUTO CLUB: Crew chief Alan Gustafson earned his first career pole position at Auto Club Speedway in February 2005. On Sept. 4 of that same year, he returned to the track and earned his first career Sprint Cup victory.

NO. 5 TEAM AT FONTANA: Under the direction of Gustafson, the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST team has earned one victory, two top-five finishes and five top-10s at Auto Club Speedway. The team has led 215 laps on the two-mile track.

INDY CHASSIS RETURNS: Gustafson has chosen Chassis No. 5-550 for Auto Club Speedway this Sunday. This car has been raced only at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July when Martin started the Brickyard 400 from the pole position and took runner-up honors.

POLE MAN: Martin earned his seventh pole of 2009 — the most he’s ever earned in a single season — last Friday at Kansas Speedway. Martin’s 48th career pole ranks him ninth on the all-time Sprint Cup pole winner’s list.

HENDRICK AT FONTANA: In 18 Cup events (70 starts) at Auto Club Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned seven wins, 22 top-five finishes and 31 top-10s and led 1,503 laps. The organization, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, has scored a top-five finish in 15 of those 18 events.

CHEVY CROWN: With seven races left in the 2009 Sprint Cup season, Chevrolet now has collected its record-extending 33rd manufacturers’ championship. Martin leads all Chevy drivers with five wins, and Hendrick Motorsports has contributed 10 of the 15 Chevrolet victories thus far this season.

‘TOGETHER’ TO AIR SUNDAY: “TOGETHER: The Hendrick Motorsports Story,” NASCAR Media Group’s documentary-style film chronicling the history of the eight-time Sprint Cup championship team, will air Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise and presented by Pepsi, “TOGETHER” employs exclusive interviews, never-before-seen archival footage, thrilling racing sequences and rare family photography to detail the personal relationships and emotional events that have shaped one of NASCAR’s most decorated organizations. The official “TOGETHER” trailer is available at www.refresheverything.com/hendrick.

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MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON THE TEAM’S AVERAGE CHASE FINISH.): “Going into the Chase, when we were in New York City (speaking with media), I repeatedly said that I didn’t think there was any way that anyone of these guys could have a top-five average finish like Jimmie (Johnson) has done in the past. The competition is just too strong. So far, I’m proving myself wrong. Can this keep up? I don’t know. But I’m not going to judge this year or our performance in the Chase by a top-five average. We’ll go out like we’ve done every weekend and race our guts out. And if we finish like the effort we put in, we’ll have top-fives every weekend. We’ll just see.”

MARTIN (ON HIS CAREER-RECORD SEVEN POLES THIS SEASON.): “Man, every time we’ve sat on the pole this year, I ask myself how my heart can take any more of this. (LAUGHS.) The cars are just so fast. And I go out there with full trust in Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the team, and I trust that my car is going to be perfect. So I drive it that way. And there have been times that it was a really, really scary fast lap. It’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed seeing the guys’ faces when we’re on the top of that leader board. That’s what it’s about. Everyone working hard and seeing that hard work pay off.”

MARTIN (ON NOT LETTING THE PRESSURE GET TO HIM.): “Right now, there is no pressure. Everyone is talking about the Chase, and how each winner, each weekend is suddenly the top contender. I’ll say it again; ask me with four races to go. Last week this team could have succumbed to the pressure of not having a perfect race car, but we didn’t do it. I watched my guys dig and scratch and claw to the best finish we could possibly get. And it was enough. It wasn’t a great day, and I know there is not a guy on this team that was happy with a seventh-place finish. But for where we could have finished, it was great.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/CARQUEST CHEVROLET (ON THE TEAM’S AVERAGE CHASE FINISH.): “Having an average finish at the end of the Chase inside the top five has been our goal since we knew we were in. That’s what it will take to win the championship with the Chase format. You have to have consistent top-five finishes and at least two wins I think. This team can continue on the same level it has been. If we do, we will win this championship. But we’re going to have to be perfect for that to happen.”

GUSTAFSON (ON KEEPING CALM UNDER PRESSURE.): “One thing that I learned this year, that I used to not be the greatest at, is keeping my emotions out of my job. Being emotional just doesn’t work here. No matter what the situation is, what your team is going through, what just happened on the racetrack, you absolutely cannot let that distract you from your end goal. I learned that this year. I focus on doing my job week in and week out. We get the best finish possible and move on to the next task.”

GUSTAFSON (ON “TOGETHER: THE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS STORY.”): “I went to the premiere of the movie in Charlotte (N.C.) last week. I thought everyone involved did a great job. It’s an emotional movie. The way that Mr. (Rick) Hendrick (team owner) and his family opened up — it was just incredibly personal. They put it all out there. Hopefully it will give everyone in the sport and the fans a better perspective of how hard everyone has worked at Hendrick Motorsports to get it to the championship-winning team it is today. I know that they will have a new appreciation for Mr. Hendrick and what all he has been through and sacrificed in his life.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release