2011 NSCS No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/AARP Chevrolet Impala (driven by Jeff Gordon) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Far from it.

Jeff Gordon, who turns 40 on August 4, uttered those words at Pocono Racewayin June after his 84th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. He entered that eventat The Tricky Triangle 13th in the point standings and 121 markers out of the lead.One win (Pocono), two runner-up finishes (Infineon and last weekend at Indianapolis)and six finishes of 11th or better in the last seven races has moved the four-timeNASCAR Cup Series champion up to seventh in the standings – only 52 points out ofthe lead. To put that in perspective, that gain of 69 points on the lead equates to makingup nearly 300 points under the old points system.

“We are building ourselves up so that we are strong when the Chase comesaround,” said the driver of the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. “We didn’t win (atIndianapolis) on Sunday, but that was a complete team effort. We had a fast race car,we were solid on pit road and (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) called a great race. Weneed to do that every week, especially when the Chase starts.

“If we compete like that, we can win just about any place we go.”

Next on the docket is Sunday’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono. In 37starts at the 2.5-mile track, Gordon has five wins (tied with Bill Elliott for most all-time),17 top-fives and 26 top-10′s. He has led the most laps at the triangular track, andGordon is 43 laps shy of reaching the 1,000 laps led plateau.

“This is a great track and I love racing here,” said Gordon. “Track position is important, though, and it’s a tough place to get it.

“In turn one, you have some options and, in turn three, you have a few options. But you have no options through the Tunnel (turn).

“It’s just one groove through there.”

Gordon is not the only No. 24 team member with a birthday this week. Gustafson’s is the day after Gordon’s, and the pair are working toward a celebration at the awards banquet later this year.

“I think we made a statement with our run at Indy on Sunday,” Gordon said. “This team is for real.

“While we didn’t win, I think it showed we are a championship-caliber team. It took Alan and I a little while to get to know one another and for us to understand the communication needed so that I get what I need in the car. We want to be a championship-caliber team when the Chase comes around.

“I think we’re very close.”

- Performance PR Plus, Press Release

Team Chevy Logo

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: ON TODAY’S RACE: WHAT HAS CHANGED IN LAST TWO WEEKS?

TWO WINS NOW, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE LOCKED IN THE CHASE? “No, there is too much racing left to go. You have guys like (Denny) Hamlin who are really strong and a bunch of other ones that can ease up. (Greg) Biffle, there are guys that can win multiple races. I feel a lot better about it though. That is for darn sure.

“Man, I am just so excited to be a part of this sport. I mean, I am going to be 40 this year. To have Ella (his daughter) here and say hi to Leo (his son) at home and my wife Ingrid here, this is just an amazing experience to share this with my family. I haven’t had a chance to do that even when I won at Phoenix, the kids were missing so this is awesome.

“Thank you Sprint for all they do.”

YOU DROVE HERE THIS WEEKEND: “I always drive to Pocono. I enjoy that. If I could drive to more tracks, if they were close enough, I would. I drive to Martinsville. I love that little two hour drive if I can make it happen whether I am in New York or Charlotte. It is very relaxing. The most relaxing thing is having a race car like that with these guys behind me. That was awesome. Congrats to Alan and say hi to Rick (Hendrick) I know he is at home watching. This is awesome.”

ON HIS DAY: “Well, you know there weren’t a lot of cautions so you had to have the car right. Luckily we had it pretty close. We just made some little adjustments to keep the car up front. Great pit stops by my team. They were awesome. I just can’t thank them enough for that effort.

“But I really have to thank Alan Gustafson and all the engineers on this DuPont Chevrolet. They just worked so hard to get me what I needed to go fast. They never lacked confidence in what I could do out there. That is so important and that is what makes it a winning effort like this. I have to thank them and all those guys and everybody back at the shop. This is awesome. To win at Pocono again, to do it in the fashion that we did it today. To have DuPont on board and of course AARP Drive To End Hunger and Pepsi Max. Great day.”

DO YOU THINK PEOPLE HAD LOST CONFIDENCE IN YOU? “When we don’t win, I get down and everybody does in this sport and you start to question everything. When our teammates are outrunning us, then you have to look at that as well. This team went to work and we made big improvements and we’ve shown that the last couple of weeks. Today was proof that all that hard work can pay off. The balance of the car was great all weekend. The grip was there and then you follow that up with great pit stops. That is an amazing effort. We talked about it before the race started and it all came together today.”

THE SHIFTING, ANY CONCERNS? “I definitely had concerns. We put a temp gauge in there during practice to check it out and we felt like we were pretty good there. I was more concerned with what it did to the car. How unstable the car was when I would shift. I started shifting a little bit more than I had when the pace dropped. We got real loose that last run. Kurt (Busch) was coming. He was tough. When he was out front, I could hang with him but he was good on the long runs. There at the end I knew we had to pull away early and we did. But then he started creeping back in there on me. I got a little worried. I made a few mistakes. Got real loose and said, all I could do was drive it smooth and straight and see what happens and we started driving back away from him.

“This is awesome. I have to thank all the fans. Pocono has the greatest fans. Thank to them for all their support for all these years. This feels awesome to get back to victory lane at this race track. The safer barriers, that was awesome. I don’t think anyone tested them today, but I’ll tell you what, it is sure nice to know they are there. Just a great DuPont Chevrolet team today. Thank them and Sprint for all they do as well.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: CONGRATULATIONS: “I have to catch my breath! I am really happy for DuPont first all. They have stuck with us. We have had some terrible runs in their car so it feels good to win one for them. They have always supported the No. 24 car. I’m real happy for them. Have to thank everybody at HMS (Hendrick Motorsports) for sticking behind us. We’ve had a terrible start to this season and a lot of work coming back. These in the No. 5/No. 24 shop have done an awesome job getting us here. I have to thank Mark Whitten in the chassis shop first and foremost. This is the clip of the week and it won a race so I have to give him a hard time.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – FINISHED 4TH:

YOU HAD A GOOD SOLID RUN TODAY, WHICH IS WHAT YOU NEEDED

“Yeah, it was a great day. It was a great day in the pits and on the track. Man, I really thought I had a shot there on that restart at the end and kind of got stuck in the middle and lost a bunch of track position and just had to recover from that. But it was a great day today. I’m very happy to see the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) in victory lane. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has been working very hard to make sure that the cars are getting speed in them and they’ve done that. Our engine package held up today with the abuse we gave it. It was a great day all in all.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 OKUMA CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5TH:

TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY: “It was a total team effort to get our Okuma Chevy up there. They did a great job at the beginning playing the pit strategy and we got to the top-10 before we even got to half way. Good solid day for us. We just have a little bit of work to do before we came back.”

THIS IS THE KIND OF DAYS YOU HAVE TO HAVE: “We had a good car in qualifying, I just didn’t do a very good job of qualifying. That is probably about where we should have finished. Solid top-five and we’ll go on with this.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET – FINISHED 6TH:

ON THE DAY

“I’m real happy with where I finished. On the last restart of the race, we were 18th with 30 to go. And we drove back up to sixth so I’m real happy about that. The car was pretty good. We had a little struggled with the handling in the middle part of the race. But it was really good at the start and really good at the end. We had good speed all weekend. And hopefully when we come back we’ll have good balance again.”

HOW WAS THE SHIFTING?

“I was good with it.”

HOW HAPPY ARE YOU NOW WITH ALL THIS FINISHES YOU’VE BEEN STRINGING TOGETHER?

“Today, some guys that were behind me finished in front of me. But I’ve got to go home and look at NASCAR.com and see what the finishes look like. But I’m really happy to be running well and being up front. It’s surely a difference from the last couple of years, so I feel fortunate and feel lucky to be able to compete.”

TONY GIBSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET – FINISHED 9TH:

“With 21 laps to go, we lost third gear in the transmission. And we thought we were going to be okay but it started running hot, the transmission did, and started pumping fluid out. We didn’t know it at the time. It smoked a little bit in the corners, but then it cleared up and went away and we ran the last 15 laps with no smoke. I think what happened was it just kind of dumped all the fluid out of the transmission; it just got hot and started pumping it out. So, we were just very, very lucky today to finish this race. For once a break went our way. We didn’t need a green-white-checkered and we needed to finish with a broken transmission. So like I said, it worked out good for today and we’ll take it and go on.”

REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 15TH:

“We might have been a little better than 15th, but overall that’s pretty much what our Furniture Row Chevrolet had today. We lost some track position early, but thanks to our pit crew late in the race we managed to make a pretty good gain. We’re just okay with top 15s, and really want to those top 10s and top fives. We’ve been a little inconsistent lately and hopefully today’s result will trigger a streak of solid finishes.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – FINISHED 7^TH:

TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY

“We had a really good car all day. We had a great car. With like 25 laps to go I lose third gear. It was kind of weird. It was a good thing we didn’t have another caution because we would have been completely done. We’ve had some problems with the gear box and things lately but I don’t know. Our Target Chevy ran good all day.”

About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

- Team Chevy, Press Release

Dupont Motorsports Logo

LAS VEGAS (March 1, 2011) –

Gordon, who will drive the familiar No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet during this Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, had several “close-but-no-cigar” races during a winless 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. One of those occurred at Phoenix when he was unable to hold onto the lead during a two-lap sprint to the checkered flag. Last weekend, he exorcised those demons at the one-mile track with a commanding win – leading 138 of 312 laps to snap a 66-race winless streak.

Las Vegas affords him another opportunity. In 2010, Gordon led 219 of 267 laps at the 1.5-mile track only to finish third.

“There were a couple races last year that we had a great shot to win and we didn’t capitalize on it,” said Gordon, who is fifth in the point standings and 15 behind points leader Kyle Busch. “Whether it was spinning the tires on a restart or getting collected in a crash while having a fast race car, we just didn’t get it done at places like Phoenix, Las Vegas or Texas.

“But we had a really fast car last weekend and were able to get the win. And while we get to enjoy it for less than a week, we’re going into this weekend’s race wanting to win just as much.”

While the victory was his first with new crew chief Alan Gustafson, it marked Gordon’s 83rd victory and moved him into a tie with Cale Yarborough for fifth in all-time career wins. Another win moves him up another notch into a tie with racing greats Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip.

“I hope we don’t have to wait as long to tie Darrell and Bobby as it took us to tie Cale,” joked Gordon, who has one win (2001), six top-fives and seven top-10’s in 13 starts at Las Vegas. “Actually, I’ve already accomplished way more than I thought I ever would in NASCAR.

“It’s not about where I rank on a list or who I might be compared to. It’s about the desire to win, though, and that desire remains strong in me and in this team.”

And while he may not be the first one to look for it there, finding redemption in Las Vegas may just be a first for Gordon.

- Performance PR Plus for DuPont Motorsports, Press Release

Hendrick Motorsports

Below are the driver-crew chief pairings for each Hendrick Motorsports car, effective immediately:

No. 5 Chevrolet

Driver: Mark Martin

Crew Chief: Lance McGrew

No. 24 Chevrolet

Driver: Jeff Gordon

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson

No. 48 Chevrolet

Driver: Jimmie Johnson

Crew Chief: Chad Knaus

No. 88 Chevrolet

Driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Crew Chief: Steve Letarte

The cars of Martin and four-time Sprint Cup champion Gordon will be fielded out of the same facility, now known as the 5/24 shop. Earnhardt Jr.’s Chevrolets will be prepared out of the renamed 48/88 shop alongside those of five-time and defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

“This will improve us as an organization, across the board,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “We had a championship season (in 2010), but we weren’t where we wanted and needed to be with all four teams. We’ve made the right adjustments, and I’m excited to go racing with this lineup.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

DEFENDING RACE WINNER:

NEW HAMSPHIRE TOTALS: In 27 Cup starts at New Hampshire, Martin has earned one win, nine top-five finishes and 14 top-10s. His average finish of 11.1 is tied with Pocono Raceway as his second-best average finish at an oval track. Martin has been running at the end of every race he’s entered at New Hampshire.

LOOP STATISTICS: Martin’s average finish of 10.4 in the last 11 New Hampshire races ranks fifth-best among all competitors. He also has the sixth-best average running position — 11.443 — and the sixth-best driver rating with a score of 95.5.

POLE MAN: Martin’s next Sprint Cup pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin earned the pole position for his first race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 11, 1993, when he went on to finish second. He earned his second pole at the Loudon, N.H., racetrack two years later on July 9, 1995, when he finished third.

THE NO. 5 TEAM: Crew chief Alan Gustafson led the No. 5 team to New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Victory Lane on July 16, 2006, and again last September. In 11 total Cup starts at the track, the team has earned two victories, four top-five finishes and five top-10s with Gustafson at the helm. New Hampshire joins Phoenix International Raceway as the only track where the No. 5 team has earned multiple wins since 2005.

CHASSIS CHOICE: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-588 in Sunday’s race at New Hampshire. Martin finished 21st in this chassis at this track in June. He posted a fourth-place finish in No. 5-588 at Phoenix International Raceway in April.

HENDRICK AT LOUDON: In 31 races (110 Sprint Cup starts) at the New England racetrack, Hendrick Motorsports has tallied eight wins, 31 top-five finishes, 49 top-10s, five pole positions and led 2,169 laps.  The organization owns the last two wins at the track, with Martin going to Victory Lane in September 2009 and Jimmie Johnson winning there in June.

GO DADDY GETAWAY: GoDaddy.com is giving away a two-day fantasy trip to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. The trip for two includes a personal introduction with Martin and GoDaddy.com NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Danica Patrick. Fans can register online at www.GoDaddy.com/pircontest. The contest ends Sept. 24.

COMMERCIAL CONTEST: GoDaddy.com recently launched its second commercial contest this year. The prizes are bigger this time around with $250,000 going to the winning commercial. Thirty-second original commercials featuring the Go Daddy end tag can be submitted online at www.GoDaddy.com. The contest ends Sept. 30.

SIGN UP AND WIN: Delphi, a primary sponsor of the No. 5 team for two races this season, launched its 2010 “Destination: Victory Lane” promotion this season. Destination: Victory Lane is for professional automotive technicians only and will award grand prizes, weekly and instant prizes to those who are registered at www.delphi.com/victorylane. Information from the Hendrick Motorsports drivers and Gustafson also is featured on the site.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE REMAINING 10 WEEKS.): “We, as a team, have got to figure out how to make our GoDaddy.com Chevrolet faster. That’s what we’re focused on. Being 13th in points doesn’t matter. Winning would be great. Contending for wins is what we’re fighting for. We made some big changes during the Richmond (Va.) race that had us headed in the right direction. It’s going to take risks like that and experimenting to get there. We all have to give 100 percent, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

MARTIN (ON HIS WIN LAST YEAR AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY.): “I had never won at New Hampshire before, and I just kept thinking that this was going to be one of those tracks for me. We would get so close and just not seal the deal. But Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) made great pit calls that race and put us in a position to win. We had a lot of cautions there at the end, and I thought ‘Oh no. Just don’t mess up. Don’t lose this one.’ It was an emotional win for us because of it being the first race of the Chase, too. We were contenders, and that win proved it.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR’S WIN AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY.): “Mark did a phenomenal job at the end of that race. We can only do so much from the pit box with engineering, pit stops, setups. When he’s out on the track in those final 10 or 20 laps, that’s all him. He had an awesome restart and pulled away for the win. Mark got everything he possibly could out of that race car. It was an incredible day for all of us because everything just fit together perfectly. Those are the kind of race days you hope for all the time.”

GUSTAFSON (ON TURNING THE SEASON AROUND FOR THE GODADDY.COM TEAM.): “We have a lot of work to do. These next 10 weeks, whether we had made the Chase or not, were going to be all-out, try-everything weeks. That’s what you’re going to see out of this race team now. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We’re going to find what it is that’s holding us back and we’re going to fix it. I’m confident in every member of this race team. Every one is giving everything they have to this team right now. Probably more so than they were at this point last year. There’s no way or reason to sugar coat it. We have a problem, and we’re going to keep working until it’s fixed.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

Mark Martin - Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

POINTS:

BRISTOL WINNER: Martin is a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. In August 1993, Martin started from the pole position and led 67 laps en route to his first victory at the short track. Five years later, he led 190 laps before scoring his second win at Bristol on Aug. 22, 1998.

POLE SITTER: Martin, driver of the No. 5 CARQUEST Auto Parts/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, has earned nine pole positions at the Tennessee short track, which is more than any other active driver and ties legendary Cale Yarborough for first all-time. From Martin’s first Bristol pole in April 1989 to his most recent — last August — the overall pole speed has increased by more than four mph. Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list.

MARTIN AT BRISTOL: In 43 Cup starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Martin has posted two wins, 16 top-five finishes and 23 top-10s. Martin has led 1,199 laps at Bristol, which ranks second for the NASCAR veteran only to the 1,720 laps he’s led at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

EARLIER THIS YEAR: Martin started from the 13th position at Bristol in March. Martin drove into the top-10 and was making the pass for fifth place when he was pushed into the outside retaining wall by another competitor. The Chevrolet suffered extensive damage and was forced to retreat to the garage for several laps. The team was scored with a 35th- place finish.

LAST YEAR AT BRISTOL: Martin earned the pole position for both Sprint Cup races at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2009. He finished sixth in the spring race. In his August outing, which also happened to be his 1,000th career NASCAR start, Martin led 240 laps and finished second.

HISTORICAL WIN: Crew chief Alan Gustafson led the No. 5 GoDaddy.com team to victory at Bristol on March 25, 2007. The win marked the first victory for NASCAR’s new car and was the 600th victory for Chevrolet and the 200th NASCAR win for Hendrick Motorsports. Since 2005, the No. 5 team has earned three top-five finishes and five top-10s at the short track.

CHASSIS CHOICE: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-600 for Saturday night’s race at Bristol. This is the same chassis Martin raced to a fourth-place finish in the 600-mile race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May. He also drove this car to a 15th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway last month.

HENDRICK AT BRISTOL: Hendrick Motorsports has nine wins, 41 top-five finishes, 75 top-10s and 10 pole positions in 53 events (163 starts) at Bristol. Jimmie Johnson earned his first win at the short track in March after leading 84 laps.

GO DADDY GETAWAY: GoDaddy.com is giving away a two-day fantasy trip to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. The trip for two includes a personal introduction with Martin and GoDaddy.com NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Danica Patrick. Fans can register online at www.GoDaddy.com/pircontest. The contest ends Sept. 24.

COMMERCIAL CONTEST: GoDaddy.com recently launched its second commercial contest this year. The prizes are bigger this time around with $250,000 going to the winning commercial. Thirty-second original commercials featuring the Go Daddy end tag can be submitted online at www.GoDaddy.com. The contest ends Sept. 30.

HELMET WINNER: Congratulations to Virginia native Tyler Barber who won a replica Mark Martin No.5 Hendrickcars.com helmet. Barber was one of more than 6,000 race fans who entered for a chance to win the helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 CARQUEST AUTO PARTS/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE TEAM’S CHANCES TO GAIN POINTS AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY.): “Bristol is a tough one because you can’t count on anything, and you can’t count anything out. This team witnessed that first-hand when we were there in March. We had an awesome race car, possibly the best one we’ve had all season. We had a chance to win that race and lost it all when we were pushed into the wall by another car. And last year, we led a lot of laps and came up just one position short in the fall race there. All we can do is run the best race we can. It’s a great race and we all look forward to it. I think we’ll be really good, you just can’t count out something crazy happening at Bristol.”

MARTIN (ON THE TEAM’S PROGRESS.): “It obviously didn’t show, but we did have a good car at Michigan. I got a little too aggressive early in the race and that didn’t help us at all. The guys did what they could and brought home the best finish we could. We’ve been testing a lot and actually will continue to do so. One thing about this No. 5 team, no one gives up. Ever. It’s impressive. Just like on Sunday, these guys had so much fight in them. It wasn’t the day anyone wanted, but no one complained or gave up on anyone else. That’s what makes teams survive tough times and get better from them. This points race is going to be a battle that’s for sure. We’re doing all we can do. We’re working hard as a team to get back on the level we were on last year.”

MARTIN (ON POINTS RACING.): “It’s just what you do. It’s what I did on dirt tracks the first year I drove. The race itself is fun and a challenge, and it’s what I enjoy the most. Points are affected by things you can’t control. But the race can be fun and you can have some control over that. The individual races are important to me. Each one of them is another opportunity and a great day in my life. Points racing is something we have to do, but I don’t necessarily like it.”

MARTIN (ON HIS POLES AT BRISTOL.): “I guess I really didn’t realize that I had that many. (LAUGHS.) I remember getting both of them last season and how crazy those laps were. I thought, ‘I don’t know how much more of that my heart can take!’ It’s just one of those tracks that we were able to get everything out of the race car. We haven’t gotten the amount of poles we would have liked to this year, so I don’t know how our lap will be Friday. I hope I have another one of those crazy good ones.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

GOING FOR FOUR: Martin is a three-time winner at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, having reached Victory Lane from the pole position in 1993, 1994 and 1995. He led the most laps in each race and combined to run 183 laps during those three victories.

MARTIN AT THE GLEN: In 20 Sprint Cup Series starts at the upstate New York road course, Martin has earned three victories, three pole positions, 12 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s. He has led 204 laps and has completed all but four of the 1,763 laps he’s attempted. He holds an average start of 9.1 and average finish of 7.8 there — his best average finish at any track on the Sprint Cup circuit.

TRACK BESTS: Martin’s 12 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s rank as the most all-time for any Cup driver at the 2.45-mile road course. Ricky Rudd has the second-most top-five finishes with eight, while Rudd and Rusty Wallace are tied with the second-most top-10s at 10 apiece. Martin’s three pole positions tie him with the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. for most all-time at the racetrack.

TOTAL ROAD COURSE EXPERIENCE: In his 28-year Sprint Cup career, Martin has competed in a total of 44 road course events — 20 at Infineon Raceway, 20 at Watkins Glen and four at now-defunct Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. In those 44 starts, he has earned four victories, scoring each one from the pole position. He also has recorded a combined 20 top-five finishes and 32 top-10s. He has led 365 laps combined at the three tracks.

THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the GoDaddy.com team has earned two top-10 finishes in five Cup events at Watkins Glen. The team earned its best finish — seventh — at the road course with Gustafson in 2007.

POLE SITTER: Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin has earned three poles at Watkins Glen – 1993, 1994, 1995 — all of them resulting in victory.

CHASSIS CHOICE: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-608 for Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a 14th-place finish at Infineon Raceway in June.

HENDRICK AT WATKINS GLEN: In 24 races (80 starts) at Watkins Glen, Hendrick Motorsports has tallied six wins, 17 top-five finishes, 30 top-10s and led 443 laps. Last year, Jimmie Johnson earned his first pole position at the 2.45-mile road course

BIRTHDAY: Gustafson will celebrate his 35th birthday on Thursday. Gustafson, a native of Ormond Beach, Fla., joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1999, working in the team’s chassis shop. He started working with the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team as its shock specialist the following year. In 2002, he was named the team’s lead engineer, and three years later was named crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet.

GO DADDY GETAWAY: GoDaddy.com is giving away a two-day fantasy trip to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. The trip for two includes a personal introduction with Martin and GoDaddy.com NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Danica Patrick. Fans can register online at www.godaddy.com/pircontest. The contest ends Sept. 24.

COMMERCIAL CONTEST: GoDaddy.com recently launched its second commercial contest this year. The prizes are bigger this time around with $250,000 going to the winning commercial. Thirty-second original commercials featuring the Go Daddy end tag can be submitted online at www.GoDaddy.com. The contest ends Sept. 30.

HELMET GIVEAWAY: Hendrickcars.com is giving away a No. 5 Hendrickcars.com replica helmet signed by Mark Martin. Race fans can register to win the helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com. The contest officially ends on Wednesday.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL.): “This is the superspeedway of road courses. I love this place. I’ve always seemed to run a little better at Watkins Glen than I have at Sonoma. I typically run better on intermediate racetracks, and that’s how Watkins Glen feels. Sonoma is more like a tight short track. It’s a hard-braking track. Watkins Glen is more open and has more speed. I’m looking forward to getting back there.”

MARTIN (ON THE TEAM’S LAST RACE AT WATKINS GLEN.): “Last year was a struggle for us. I think if we had to pick the race that frustrated us all the most in the 2009 season, Watkins Glen was it. Because of that, this GoDaddy.com team has really worked hard on its road course program. We’ve tested a lot. They’ve put a lot of concentration on how to make our performance better. I’m really confident in this race team and the effort they’ve put into this. I think our performance will be way better than what we experienced last year.”

MARTIN (ON THE TEAM’S CHANCE TO MAKE THE CHASE.): “I know this is going to be hard. I know we have our work cut out for us. But I 100 percent believe we can make the Chase. The improvements this team has made over the past month or so are incredible. We’ve had a competitive car in the past two races and that was something we were shooting for. If we can keep finishing inside the top 10, we’re going to tick those points off. It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE TEAM’S ROAD COURSE PROGRAM EFFORTS.): “Last year was disappointing for us as far as road courses were concerned. Out of all of the races, Sonoma and Watkins Glen surprised us the most. We just weren’t any good. We spent the off season and a lot of this season concentrating on how to change that. We need better road course cars, and we need to be more prepared if we want to succeed on road courses. I think we’ve improved. From our performance in Sonoma earlier this year, I’d say we improved over 2009. It wasn’t a great finish, but it wasn’t the struggle we had last year. Our efforts are going to help our performance,  We’ll just have to wait until Sunday to see how much.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

PREVIOUS BRICKYARD:

RUNNER-UP FINISHES: Martin has narrowly missed winning the famed Brickyard 400 twice. In both of those second-place finishes at Indianapolis, Martin followed a Hendrick Motorsports driver across the line. In 2009, he took runner-up honors behind Johnson. In 1998, Martin scored second behind Jeff Gordon. In both of those years, Martin also finished second to those respective drivers in the championship standings.

ONE OF FOUR: Martin is one of just four drivers who have competed in all 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Martin leads the other three — Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton — with a 13.4 average finish at the 2.5-mile track.

BRICKYARD STATISTICS: In his 16 races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Martin has posted six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. He has led 57 laps and has finished all but one of those events at the historic racetrack.

POLE MAN: Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole will be the 50th of his career and will rank him eighth on the all-time pole sitter’s list. He earned his first pole position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year.

LOOP STATISTICS: Martin leads all Sprint Cup drivers with a 6.2 average finish in the last five races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He ranks second in average running position (9.174) and second in laps run inside the top-15 (656 of 800). He has the third-best driver rating with a score of 104.8 in those same five races.

NO. 5 AT INDY: Under the leadership of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 GoDaddy.com team has earned two top-five finishes and four top-10s in five starts at Indy. The team scored its best-ever finish of second in last year’s Brickyard 400.

POINTS: Although Martin dropped to 14th in the Sprint Cup standings following his 15th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago, he gained two points on the Chase cutoff and now trails 12th-place Clint Bowyer by 37 points.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TEAM: It was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Martin first sat in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet. In October 2008, Martin and the No. 5 Sprint Cup team participated in a Goodyear tire test at the track.

CHASSIS CHOICE: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-550 for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a second-place finish in last year’s Brickyard 400.

HENDRICK AT INDY: In 16 races (57 entries) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has tallied seven wins, 17 top-five finishes, 26 top-10s and 661 laps led. Most recently, Johnson went to Victory Lane in the July 2009 event, repeating as the race winner.

BRICKYARD WINS: In Sprint Cup competition, Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins (seven) and has led the most laps (661) at Indianapolis. Gordon, the winningest NASCAR driver at IMS with four Sprint Cup victories, scored the inaugural Brickyard 400 win in 1994.

CHEVY STREAK: Chevrolet has won 11 of the 16 Sprint Cup events held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including the more recent seven. In addition, a Chevy has started from the Brickyard 400 pole position seven times.

HELMET GIVEAWAY: Hendrickcars.com is giving away a No. 5 Hendrickcars.com replica helmet signed by Martin. Race fans can register to win the helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com through Aug. 4. The Hendrickcars.com paint scheme next will be featured at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 1.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON NARROWLY MISSING WINNING AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAST YEAR.): “I don’t usually say that I want to win one race over another, but Indy is different. Well, Indy and the Daytona 500. Of course, those two stand apart from the rest. I was just so grateful, last year, to have a chance at the win. To be up there, racing with ‘Superman’ (teammate Jimmie Johnson) and having a shot at winning the thing. I gave it everything I had, and honestly those last three laps or so, I’m surprised I didn’t wreck. I was definitely putting it over the edge. There’s nothing more I could have done. It’s hard to be that close and not win, but you also have to be happy that you were there fighting for it.”

MARTIN (ON RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.): “When NASCAR first started coming to Indy, I thought it was a mistake. I knew what it would mean to the sport to have a race there, but I just didn’t think it would happen. I didn’t think this type of car, a stock car, would be good on that kind of track. I can honestly say now that I was wrong. I love going back to Indy to race. It’s been a tremendous addition to the NASCAR schedule, and I think it’s great for all of the stock car fans that NASCAR races on that track.”

MARTIN (ON HIS EUROPEAN VACATION DURING THE SPRINT CUP OFF WEEKEND.): “I had a great time over there with (son) Matt and (wife) Arlene. The most amazing thing to me was the architecture and history of the area. There are buildings over there still standing from the 13th century. That is incredible. The human race is so incredibly smart. I’m not sure anything we’re building today will still be around in 700 or 800 years. The biggest highlight of the trip was our visit to Stonehenge. It’s incredible to look at something and know that it has been standing there for 4,000 years. The entire trip was awesome and something I’ll never forget.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON FINISHING SECOND IN LAST YEAR’S RACE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.): “We had a great weekend last year at Indy. We won the pole, which was really, really cool, then had a solid second-place car throughout most of the race on Sunday. Juan Pablo Montoya had the best car, hands down. But he made a mistake and got a speeding penalty, which put us in the lead. At that time, we had a sizeable lead on second place with not many laps left. Then, unfortunately, the (No.) 88 blew up. That’s what changed the race for us. Jimmie (Johnson) got us on the restart. I think our car was better than the (No.) 48. Mark chased him down, we just couldn’t get past him. It’s so hard to pass at Indy, and that really bit us. It was a bittersweet day. It’s great to know that you’re that good, but hard to finish second at Indy.”

GUSTAFSON (ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.): “Indianapolis is all about tradition. You can’t walk into that place and not think about the motor sports history that started there. Growing up, the Indy 500 was a big deal to me. And when NASCAR tested there in the ’90s, I remember thinking that that was huge. To have a stock car on the Brickyard. Incredible. Winning at Indy would be incredible. We almost had it last year, and the idea of kissing the bricks, it really does give me chills. That would be an incredibly special moment in my career.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

DEFENDING WINNER:

LOOP STATISTICS: Martin earned a 145.6 driver rating out of a possible 150 in the 2009 Sprint Cup event at Chicagoland. He held an average running position of second place, turned 63 of the event’s fastest laps and led 73 percent of the 267-lap event.

CHICAGOLAND HISTORY: In nine Sprint Cup Series starts at Chicagoland, Martin has scored one win, one top-five finish and four top-10s. He has led 239 laps and never failed to complete an event at the intermediate track, finishing on the lead lap in seven of his nine starts.

LAP LEADER: During the most recent five Chicagoland races, Martin led 196 laps, which ranks him second among his competitors in that time frame. He led 195 of those last year and led once in 2006.

POLE MAN: Martin’s next Sprint Cup pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin never has started first at Chicagoland, making it one of six tracks where he has yet to earn the pole position.

NO. 5 AT CHICAGOLAND: Under the leadership of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 GoDaddy.com team has made five starts at Chicagoland Speedway. The team earned its first win at the track last July and finished third in the 2006 event.

POINTS: With eight races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Martin ranks 13th in the standings, just 39 points behind 12th-place Carl Edwards. Martin has scored five top-five finishes and six top-10s during the first half of the season.

CHASSIS CHOICE: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-600 for Saturday evening’s race at Chicagoland Speedway. This is the same chassis Martin drove to a fourth-place finish in the May 30 race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

HENDRICK AT CHICAGO: In nine Sprint Cup races (38 entries) at Chicagoland Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has recorded two wins, three pole positions, 14 top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and 553 laps led. Nine of those 14 top-five results were third place or better, including a one-two finish last season with Martin and teammate Jeff Gordon.

HELMET GIVEAWAY: Hendrickcars.com is giving away a No. 5 Hendrickcars.com replica helmet signed by Martin. Race fans can register to win the helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com through Aug. 4. Martin has sported the Hendrickcars.com scheme four times this season: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and most recently at Pocono Raceway.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR’S WIN AT CHICAGOLAND.): “The restarts at the end of that race were intense. I just knew, from earlier restarts, that the guy on the outside had the upper hand. I didn’t want to be out there, but I had to. Jeff (Gordon) was down on my inside with new tires, and I thought, ‘This may not work, but I’d rather him be more vulnerable than me.’ Once those guys got together and we took the lead, I knew I wasn’t going to let anyone catch us. It was an incredible win. An incredible weekend. We were so good all weekend that we could have completely skipped the final practice. And, if you remember, we got the win on Rick’s (Hendrick, team owner) birthday. One of those absolutely perfect nights.”

MARTIN (ON THE GODADDY.COM TEAM HALFWAY THROUGH THE 2010 SEASON.): “Well, obviously we haven’t won the races we won by this point last year, but I do think this race team is better than it was a year ago. We’ve struggled a little with the switch to the spoiler and that’s cost us, but we’re learning. And we’re getting stronger. Our communication level is much higher than it was in our first year together. And the fight I see in these guys is incredible. No one gives up. Ever. No matter where we finish, I’m always proud of the guys on this GoDaddy.com team.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR’S WIN AT CHICAGOLAND.): “We had a nearly perfect Chevrolet for the last 200 laps of that race. When Jimmie (Johnson) got by us on the one restart, we saw why he’s as good as he is. He knew our weakness — that we were too loose at the start of runs — and exploited that to take the lead. The race from that point really went by in a blur until about three laps to go. We had a great car, but we also had an extremely intelligent and patient driver behind the wheel. When everyone else was racing real hard there at the end, he could’ve gotten right in the middle of that. It’s almost like he can see ahead of the action and know how it’s going to turn out. He just backed off the gas then drove right by them. It was a great win. The best kind of win. To go out and dominate all night, that’s how I wish every race was for us. It would be boring for the fans, but perfect for us.”

GUSTAFSON (ON THE KEY TO DOMINATING A RACE.): “Everything has to be right — from pit stops to the car to pit stalls to the way you call the race to the way the driver drives the race; you just have to do everything right. When you get in that situation, though, the kind of ironic thing is it was probably easier than running 10th. When things are lined up right for you, you can knock them down pretty easily. As you’re doing it, it’s like, ‘Man, this is the way it should be.’ I won’t say it’s easy because that’s not accurate, but it feels that way.”

GUSTAFSON (ON THE SETUP THE NO. 5 TEAM WILL TAKE TO CHICAGO.): “There’s been quite a few changes, but we’re going to start where we raced last year just to try to quantify the wing to the spoiler. There’s also a tire change, and obviously the track has aged. But that’s where we’re going to start, and I’m sure we’ll have to deviate from it. The world keeps turning and things change, but we’re going to start there to give us a solid footing. The nice thing about having such a good car at Chicagoland is now we can go back there with the same stuff and not question if it was good. We know it’s good. Now we can just focus on what’s changed. That’s going to help us out.”

GUSTAFSON (ON HIS TEAM AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE SEASON.): “I think the team’s done well. The work ethic has been great, and the energy and execution have been good. We’ve just struggled for performance. We haven’t had the speed in the car. I don’t know that I would put that on the team guys. That’s more my responsibility and Mark’s responsibility. For whatever reason, we’ve struggled there some. That’s something we’ve got to work out. I’m pleased with the team. I’m not pleased with the performance, but I don’t know that you ever are. So we’ve just got to push forward. That’s the biggest thing. You can’t look back. I don’t know that I could put a grade on it, but I think that the team has done a really good job. We’ve just got to find a little more speed in the car.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

DEFENDING RACE WINNER:

AT MICHIGAN: Along with Martin’s five wins, he has earned 17 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s in 48 Sprint Cup starts at Michigan. Martin has finished on the lead lap 33 times there, which ranks second only to his 38 lead-lap finishes at Pocono Raceway.

FUEL GAME: Martin’s fuel mileage was enough to outlast the competition in the June 2009 race at Michigan, but the gamble didn’t pay off in August. After leading 26 laps, Martin ran out of fuel on the final lap and coasted across the finish line in 31st place.

POLE MAN: Martin’s next Sprint Cup pole will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin never has earned the pole position at Michigan International Speedway, but did start from the first spot in 1990 when qualifying was rained out.

THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 GoDaddy.com team has competed in eight races at Michigan International Speedway, earning a win there last June. Including the victory, the team has earned one top-five finish and three top-10s at the track with Gustafson at the helm.

HENDRICK AT MICHIGAN: In 52 events (162 starts) at Michigan, Hendrick Motorsports has scored five wins, 37 top-five finishes, 68 top-10s and has led 1,876 laps. During both 2009 events, two Hendrick drivers earned finishes of third or better. Martin and Jeff Gordon finished one-two in the June event, while Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. locked up second and third, respectively, in the August race.

POINTS: Martin and the No. 5 GoDaddy.com team rank 11th in the Sprint Cup standings after being involved in a last-lap, multi-car accident at Pocono Raceway last Sunday. The team is 16 points behind 10th and 25 points ahead of 12th.

POCONO CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-523  for Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. This is the same chassis Martin drove to the win last June at Michigan. The No. 5 GoDaddy.com team has used this chassis twice this season, notably finishing fourth at Auto Club Speedway in February.

HELMET GIVEAWAY: Hendrickcars.com is giving away a signed No. 5 Hendrickcars.com replica helmet. Race fans can register to win the helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com through Aug. 4. Martin has sported the Hendrickcars.com scheme four times this season — Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and most recently at Pocono Raceway.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON HIS 2009 WIN AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.): “First, let me say we didn’t win that race just on fuel mileage. Our car was amazing that day. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys gave me a really fast race car. And the fuel-mileage game, I never win that. I always come up short. So winning like that, that was a surprise and it was so much fun. Three laps into the final run, I started saving fuel. We needed the points bad last year so we couldn’t risk it. I saw the (No.) 48 run out. And I knew the (No.) 16 was close, too. I just held back. When I took the white flag and still had fuel pressure, I just went for it. I saw the (No.) 16 run out on the backstretch, then we ran out, too. Between that and having a battery going dead the whole race, it was so much to overcome. Winning that race was such a surprise, and surprise wins are so much fun.”

MARTIN (ON THE ATTITUDE OF THIS RACE TEAM.): “The guys on this GoDaddy.com team, they don’t give up. It starts at the top with Rick (Hendrick) and Alan (Gustafson). Those guys are born leaders, and they inspire everyone that works with them. We’ve had some races this year that have been frustrating, and it would have been easy to throw your hands up and say, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ But no one did that. And we fought back in a lot of those to get top-five and top-10 finishes. Our performances may not be as good as last year right now, but this team is better than it was a year ago. We work together better and the effort is even stronger than before.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR’S WIN AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.): “We were on the edge of making it on gas, so I remember hounding Mark (Martin) to save gas, but run the best laps he could while saving. I’m privileged to the No. 48 team’s information, so I kind of knew Jimmie (Johnson) was in worse shape than we were fuel-wise. So he ran out, which wasn’t a terrible surprise to us. Then it was just the No. 16 (Greg Biffle) and us. I didn’t know what their situation was, but I knew they had to be close. I didn’t know he ran out until we were coming off of Turn 4, because there was so much commotion. Mark was talking on the radio and our spotter was talking. I couldn’t follow everything that was happening! By the time we saw Mark out of Turn 4, he ran out and just coasted across the line. It was definitely a surprise, because we didn’t know Biffle ran out. That was a lot of fun.”

GUSTAFSON (ON WINNING ON FUEL STRATEGY.): “We had a really fast car — that was one thing that I think was lost in our win. We qualified really bad — 32nd — and we drove all the way through the field. There were a lot of green runs, not many cautions at all. So we drove all the way to the front under green. We didn’t get a chance to show how good our car was. People who weren’t watching us very closely think we won the race on fuel mileage. But I think we could have also won the race by pure performance of the car. The car was really, really fast. And going back there in August and racing how we did again proved that the car was really, really fast.”

GUSTAFSON (ON MICHIGAN’S TENDENCY TO COME DOWN TO FUEL MILEAGE.): “From my experience, it’s just because there’s not a lot of cautions. I don’t know that it’s necessarily a configuration thing or the track is ‘this big’ and your fuel window is ‘this many laps.’ I think it’s because there’s not a lot of cautions. So you don’t get a lot of opportunities to get gas. Then it comes down to who can stretch it, and Michigan is a place where you can really do that. You can back off and not lose a ton of spots and not get lapped. There’s a lot of ways you can work fuel mileage there. I think it’s the amount of green-flag laps that make it a fuel-mileage race.”

GUSTAFSON (ON IF DOMINATING RACES IS BETTER THAN WINNING ON THE FINAL LAP.): “I would rather dominate the whole race, definitely. To have that unknown or to have something drastically change quickly, there’s a huge level of excitement. You can’t anticipate that you have that emotion, so those last-lap wins are exciting, but thrilling to me is dominating the whole thing. Either way, I would take the win.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

HELMET GIVEAWAY: Hendrickcars.com will launch a Mark Martin No. 5 Hendrickcars.com replica helmet sweepstakes this Friday, June 4. Race fans can register to win the signed helmet at www.Hendrickcars.com.

EVERYTHING BUT A WIN: In 46 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Martin has scored 19 top-five finishes, 32 top-10s and three pole positions. Pocono, where Martin has an average start of 8.7 and average finish of 10.8, is one of only four active tracks where he has yet to visit Victory Lane. He also has yet to take the checkered flag at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Martin’s average start at Pocono is a personal best for him at an active track.

SO CLOSE: Martin has finished in the runner-up position at Pocono six times — a stat that ties his six second-place finishes at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Martin has visited Victory Lane at Darlington and Dover.

MORE POCONO BESTS: Martin’s 32 top-10s and 38 lead-lap finishes at Pocono are personal bests for the NASCAR veteran at any racetrack. Meanwhile, Martin’s 19 top-five finishes rank second for him, just behind the 22 he has recorded at Dover.

MOST RECENTLY AT POCONO: Martin led 11 laps in two Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono last year. He finished 19th in the June event, but improved upon that with a seventh-place finish in August.

LOOP STATISTICS: In the last 10 Pocono races, Martin has spent 1,541 laps inside the top 15 which leads all drivers during that timeframe. His 10.7 average running position in the last 10 Sprint Cup races at Pocono is the third-best of any driver, while his 10.6 average finish is fourth-best.

POLE SITTER: Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. He has earned three pole positions at Pocono.

THE NO. 5 TEAM: Under the direction of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 team has competed in 10 events at Pocono, earning one top-five finish and three top-10s. In their first race together at the triangular track in 2005, Gustafson and the No. 5 team rebounded from a 38th-place starting spot to finish fourth — the team’s best Pocono finish to date with Gustafson.

GUSTAFSON TOPS: Gustafson was named the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race for his team’s fourth-place performance at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Sunday. The crew chief of the race is chosen by crew chiefs Todd Berrier and Frank Kerr along with television commentator and former crew chief Jeff Hammond.

HENDRICK AT POCONO: In 52 Cup events (165 starts) at Pocono Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has scored 11 wins, 11 pole positions, 48 top-five finishes and 84 top-10s. Driver Jeff Gordon has visited Victory Lane the most for Hendrick, with four trips. The organization’s most recent Pocono win came with Gordon in June 2007.

POINTS: With a fourth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Sunday, Martin and the No. 5 team advanced one position to 10th in the Sprint Cup championship standings. Martin is just 13 points behind ninth place and 97 out of fifth.

POCONO CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Chassis No. 5-582 for Sunday’s race at Pocono. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to a 16th-place finish at Darlington Raceway last month.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON POCONO RACEWAY.): “Pocono is one of my top-five favorite racetracks. It’s great to race on. And of course it’s really, really different than any other track we go to. Pocono has its three distinctly different corners, a good amount of banking and long straightaways. In order to do well there, you have to have big horsepower under the hood. Your car has to handle well through all three turns, if you can get it that good. It’s a big challenge. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one corner in order to get the other two better. It’s a tough place to conquer.”

MARTIN (ON NOT WINNING AT POCONO.): “I’ve had the fastest car there about five times. I just couldn’t get to the start-finish line first! (LAUGHS.) Track position plays a huge role, of course. Then you add in fuel mileage, pit stops, the timing of cautions. So many elements have to go right to win a race. I just haven’t been able to put the whole package together there. It’s about putting your best foot forward and making your best effort. There’s no doubt that this team will do that this weekend.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE DIFFICULTIES OF POCONO.): “Recently, the corners at Pocono have changed even more. Turn 1 is very rough. Turn 2, they’ve added that big curb to it, which plays into it some. Then Turn 3, they paved the patch there, so that’s smoother and has more grip than the other two. So, it’s more than the shape of the track that makes it difficult. For a crew chief, you can’t see much either, the cars are so far away. It’s very difficult to read the car. Sometimes you can see things visually with the car, but you can’t there. It’s a tough track, but I like the challenge about it. It’s one of those places, too, that if you’re not good, you can change everything and you’re not going to gain much. If you’re off, it’s hard to get it right.”

GUSTAFSON (ON PIT STRATEGY AT POCONO.): “The lap times at Pocono are so long that you can look at strategy a little different than anywhere else. You race Pocono like a road course, that’s a common saying pit strategy-wise. The thing that makes it that way is that the lap times are so long. Pitting under green isn’t that big of an issue because you don’t get lapped. You can pit early or off sequence, have a clean track that makes you run faster and when the sequence cycles around, you’ve actually made up time. I actually think Pocono is a little easier on track strategy than other tracks, because the negative side isn’t as bad. If you make a bad call or take a gamble, either way, if you stay on the lead lap, the repercussions aren’t a big deal. You have more cushion. Pit strategy can have a big impact on the race at Pocono. It’s a little easier to find a sweet spot or an advantage in pit strategy there. With that in mind, this is also a big fuel-mileage track. You can short pit and gain time on the track if your fuel mileage is good enough. Fuel mileage will always play into the pit strategy.”

GUSTAFSON (ON WHICH TURN IS THE HARDEST.): “Turn 1 is the toughest. It’s the most loaded corner. It’s the toughest on these bump-stop, short-travel cars. With the old cars, before the patch, Turn 3 was the most difficult. It was rough and flat. Now with the paved patch, it’s made that corner easier, especially the exit. Turn 1, with the load we get down there and the amount of brake there, it’s tough. It’s possible to have all three turns good at the same time. It’s more difficult to line the corners up here, but you can get them all pretty good. The guy who wins the race is going to have all three corners really good.”

GUSTAFSON (ON THE TIMING OF THE POCONO RACES.): “We don’t race at Pocono for so long. The two races are so close together that it’s almost like we race there once. We come to Pocono, and it’s been almost a year, and so much changes in a year. There’s no other track that we can use as a reference for Pocono. You are kind of going off of instinct instead of past experience. So much has evolved since the last time we raced there, you have to just put all that together and take your best guess at what works. There’s no good reference point. All of that makes practice very important and practice at Pocono is really difficult. The lap times are so long, and getting in and out of the garage is lengthy there, too. Getting up to speed takes a long time. Very few teams make long runs there, if you make a 15-lap run, you’re looking at 20 minutes with getting in and out of the garage. So that’s a huge time out of your practice session.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

MARTIN AT DARLINGTON: Along with his two career victories, Martin has earned 17 top-five finishes and 26 top-10s in 43 Sprint Cup starts at Darlington. He has led 801 laps and finished all but three Cup events there during his career.

POLE SITTER: Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. He has earned two career poles at Darlington — the first on April 2, 1989, and the most recent on March 22, 1998.

POINT STANDINGS: Martin and the GoDaddy.com team currently rank 10th in the Sprint Cup championship standings, five points behind ninth place and 220 markers behind the points leader.

LOOP STATS: Martin scored the third-best driver rating in the 2009 Southern 500 at Darlington, with a score of 116.3. He spent 360 laps — 98.1 percent — inside the top 15, which ranks as the second-most among all drivers.

THE NO. 5 AT DARLINGTON: Under the leadership of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 GoDaddy.com team has earned one win and two top-10 finishes in five starts at Darlington.

GUSTAFSON EXTENDS CONTRACT: It was confirmed last week that Gustafson signed a multi-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports. Gustafson, 34, is in his sixth season as crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet and has nine wins, 49 top-five finishes, 83 top-10s and 10 pole positions heading into Saturday’s race at Darlington. For a full transcript from Gustafson’s media availability, please visit http://media.teamhendrick.com.

MEMORABLE WIN: Along with his Darlington victory last season, Gustafson counts the 2003 Southern 500 win he earned with Terry Labonte as one of his most memorable. Labonte led 33 laps en route to Victory Lane in the last Labor Day weekend Southern 500 held at the track. Gustafson was the No. 5 Chevy’s lead engineer at the time, and six of his current crew members were a part of that winning team.

FIRST COLLABORATION: On May 11, 2007, Martin and Gustafson joined forces for the first time, competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington. The duo scored a runner-up finish, and unknowingly laid the groundwork for Martin to become a Hendrick Motorsports driver in the Sprint Cup Series. Gustafson and Martin competed in one more Nationwide race that season, earning a 14th-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August 2007.

DARLINGTON CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Chassis No. 5-582 for Saturday night’s race at Darlington. This is a brand new chassis that never has been raced, but was tested at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in March.

HENDRICK AT DARLINGTON: Hendrick Motorsports has 13 wins, seven pole positions, 38 top-five finishes, 62 top-10s and 2,835 laps led in 47 races (142 starts) at Darlington. The organization’s 13 victories have come courtesy of six different drivers: Jeff Gordon (7), Jimmie Johnson (2), Terry Labonte, Martin, Tim Richmond and Ricky Rudd.

GODADDY.COM FAVORITES: Visitors to www.GoDaddy.com/Contest can help determine the winners of Go Daddy’s recent commercial contest by voting for their favorite and sharing it with friends. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. also will be picking their favorites on the site.

SIGN UP AND WIN: Delphi, a primary sponsor of the No. 5 team for two races this season, launched its 2010 “Destination: Victory Lane” promotion. Destination: Victory Lane is for professional automotive technicians only and will award grand prizes, weekly and instant prizes to those who are registered at www.delphi.com/victorylane. Information from the Hendrick Motorsports drivers and No. 5 team crew chief Alan Gustafson also is featured on the site.

*****

CHAT WITH GUSTAFSON: Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, will participate in a live online chat session Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET. The chat will take place at www.ampupthe88.com.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR’S SOUTHERN 500 WIN.): “Last year’s win, well, it came pretty quickly after our first win, so it was exciting for us. It was a momentum boost. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) made a gutsy call and really locked the win in for us. The Southern 500 is a pretty big deal, and it had been so long since I won the first one that it was like I hadn’t ever won it at all. So to get that win, and to do it with these guys on the (No.) 5 team, that was really special to me.”

MARTIN (ON HOW DARLINGTON RACEWAY HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS.): “Darlington was repaved many years ago and the first couple of years it was similar to how it is now. The difference with paving now, compared to then, is that the result will hang on and last a little longer. Eventually, though, it will get back to the way it was before with tires playing such a key role. Darlington is tough because I like sliding my race car around the track, and you just can’t do that there. If you slip, you’re going to be in the wall. So, last year, Alan was just brilliant. He set me up where I could race how I wanted to in one end and defend my position in the other. It was a perfect strategy, and that’s the stuff you have to figure out for Darlington.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON LAST YEAR’S SOUTHERN 500 WIN.): “That’s definitely the toughest race I’ve ever won; one of the toughest races I can remember ever running. We weren’t very good on Friday during practice. Mark went out there and got us a good qualifying lap, salvaged a starting spot for us. But we knew we had a lot of work to do on the car. We made a lot of adjustments race morning. Probably four or five times more than we would normally make. It was a total team effort. I was physically and mentally exhausted after that race, as I’m sure all the guys on the team were. It was a race that took us all weekend to win. Mark never gave up on the track and kept fighting all night. It was really just an incredible night for us.”

GUSTAFSON (ON THE KEYS TO WINNING AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY.): “Darlington used to be all about how your car handled in the long run because of the way the tires would fall off. Now, it’s more like a typical racetrack. It’s still about the handling of the car, but the tire wear really doesn’t play a role like it used to at all. Darlington’s a demanding racetrack, though. The driver is always on the edge. If you go about one inch past where you’re supposed to be, you’ll end up in the wall. It’s a crazy race. Lots of action, and so much can happen through the course of it. You have to stay on your toes all night.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Richmond International Raceway and discussed his signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports:

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LAUGH? “(LAUGHS) Win a lot of races and live until I am 130, that is my goal.”

WHAT IS THE LENGTH OF TERM OF YOUR CONTRACT? “Four years.”

IS IT YOU UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS WITH THE NO. 5 CAR? “What it is for is for is it for Hendrick Motorsports. I am going to work at Hendrick Motorsports. As far I am concerned, I am going to retire there so that is what I am going to. Whatever it takes for us to be successful, that is what I want to do. Beyond that, no matter what it is, where I need to fill, what role I need to fill to help make this team the most successful, that is what I will do.”

DOES THAT MEAN SWEEPING FLOORS? “I might be sweeping floors; I am pretty good at it. I am a good landscaper too. I can make that place look good.”

Audio: 2010 NSCS Heath Calhoun 400 Pre-Race Conference with Alan Gustafson

HOW HAPPY ARE YOU TO GET THIS BEHIND YOU? “Extremely. I love this company, I love working for Hendrick Motorsports. I love Rick Hendrick, everything he has done for me and my career. To continue that on in the future is everything I wanted. Like I said, I want to retire here, that is really my goal professionally to be able to contribute to Hendrick Motorsports and make it a top-notch successful organization that it is and take it in to the future. It is a great opportunity for me and I am really blessed to have it.”

WHAT WOULD YOU LOVE TO DO? “I am doing what I love to do. I truly love what I do. I love Hendrick Motorsports more than I love crew chiefing. Whatever it takes for that company to succeed. I love going to work there every day. I love the people. I love my boss, it is a great situation so, whatever that is, is fine by me. It is something I am really happy about and I really feel blessed to do and be able to wake up and go to work in a place that you really believe in and you stand behind. To work for a great boss like I’ve got, it is just a dream come true.”

ARE SAYING IT IS POSSIBLE YOU WON’T BE ON THE NO. 5? “I believe No. 5. I have been here for 11 years. It is something I have put a lot of effort into. It is something I take a lot of pride in that team. I have been with those guys for a long time. I want to be with them for a long time in the future. But, who knows where it is going to go or where the future goes. I don’t know. All I am saying is I am going to do whatever I have to do to help keep this company successful. Whatever that is, I don’t know. I don’t think any of us can sit here and project the future. My goal right now is to win a championship with the No. 5. That is what I started out to do. That is what I have always said from day one. Those are my goals. If I don’t that, I feel like I have fallen short. I have a good opportunity to do it and I am going to push hard to do that. When that happens, hopefully that will happen, when that happens, who knows what goes on there. Right now that is what I am focused on doing.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT KASEY KAHNE? “I love Kasey. I think he is a great driver. I don’t know him all that well but I love the way he races on the race track. I think he is a great fit for our organization. I think he is a great fit for the No. 5. I think he has the potential to go win a lot of championships and a lot of races. I think it would be a great opportunity to work with him. He can put Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 in a good position to carry on what Mark has helped us build. I think he is a great fit, he is a great person, a great race car driver so I think that all will work out well.”

ARE THE PROVISIONS IN YOUR CONTRACT THAT MIGHT SEND YOU TO STEWART-HAAS OR DOES IT KEEP YOU AT HENDRICK? “To be honest with you, I didn’t read it. I just signed it, so I don’t know. I am not worried about that. Mr. Hendrick has always been…I didn’t read it, but you know me, I didn’t study it, I didn’t go through all that stuff. Mr. Hendrick has always been above and beyond, he has gone above and beyond for me, so, I am not concerned about it. I haven’t even thought about it to be honest with you.”

IS YOUR GOAL TO STAY WITH THE NO. 5? “My goal is to stay with Hendrick Motorsports and that is what I am going to do. That is what I want to do. I don’t know what Mark’s (Martin) plans are for the future so I couldn’t say anything about that. But unless Rick Hendrick sells these cars, then I would say this is where I will be.”

DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT YOU HAVE WORKED WITH SEVERAL DRIVERS UNLIKE OTHER CREW CHIEFS WHO HAVE HAD LONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR DRIVERS AT HENDRICK? “I don’t know that switching drivers, if I were to step back six years ago when I started crew chiefing and say I want to work with this many different drivers, I don’t think that was goal. I think if things had worked out perfectly according to plan, that you want that relationship where you are with the same guy for multiple years and you race your career and it makes things maybe a little bit easier. But the opportunities I have had have been great. They have helped me become who I am. I am a better crew chief for it today. I am a better person for it today. Like I say, I don’t know that was the perfect outline, but I wouldn’t change anything. I think it has all worked out great for me. Mark Martin is a perfect example of that. Being able to work with him. Six years ago, I would have never thought I would have had that opportunity. It has been the greatest years of my career working with Mark and I think it is awesome and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

WHAT KIND OF MANAGEMENT GUY DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD MAKE? “I don’t know. I think you have to ask Mr. Hendrick that, he would probably be a better judge of that than me. I just try to do the best I can in whatever position I’m in. Whatever that is, that is what I will do. You just fill your role. I think that is important. People don’t put enough emphasis on people who fill their roles to the best of their ability. That is what makes great teams great is guys that fill in wherever they have got to. I want to be one of those guys. I don’t want to be a guy that Mr. Hendrick says “what am I going to do with him.” I want to be the guy that can help Mr. Hendrick and take some stuff off of his mind and he knows I will do whatever it takes to succeed.”

WITH YOUR SUCCESS, DID YOU HAVE A LITTLE MORE LEVERAGE THIS TIME? WHAT DID YOU LEARN THIS TIME? “I know you are going to think I am pulling your leg, but it is no different than it has been in the past. I’m not a person looking to say ‘hey this is what my contract says, this is that or you have to do this or you have to do that’. I am there to do a job and I do that job to the best of my ability. If there comes a day when management doesn’t feel I am suited for that job, regardless of what that contract says, that’s fine. I don’t look at it that way. I have 100% confidence in the organization. Like I said, Mr. Hendrick has been unbelievable to me, my career, my family. Everything I have ever done with him has been beyond my wildest expectations.  I have no reason to believe any other reason and I won’t. We have a great personal relationship and I’m sure it will be above my expectations just like it always is.”

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO CREW CHIEF THE NO. 88? “If that what Mr. Hendrick and the management at Hendrick Motorsports deems to be the best fit for the company, yes.”

Chevrolet is one of America’s best-known and best-selling automotive brands, and one of the fastest growing brands in the world. With fuel solutions that range from “gas-friendly to gas-free,” Chevrolet has nine models that offer an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway, and offers two hybrid models. More than 2.5 million Chevrolets that run on E85 biofuel have been sold. Chevrolet delivers expressive design, spirited performance and strives to provide the best value in every segment in which it competes. More information can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

- Team Chevy, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

RICHMOND WINNER:

POLE SITTER: Martin’s next Sprint Cup pole position will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin earned his second career Cup pole at RIR on Sept. 13, 1981 — his first start at the Virginia short track. Since then, he has scored three additional poles there, including one last September. Martin’s average Richmond starting position of 9.9 is tied with Atlanta as his second-best for any oval track on the circuit. He ranks higher at only Pocono Raceway with an 8.7 average starting position.

HENDRICKCARS.COM ON BOARD: Hendrickcars.com, the quick, easy and affordable way to buy a pre-owned car online, will be back on the hood of the No. 5 Chevrolet this week. The black-and-blue paint scheme last was featured at Texas Motor Speedway where the team finished sixth. Hendrickcars.com has up to 5,000 top quality used cars online with up to 90 photos, videos, free CARFAX reports and manufacturer-certified used vehicles.

POINT STANDINGS: The No. 5 team earned its third consecutive top-10 finish when Martin crossed the line fifth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last Sunday. The finish advanced the team to sixth in the standings, just nine points behind fifth and 169 points behind leader and teammate Jimmie Johnson.

HENDRICK HISTORY: For the second straight week, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers remain ranked inside the top 10 in the championship standings. Johnson leads his teammates in first, while Martin ranks sixth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is eighth, and Jeff Gordon is 10th.

MOST RECENTLY AT RIR: Martin earned back-to-back top-five finishes at Richmond last season. The No. 5 team started seventh and finished fifth in May. In September, Martin started from the pole and finished fourth.

CLOSER: Martin has gained more positions during the last 10 percent of laps in the last 10 races at RIR than any other Sprint Cup competitor. On average, Martin gains 3.6 positions in the final 40 laps at each RIR race.

LOOP STATS: Martin holds the second-best average starting spot of 7.9 during the last 10 races at RIR. He also holds the fifth-best average finish of 9.9 among drivers during that timeframe.

THE NO. 5 AT RICHMOND: Under the leadership of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 team has posted seven top-five finishes in 10 starts at Richmond. Gustafson earned five straight top-fives in his first five starts at the Virginia short track as crew chief, including runner-up finishes in September 2006 and May 2007.

HENDRICK BEST: Hendrick Motorsports has scored a team-best 15 pole positions at Richmond. Geoff Bodine earned the organization’s first Richmond pole position in the No. 5 Chevy in September 1985, while Martin captured the most recent pole at the track in September 2009.

HENDRICK AT RICHMOND: Hendrick Motorsports owns 10 wins, 45 top-five finishes and 78 top-10s in 52 events (158 starts) at Richmond. Hendrick’s drivers have combined to lead 3,436 laps during that time.

RICHMOND CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Chassis No. 5-561 for Saturday’s event at Richmond. Martin drove this car at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway during the short track’s last two Cup races, collecting a 21st-place finish earlier this year and an eighth-place finish last October.

GODADDY.COM FAVORITES: Visitors to www.GoDaddy.com/Contest can help determine the winners of Go Daddy’s recent commercial contest by voting for their favorite and sharing it with friends. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Martin and Earnhardt also will be picking their favorites on the site.

SIGN UP AND WIN: Delphi, a primary sponsor of the No. 5 team for two races this season, launched its 2010 “Destination: Victory Lane” promotion. Destination: Victory Lane is for professional automotive technicians only and will award grand prizes, weekly and instant prizes to those who are registered at www.delphi.com/victorylane. Information from the Hendrick Motorsports drivers and No. 5 team crew chief Alan Gustafson also is featured on the site.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY.): “I think it’s a favorite of the fans as well as the drivers. Richmond is big enough that you can put a lot of cars out there. It’s got great racing room on it, the way the transitions are from straightaway to corner and the banking as well.. You can run multiple lines around the racetrack and it’s some of the best racing that we do all year. It’s just fun to race there.”

MARTIN (ON THE TEAM’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE LAST THREE WEEKS.): “The last three weeks have been huge for this race team. We haven’t always had the best car, but we’ve done the best with what we had and that made the difference. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) has made all the right calls in all of these races. And to finish in the top five at Talladega, that’s just huge. It felt like a win for me. We’re on a roll, and we just gotta keep it going.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE TEAM’S SUCCESS AT RICHMOND.): “Richmond is one of our better tracks. The No. 5 team has had a good history of performing well there with a lot of different drivers. It just seems to be a place that we’re able to understand well and produce good finishes. It’s a great track to race and a place that, if your car is good, you can pass and make your way to the front so that helps, too.”

GUSTAFSON (ON THE TEAM’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE LAST THREE WEEKS.): “The past three weeks have been great points races for us. I think having that streak of success gives us a solid foundation to build from going back to those tracks in the Chase (for the Sprint Cup). Making it through Talladega in one piece definitely lightened the work load in the shop, which is a big bonus.”

GUSTAFSON (ON MOMENTUM.): “I definitely believe in momentum and the confidence and decisiveness it brings to the team. When the momentum and confidence is there, it allows you to react quicker and have the confidence to know your decisions will pay off. The past three weeks have been huge in building momentum for this team. We took a great car to Talladega and had a great finish, which was a huge relief for us. At Texas and Phoenix, we struggled a bit, but turned the struggle into good finishes. It’s nice to know that we, as a team, can make the best out of good and bad situations. It’s huge.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

2010 Mark Martin with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

TALLADEGA WINNER:

POINT STANDINGS: With a sixth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday, Martin and the No. 5 GoDaddy.com team advanced to 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings. Martin is just 34 points outside the top five.

HENDRICK HISTORY: For the first time in the organization’s history, Hendrick Motorsports has four drivers ranked in the top 10 in the Sprint Cup championship standings. After Monday’s race at Texas, Jimmie Johnson leads the group in first, while Jeff Gordon is fifth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is seventh and Martin is 10th. Hendrick Motorsports expanded to a four-car team in 2002.

POLE SITTER: Martin’s next Sprint Cup Series pole position will be the 50th of his career and will place him eighth on the all-time pole winner’s list. Martin has started from the top spot twice at Talladega, both times in 1989.

SUPERSPEEDWAY HISTORY: Martin has made 94 career superspeedway starts in Sprint Cup competition at Talladega and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The veteran driver has earned a combined two wins — both at Talladega — 19 top-five finishes and 39 top-10s. He has completed 15,005 laps between the two tracks and has led 575 of those.

SEASON-TO-DATE LOOP STATS: Although 10th in points, Martin is ninth in average running position amongst all Cup competitors after eight races this season. He also holds the third-best average mid-race running position during that timeframe.

NO. 5 TEAM AT TALLADEGA: In 10 races under the leadership of crew chief Alan Gustafson, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has earned one top-10 finish — a seventh-place result in April 2008 — at Talladega Superspeedway.

HENDRICK AT TALLADEGA: Hendrick Motorsports has earned 10 wins, 41 top-five finishes and 60 top-10s in 52 races (162 entries) at Talladega Superspeedway. The organization’s 10 victories and 1,919 laps led at the track are the most for any team all-time in the Sprint Cup Series.

SUPERSPEEDWAY CHASSIS: Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-561 for Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. This chassis never has been raced or tested.

COMMERCIAL CONTEST: Martin will participate in Go Daddy’s first ever social media contest asking fans to create their own Go Daddy commercial. Commercials 15-30 seconds in duration now are being accepted at www.GoDaddy.com/Contest. Martin, along with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other Go Daddy celebrities, will choose their favorite spots, which will be featured online at www.GoDaddy.com/Contest after the contest ends. Deadline for all entries is this Friday, April 23.

SIGN UP AND WIN: Delphi, a primary sponsor of the No. 5 team for two races this season, launched its 2010 “Destination: Victory Lane” promotion. Destination: Victory Lane is for professional automotive technicians only and will award grand prizes, weekly and instant prizes to those who are registered at www.delphi.com/victorylane. Information from the Hendrick Motorsports drivers and No. 5 team crew chief Alan Gustafson also is featured on the site.

WIN A CORVETTE: In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Corvette’s first appearance at the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans, race fans can enter for a chance to win a 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport by entering the “Race To Win Corvette” promotion at www.racetowincorvette.com now through June 30.

*****

MARK MARTIN, DRIVER, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY.): “Well, last year I came into this track with the mindset that, ‘This is going to be a good race. The odds are with us on this one. Not every race can go wrong for us here.’ I was wrong. We ended up on our roof, which was the worst outcome I’ve ever had (at Talladega). So, I just come in with no feelings either way. Is it my favorite place to come to? No. But feeling one way or the other isn’t going to change anything. I just want to finish the race. And finish in a good position. No wrecking. That would be a good outcome.”

MARTIN (ON BEING UPSIDE DOWN LAST NOVEMBER AT TALLADEGA.): “There may have been another time in my career that I was upside down, but if there was I don’t remember it. I always thought I would never live through going upside down. Not because of the wreck but because I thought I would have a heart attack from sheer fear! (LAUGHS) Truth be told, it happened so fast that I didn’t even realize I was upside down until I was back on my tires.”

MARTIN (ON LUCK.): “We had winning cars at Martinsville (Va.) and Bristol (Tenn.) and ended up with finishes that were way lower than we deserved. Then we get to Phoenix and Texas and struggled with the handling all night long. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) made great calls at the end of both of those races and we ended up with top-10 finishes. I’m not a fan of the word ‘luck,’ but I know it comes into play. And I need one more week of being lucky. That’s what matters at Talladega. Luck. And I just need to be lucky again on Sunday.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON THE TEAM’S LAST TWO FINISHES.): “The last two weeks have been huge for this race team. Like last year, we had three races in a row that really cost us in points. A late-race wreck in Atlanta, another one at Bristol and then the pit road penalty in Martinsville. That just killed our momentum and left us digging out of a hole we didn’t need or want. I watched all the guys on the team really dig in. We have adopted this never-give-up attitude, and it’s really shown the last two races. We couldn’t afford another bad day, especially in points. So combating our issues and getting two top-10s was a must for us.”

GUSTAFSON (ON BEING PREPARED FOR TALLADEGA.): “Talladega is so tough because anything can happen there. The key to being completely prepared is knowing what you can and cannot control. We just have to keep ourselves out of as many compromising situations as possible. That’s not always possible. But that’s the mindset going in. You have to keep control of what you can.”

GUSTAFSON (ON LUCK.): “I’m not a believer in luck at all. There is a lot of work and effort that gets you to one given spot or place in time. I understand where some things or events may look like luck played a role, but usually it’s the way you handle the circumstance and opportunities that are given to you. If you take those opportunities and handle them better than the competition, then you get the better outcome. It’s not luck. It’s making the best out of every possible situation.”

- Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release