Hendrickcars.com is the primary partner for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet and Mark Martin this Sunday, March 7, 2010 at Atlanta Motor Speedway after a two-week sponsorship with JR Motorsports on the #88 Chevrolet (finished 7th 2/20 in Fontana and crashed early on 2/27 at Las Vegas). Mark Martin has had two 4th place finishes in the last two races and finished second in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.Martin began his racing career at the age of 15 in his home state of Arkansas. Competing on dirt tracks, he won in only his third start and that same year – 1974 – won the Arkansas State Championship. In 1976, Martin left his dirt days behind and moved to pavement racetracks.
In 1977, Martin started competing in the American Speed Association (ASA). He earned rookie of the year honors that year and went on to win the championship the following three seasons.
Hendrick’s admiration grew for Martin’s on-track skills as well as his ability to motivate and inspire his crew members. Hendrick decided to pursue the NASCAR veteran, and in July 2008, Martin announced that he would return to full-time Sprint Cup competition to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Martin did not disappoint in his first season with the powerhouse team and posted one of his career-best seasons with five victories, 14 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s. He also notched a career-best seven pole positions.
In his return to full-time racing, Martin challenged for the 2009 Sprint Cup championship. He opened the Chase as the points leader and maintained the top spot during the first three races of the postseason. During the final race of the season, Martin was the only contender with a mathematical shot to reach Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, who ultimately scored his fourth straight Cup title.
Martin finished the season with several honors and notably was recognized as NASCAR Illustrated’s Person of the Year presented by Old Spice. He also earned the Sporting News’ Dale Earnhardt Tough Driver award. Martin was named to the All American Team selected by the Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association and was nominated for the SPEED Performer of the Year title.
Late in the 2009 season, Mark Martin announced that he would return fulltime to Hendrick Motorsports through the 2011 season to drive the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.
