So Martin went out and put his No. 5 car on the pole, and finished sixth.
Alan Gustafson was the key in many races for Martin and the No. 5 team last season, making key decisions atop the pit box in Martin’s best season since 1998. “It was a magical year, last year, for me,” Martin said Wednesday. “And I still feel the magic each time I strap into a race car.”
Gustafson (left) chats with Greg Erwin, Greg Biffle's crew chief, at Indianapolis last year
One of the best story lines behind Gustafson and Martin’s fabulous run last year is the fact that as a youngster Gustafson idolized Martin.
“When I found out he was going to drive our Cup car, obviously I was very ecstatic,” Gustafson told Yahoo’s Jay Hart last week. “I don’t think you could ask for anything more than having Mark Martin drive your car.”
I gave up the idea of driving in NASCAR many, many years ago, but why not be a crew chief? Well, I have trouble adjusting my cars on video games, so maybe that’s not me either, but any chance to work with Mark Martin would be amazing. And no one has found that out better than Gustafson.
Martin and Gustafson paired for seven poles and five wins in 2009. Already in 2010 Martin has one pole. (Getty Images)
“There are a lot of things that you learn, but his passion, drive and determination for the sport is incredible. It’s something that you know is there, but when you work with him it’s really, really obvious – how much he really enjoys this sport and how dedicated he is to it,” he said.
In a book written in 2004 about his career, Martin said, “I’ve always been competitive. Anything I’ve ever done, I’ve gone at it 100 percent. I don’t know any other way.”
Rick Hendrick believed in Mark Martin two years ago, so much so that he persuaded him to take a full-time ride in the No. 5 car. I'd say it's paid off for both sides (Getty Images)
So when they came to “Thunder Valley” last March they knew they had to put the pedal down and go. “I didn’t doubt myself or the team or Mark,” Gustafson said. “But after we had so many successive part failures or issues or blown tires or crashes in row, you just wonder, ‘Man, what do I need to do different? We’ve got the speed; we’re just not getting the results. Are we missing something here? Are we trying too hard? Are we not trying hard enough? Are we too tense? What is it?’”
They never gave up and fought their way back into the Chase, where Martin started as the points leader. Martin won race one of the Chase in New Hampshire, partially due to a call by Gustafson to short pit late in the race.
“We fell a little bit short, but all in all we overcame a lot and I think we accomplished a lot of good things,” Gustafson said.
The four driver team of Hendrick Motorsports pose together with their boss at the preseason media meeting (Getty Images)
But falling short definitely fueled both driver and crew chief. “I hope (this year) that we’ll have the hammer when it’s time to go,” Martin said. Having the hammer in the past four years has meant getting past the guys on their own team, two of the best in the business, the No. 48 team of Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson.
So, how do you get by them? “If I had the answer I’d have a bigger trophy in my office right now,” Gustafson said. “Mine’s a little smaller than theirs. I will say that the time they have had together is very important. That is one thing that the 5 team, we’re a little behind them on.
“It took them a little while to get it exactly right, and hopefully the experience the 5 team has had together will help us be stronger in 2010.”
And Gustafson paired with his hero Martin for the past year has helped the No. 5 team reach heights that were unmatched with previous drivers Casey Mears and Kyle Busch. This season when the GoDaddy.com No. 5 team heads into Bristol they are not worried about points. Martin sits seventh, a 27-spot improvement over last year.
Martin runs a practice lap earlier today in Bristol (Getty Images)
Gustafson doesn’t plan on letting Martin finish second again this year. He’s as driven as his driver is when it comes to being the best. He said, “I’m just a regular guy who loves racing, who loves my job and that I work real hard at it. You know, at the end of the day you just want to be remembered as a guy who was very tough to compete against and does things the right way and does a good job at it and, ultimately, a guy that the people who work for you like.
“That’s one thing that is very important to me. You may not be the nicest guy, but at the end of the day they’ll say, ‘Man, that is a hard-working guy who’s always treated me fair.’ That’s biggest thing.”
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