Backstretch Motorsports

BROOKLYN, MICH. — There’s an old saying in NASCAR racing that goes like this, “To finish first…… first you have to finish.”

Mark Martin has heard that saying many times before and never has it meant any more.

While Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle were running out of gas with just one lap remaining, Martin cruised by to pick up his third win of the season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The 50-year-old Arkansas native, who started 32nd in the 43-car field, moved into contention in the final quarter of the race and saved fuel while Biffle and Johnson battled it out up front.

Martin, one of the most popular drivers on the circuit, and certainly the pride of the over-50 crowd, calmly hit his marks and ran his race down the stretch, patiently waiting for the frontrunners to falter.

It happened with just over a lap remaining in the 200-lap, LifeLock 400 event at the two-mile Michigan International Speedway.

First Johnson ran out in the tri-oval short of the start-finish line, then Biffle’s Ford sputtered going into turn one.

The huge crowd erupted when Martin’s CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet passed first Johnson, then Biffle to grab his third win of the year. He won earlier in the season at Phoenix and Darlington, much to the delight of his peers. Martin is one of the most respected members of the NASCAR industry.

Finishing second behind Martin was four-time champion Jeff Gordon. Denny Hamlin was next and Carl Edwards was fourth. Biffle wound up fifth and Juan Pablo Montoya brought home a sixth-place finish. Two-time champion Tony Stewart was seventh and Kurt Busch eighth. Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10 finishers. Johnson wound up 22nd after dominating most of the afternoon. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., continued to struggle, finishing 14th.

It was cool and overcast when the green flag waved and Kyle Busch assumed a familiar position by streaking ahead of pole winner Vickers before they made it to the second turn. At 10 laps, Johnson had passed Busch for the lead. Vickers was third. Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Montoya were next in line.

Joe Nemechek and Tony Raines pulled into the garage before 30 laps had been completed but Johnson took his Chevrolet to a commanding lead of more than six seconds. Kyle maintained second with brother Kurt third. They were followed by Kahne, Stewart, Biffle, Montoya, Vickers, Bowyer and Matt Kenseth. Martin, Carl Edwards and Gordon were moving towards the top 10. Martin went from 32nd to 15th; Edwards from 29th to 16th and Gordon from 27th to 17th.

Once teams had made their first green flag pit stops, Johnson resumed the lead with Kahne, Kyle Busch and Biffle in tow. Kurt Busch was fifth and Stewart sixth. Johnson was obviously the car to beat at this point in the race. Earnhardt, Jr. qualified 30th fastest and had moved to 18th after 50 laps.

Within a few laps, Biffle had moved to second ahead of Kahne. The first caution period of the balmy afternoon came out on Lap 73 when debris cluttered the track. On the double-file, shootout-style restart, Johnson was still the leader as the field bunched up in side-by-side fashion to go at it again. Johnson immediately jumped ahead of Biffle and Montoya held the third position. Kahne was next followed by Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Stewart, who lost time in the pits, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt and Edwards.

At halfway (100 laps), Johnson had a three-second lead over Biffle which he held for most of the race as the laps wound down.

Stewart holds on to the points lead ith 47 points over Gordon in second. Defending champion Johnson is in third followed by Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Edwards, Biffle, Martin, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Kenseth, and Jeff Burton.

NASCAR Race Number 15
Unofficial Race Results for the Lifelock 400 - Sunday, June 14, 2009
Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI - 2 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 400 Miles - Purse: $5,282,675

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps Rating
1 32 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST / Kellogg’s Chevrolet 200 190 5 $189,125 Running 1 1 113.7
2 27 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont / National Guard ‘Year of the NCO’ Chevrolet 200 170 $159,576 Running 100.3
3 14 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 200 170 5 $125,625 Running 1 1 108.9
4 29 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 200 165 5 $148,156 Running 1 1 100.9
5 20 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 200 160 5 $118,200 Running 2 42 124.0
6 7 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 200 150 $136,173 Running 112.0
7 11 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet 200 146 $109,923 Running 107.8
8 5 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 200 142 $101,150 Running 106.6
9 1 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 200 138 $120,273 Running 91.6
10 9 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios Chevrolet 200 134 $96,250 Running 92.9
11 31 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 200 130 $93,100 Running 78.7
12 25 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge 200 127 $91,925 Running 75.6
13 2 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 200 129 5 $140,098 Running 2 9 96.2
14 30 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet 200 121 $96,725 Running 82.9
15 23 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 200 118 $91,675 Running 83.0
16 15 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft Ford 200 115 $78,175 Running 73.1
17 13 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam / Red Stag / Kid Rock Toyota 200 112 $99,985 Running 68.5
18 12 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 200 109 $118,178 Running 74.6
19 4 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 200 106 $105,348 Running 70.1
20 16 17 Matt Kenseth carhartt Ford 200 103 $124,590 Running 80.1
21 8 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 200 100 $118,748 Running 92.6
22 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 200 107 10 $130,751 Running 4 146 131.2
23 18 39 Ryan Newman U.S. Army Chevrolet 199 94 $107,829 Running 65.2
24 37 07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 199 91 $93,650 Running 54.9
25 24 20 Joey Logano # The Home Depot Toyota 199 88 $124,776 Running 59.9
26 22 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 199 85 $121,981 Running 57.4
27 28 43 Reed Sorenson Reynolds Wrap Dodge 199 82 $115,626 Running 52.8
28 17 96 Bobby Labonte Ask.com Ford 199 79 $105,654 Running 48.2
29 34 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 198 76 $96,485 Running 49.9
30 36 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 198 73 $86,050 Running 43.7
31 33 47 Marcos Ambrose RaceSavers.com Toyota 198 70 $92,973 Running 43.2
32 35 71 David Gilliland Charter Air Transport Chevrolet 198 67 $76,800 Running 44.2
33 10 34 John Andretti Taco Bell Chevrolet 198 64 $83,175 Running 52.0
34 38 98 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints / Menards Ford 197 61 $104,531 Running 36.6
35 43 13 Max Papis # GEICO Toyota 193 58 $73,975 Running 28.4
36 19 1 Martin Truex Jr. GE reveal Chevrolet 192 55 $108,915 Running 42.5
37 21 82 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 174 52 $85,948 Running 33.2
38 26 12 David Stremme No. 12 Penske Dodge 159 49 $106,280 Accident 47.6
39 6 44 A J Allmendinger Stanley Tools Dodge 144 46 $73,740 Running 58.6
40 39 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota 23 43 $73,700 Engine 29.5
41 42 09 Sterling Marlin Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Dodge 23 40 $73,665 Electrical 28.9
42 40 87 Joe Nemechek Nemco Motosports Toyota 20 37 $73,620 Electrical 31.0
43 41 37 Tony Raines Long John Silver’s Dodge 17 34 $73,226 Electrical 25.3
Race Comments: Before an estimated LifeLock 400 crowd of 90,000, Mark Martin got his third victory of the season. … Prior to the race’s start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for reasons indicated: # 24, 77, 87, all due to engine changes.
Failed to Qualify: (1) 36 Mike Skinner.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 34 Mins, 21 Secs. Average Speed: 155.491 MPH Margin of Victory: 2.992 Seconds
Caution Flags: 3 for 14 laps: Laps: 74-77 (Debris [39]); 122-125 (Debris [00]); 151-156 (# 12 accident, Turn 4 [17]).
Lead Changes: 11 among 6 drivers: 0; Kyle Busch 1-8; J. Johnson 9-73; Kyle Busch 74; J. Johnson 75-117; C. Edwards 118; J. Johnson 119-152; D. Hamlin 153; G. Biffle 154-194; J. Johnson 195-198; G. Biffle 199; M. Martin 200;
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) T. Stewart 2,189;(2) J. Gordon 2,142;(3) J. Johnson 2,047;(4) Kurt Busch 1,961;(5) R. Newman 1,934;(6) C. Edwards 1,927;(7) G. Biffle 1,913;(8) M. Martin 1,868;(9) Kyle Busch 1,860;(10) D. Hamlin 1,849;(11) M. Kenseth 1,848;(12) J. Burton 1,810.
Coors Light Pole Award: Brian Vickers, #83 (189.110 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race: Juan Pablo Montoya, #42
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race: Mark Martin, #5 EA Sports Move of the Race: Mark Martin, #5
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap: Kyle Busch, #18 (186.737 mph, Lap 2) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder: Mark Martin, #5
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Juan Pablo Montoya, #42 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Mark Martin, #5 (.025 sec ) O’Reilly Auto Parts People, Service and Performance: Greg Biffle, #16 (199.928 sec) Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Joey Logano, #20 Sunoco Diamond Performance: Mark Martin, #5 Tissot Pit Road Precision: Greg Biffle, #16 (161.371 sec) WIX Lap Leader: Kyle Busch, #18 (9 Laps)
Next Race:Jun. 21, 2009 - Infineon Raceway