Martin to race Busch for Hendrick
NASCAR veteran Mark Martin is set to make his debut at the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports car this Friday in the Kyle Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Mark Martin will drive the No. 5 Autoguard/hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, normally driven by Kyle Busch in the Busch Series, marking the first time in more than 25 years of racing in NASCAR that he will team up with Rick Hendrick's team.
"The thrill for me is to be able to drive for Rick Hendrick, and to be able to say that I did that before my career ends as a driver is really special," Martin said.
"To have them (Hendrick Motorsports) with their enthusiasm and a chance to work with more really brilliant people that I can maybe learn something from, this is the greatest time in my life."
Rick Hendrick, who currently enjoys a great start to his Nextel Cup series season but has not won a race this year in the Busch Series yet, looks forward to the opportunity to gain from Martin's experience and input into his team's program.
"When I heard that he was going over to Ginn Racing and he wanted to talk to us about our support and the engine program, we just started talking and he said, 'Hey, I'd like to drive one of your Busch cars one day' and it just kind of started," Hendrick said.
"It's exciting. He's just such an icon. And I think we'll learn something. I think we'll learn a lot from Mark and his input."
Mark Martin, who is completing a part-time schedule in the Nextel Cup with Ginn Racing, had also competed in the Busch Series this year for Roush Racing.
The driver with the most wins in the history of NASCAR's second division will attempt to get his 48th victory in the series this weekend, at a track where he has won a record eight times, achieving the same number of pole positions.
"The way this car has run this year with Kyle Busch in it, if I can get in there and not do something stupid, and do a good job of relaying (information) and integrating and working with the team, then we should have a shot at it," Mark Martin added.
Mark Martin will take part in two more Busch Series races with Hendrick Motorsports this year.
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