Martin Misses Out Again on NASCAR Title

HOMESTEAD, Fla. Nov 21, 2004; Tim Reynolds writing for the AP reported that Martin had the longest odds of the five contenders still in contention for this year's Nextel Cup title at Sunday's Ford 400, and still managed to close to within 23 points of eventual series champion Kurt Busch during the race.

A flat tire with about 50 laps left doomed his chance at getting closer, and he ended the yearlong points chase in fourth behind Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Martin — who trailed Busch by 107 points at the end — started the day in fifth place, and moved past Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the final standings.

"We put ourselves in a position to be a contender there and then we had a flat tire under caution, so I'm not going to say it was bad luck," said Martin, who isn't officially retiring but plans to make the 2005 season his last as a full-time NASCAR driver. "If it was bad luck, we would have had it under green."

Martin has 10 top-five finishes in the standings in 18 seasons, but no championships. He's been second four times, most recently in 2002.

He endured a disappointing 2003 run, placing only 17th in the season standings, failing to win a race and ending the year with a 15-race streak of finishing either 10th or lower. And 2004 got off to an abysmal start; Martin finished last at the season-opening Daytona 500.

Martin clawed his way back to the middle of the pack, then got hot at the perfect time. He had four top-five finishes in the six races that immediately preceded NASCAR's inaugural Chase to the Nextel Cup — and qualified for the 10-race run that decided the series champion.

"The team fought hard all year. We came out 43rd in points leaving Daytona with our hearts broken and battled our way all the way back to fourth," said Martin, a 34-time NASCAR race winner. "I'm proud of them for that."

He'll turn 46 next January, but clearly, Martin isn't old enough not to learn new tricks.

Martin improved 13 places from his spot in last season's final standings; only Elliott Sadler — who went from 23rd last year to 9th this year — made a bigger move.

"I'm glad it's over," Martin said. "The guys did a great job. I'm proud of them and I look forward to next year. I'm going to try to keep all of these guys together and we're going to make a real effort to be in first place at the end of this deal next year."