Mark Martin Transcript

Tuesday, March 7, 2006 

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Teleconference

West Region Media

Mark Martin (Driver of the No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion)

 

As part of the monthly series of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series conference
calls, West Region media members took part in a question and answer
session with NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver Mark Martin on Tuesday, March 7.
The call was moderated by Diana Rose of Infineon Raceway. 

 

Mark, Roush racing has historically done very well at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.  What are your thoughts entering this weekend's event and how
things are shaping up for you guys?

 

MM: Well, I think that things are going to be shaping up real well for
us.  We had a great test out there.  And they had a really good run in
California.  I would like to have had opportunity to finish even better.
The car ran better than we finished.  So, maybe Vegas will be our
weekend to finish better than we run.

 

A year ago at this time you weren't imaging yourself in this seat, were
you?

 

MM: Not in the Cup car.

 

Have you had any regrets about having another season in the Cup?

 

MM: That's a tough one right there.  I owe a lot of the success I've had
in NASCAR to Jack Roush and to my team, and they needed me.  And AAA
needed me.  And when I'm in need, and I ask for help, I need to get it.
So I'm there for the people that I love.  And AAA has given me an
opportunity to work with teen driving safety and a lot of important
issues.  So, there's a bright side.  The other side to that is, yeah, I
had some other plans.  But, we're doing this for right now.

 

Roush had such a phenomenal year last year getting all five drivers in
the Chase and everything.  Do you think Roush can be just as good this
year?  And does it seem to be on track for that?

 

MM: It's on track for that, but we can't predict things like luck.  And
there are a lot of things that you can't predict in this business.  So,
we're on track for it.

 

Hey, Mark.  Just thought I'd give you the weather report in Las Vegas.
A high Friday is supposed to be 50.  The high Saturday 48.  And the high
Sunday, 45.

 

MM: Good grief.  Well it'll sure be nice in the racecar, but everybody
else is not going to be that comfortable.

 

How will that affect the racing?  Will it make the cars faster, better
grip or --

 

MM: It makes better grip and better lap times, but for the fans, they
can't tell the difference.  They can't see the difference.  So, from a
fan's point of view, there won't be much difference.  But yeah.  The
speeds will be up.

 

Can you remember racing that many times when the high was 45?

 

MM: I can remember racing a lot of times when the high was less than
that.  We used to go to Rockingham in February and Richmond in February.
And that was colder than that.  I've raced in Richmond when it was
snowing.

 

Now, you're retirement sort of postponed.  But you're doing 56 races
this year?

 

MM: Just jumped to 63.  

 

What did you add?

MM: Looks like we're adding seven more truck races because of the great
enthusiasm and interest from Ford and from Scott's because we won the
first two races out of the box.  They would really like for me to do
even more than that, and I told them that if they'd put somebody in the
6 car, I would.  

 

Well, hey, I appreciate your time again and look forward to seeing you
out here in Las Vegas one more time in the stock car.

 

MM: Hey, I love Vegas.  We've got a great race team.  Wonderful sponsor
with AAA.  And I'm going to make the very best out of this last year
that I have to race for the Cup.

 

Other than the fact that you won these first two NASCAR Craftsman Truck
races, can you just talk about what the appeal is of truck racing for
you?  And why it's something that you'd want to continue once you are
done with cup racing?

 

MM: Well, the first thing is it's obvious - I am not retiring.
Everybody seems to want to use that word.  But, I'm not retiring.  I
don't want to retire.  I'm a young man still by some means.  I'm 47.
And I'm not done racing.  I am done with the kind of schedule that we
have in Cup racing.  And so, for me as a spectator, truck racing is the
best racing in NASCAR.  And from behind the wheel of the trucks, it's
more like Cup racing was 20 or 25 years ago.  And because I'm an
old-timer, I love that.  And it is definitely what I want to do.

 

Shifting gears a little bit, a couple of your teammates last year, Greg
Biffle and Matt Kenseth, before the Sonoma race, they went and raced at
the Altamont short track, which is pretty close to Sonoma.  And a lot of
guys on the Cup series tend to race in those short track races on the
side leading up to a big race.  Have you done that much over your
career?

 

MM: I have when I was younger.  But I certainly don't have any interest
in that at this time.  Although when I get past the Cup thing, that will
come back.  But I'm saturated at this point.  I've got way more than I
can handle without having to add something else.  

 

When it comes to racing those races, do you factor in the possible risk
of getting hurt in those races?  And is that something that you think
guys take into consideration or should take into consideration?

 

MM: They might should.  They don't.  Most racers don't consider that
very much.  

 

That Ford Fusion seems to have been a great car right out of the box.
How do you compare it to the car it replaced?

 

MM: Well, it's just a slight improvement in the aerodynamic and handling
department.  And that's really all you can do in NASCAR -- you can't
make big jumps.  You can make small improvements.  And certainly the car
is better than what we had.

 

I think one of the things that appealed to you with the Truck Series is
there are less dates and that'll give you a little easier schedule.
More time to spend with your family.  I think you also indicated that
you're interested in doing some other racing.  Maybe getting into some
sports car racing maybe like the 24 Hours of Daytona as some of the
other NASCAR drivers have done.  Is it something like that in your
future as well?

 

MM: I don't know about the 24 hours.  Maybe.  I've done that thing, I
think, three times.  It's not something that I haven't taken part of in
the past with Roush Racing in the early '90s.  So, yeah.  You might see
me turn up at the local short track back home.  I'm interested in doing
some other things and moving on.  Opening a new chapter in my life.  I'm
ready to do some different things.  

 

Jack Roush's cars seemed to have a lot of success at California
Speedway.  Do you think that success might transfer over to Las Vegas?

 

MM: I just think that we're at the top of our game right now.  So, I
think wherever we go, you're going to run like where you are, where you
stack up to the competition no matter where you go.  So, right now we're
-- we're near the top of our game.

 

Talking about the retirement and all 63 races now that you're going to
have to do, do you think later on it's going to be somewhat of a grind
on you?

 

MM: Yes.  First of all, please don't use the word retirement.  I never
said anything about retiring.  Okay?  That's just because my fans freak
out and think I'm never going to race again.  I don't want them to do
that because I want them to be there to pull for me in the truck series
next year.  But, yeah, absolutely.  I've lost my mind.  And so have the
people that are asking me to do all this stuff.  I don't like to
disappoint Jack Roush and Geoff Smith and everyone.  So have I bit off
more than I should chew?  Yeah. It's possible I may choke on it.  But
I'm going to give it everything I've got.

 

On one hand, Mark, you want to go onto something else.  But the one
thing that sort of has eluded you in a great career is that NEXTEL Cup
Championship.  Being with Roush, does that give you one more great
chance to grab that big title at the end of the season?

 

MM: Well, it does.  I'm with the same team that gave me a good shot at
it last year.  We only missed it by 105 points last year.  So, it was
the best year of my career.  I'm with the same group this year, so I
have another crack at it.  

 

But the flip side of that is that there's more than you on that team.
There's four other drivers that could also win the championship.  

 

MM: Yes.  And they're also quite younger than me too.  I have to beat
those guys with the same equipment and with the age difference going in
their favor.  This business is not easy. 

 

The fact that you aren't retiring, seems to indicate that at 47, you can
still be at the top of your game.  Do you think you may have something
at the end for them, whether they're on your team or another team?  

 

MM: I don't know if you saw the movie 8 Degrees, but the guy in there
that handled the dogs told someone, "These are working dogs.  And
they'll run themselves to death if I let them."  And that's a little bit
like me.  I'm willing to work myself to death to go out at the top of my
game.  Certainly I could say that at the end of 2005.  That was my goal
for the year was to go out at the top of my game.  And I did that.  And
now we've got to find a way to muster the same kind of ferocity again
for '06.  It doesn't come easy.  I mean, when you're 27 it does.  But it
becomes more of a challenge as you get older and your priorities start
to change on you.

 

There was a lot of criticism about California Speedway and about the
lack of good racing at the track, which probably has a lot to do with
aero.  What do you feel that that track needs to do to get the good
racing back that there was when it first opened?

 

MM: Nothing.  Nothing.  I don't know what all the flap was about, but I
think it's silly and ridiculous.  First of all, let me tell you, when
you put 43 cars out there that are all the same speed, why aren't you
going to have any passing?  They're all the same speed.  Why would you
expect to have passing?  And NASCAR's goal is to have all the cars the
same speed.  So with every year, you're going to have more and more
problems with that because the cars get closer and closer to the same
speed.  So you'll have less passing when you have less speed difference
between the cars.

 

So you're probably not in favor of changing the banking at the track to
resemble Homestead, for example.

 

MM: I personally think that's ridiculous.  But you asked my opinion,
didn't you?  That's my opinion.  I think that's ridiculous.  Nothing
wrong with that track.

 

Now, what about the situation in Vegas?  They are going to redo the
track.  I know you've had success there before, but what would you think
about Bruton Smith's plan to reshape that track?

 

MM: Well, if I was Bruton, I'd keep my money in my pocket.  I wouldn't
do it there either.  No matter what you do, when two cars are the same
speed, they're not going to pass one another.  And no matter what you do
to the race track, you're going to have less passing than you used to
because the teams can't do anything to make their cars better than
everyone else's.  Again, I don't think there's anything wrong with the
track at Las Vegas.  And I think that Bruton has a history of spending a
lot of money on his racetracks, and he's just going to get a chance to
spend some more there.  I wouldn't do it if it was my track.  I would,
however, build a fan area.  I just wouldn't work on the surface of the
racetrack.

 

Have you opened your museum back -- back in Arkansas?

 

MM: Oh, yeah.  I am so proud of it.  We're having a huge Ford fan event
there Easter weekend on Friday and Saturday.  I'm going to be there all
day signing autographs and doing question and answer and hanging out
with the fans for two days.  And we're expecting to have a big crowd.
We had a big crowd last year at our old facility.  And now we've got all
this new stuff to show our fans.  I'm real excited about it.