Martin shows class in 1,000th start

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Mark Martin could have done more to challenge Kyle Busch at the end of Saturday's race, but that's not how the 50-year-old competes. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Sport

SONOMA, Calif. -- As NASCAR Sprint Cup prepares for a rare weekend off, the drivers battling for the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Championship have a chance to pause -- and feel anxious.

Mark Martin moved up to 10th on Saturday as the 50-year-old tries to fend off the challenges from drivers less than half his age, including Bristol-winner Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers, who won two weeks ago at Michigan.

Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne dropped to the 11th and Matt Kenseth fell into the 12th and final spot in the standings, just ahead of the charging Busch, 34 points behind. In fact, the tight points race extends deeper into the standings, with 89 separating seventh-place Ryan Newman from 14th-place Vickers.

After witnessing so many years in which the lineup for the Chase was nearly complete weeks before the cutoff race at Richmond, the intensity coming down the stretch this season is a refreshing change.

Martin could have made it easy on himself had he knocked Busch out of the way in the closing laps at Bristol. But that's not how Martin races. Throughout his career, which now includes 1,000 starts in NASCAR's various divisions, Martin is the sport's version of Mr. Clean, and that was evident to the race winner.

"Mark Martin, what a class act," Busch said. "He deserved to win this race and I'm sorry he came home second. He raced me clean. It's fun when you're able to race around the guys that respect you and that you respect back. He wasn't the guy that I always looked up to when I was growing up as a kid, but since I've gotten here, he's been one of the closest drivers I've been able to spend time with -- him along with Jeff Burton."

Remember that Martin is driving the same No. 5 Chevrolet that Busch drove at Hendrick Motorsports before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. joined the team in 2007. But despite some verbal sparring with Junior, it's clear Busch doesn't hold a grudge against the rest of the Hendrick crew. And Martin didn't give him any reason to foster any bad feelings Saturday night.

"I didn't need to use the bumper [to nudge Busch out of the way]," Martin said. "Kyle gave me all the room in the world to make that pass, and I didn't make it. If somebody abused me enough to really, really irritate me, I might use that bumper. But Kyle gave me all the room in the world. He raced me like a good sport. When he's behind me, I will be comfortable that he will race me the same way that I raced him. I can't say how he might race someone else on the race track because they may have different history. But I feel really, really good at night when I go to bed. I have managed to win a race or two, and none of 'em did I have to pull something dirty."

Saturday night's battle exemplified the timeless quality of NASCAR -- when an elder statesman of the sport can race the young punk, and both can walk away feeling good about the outcome in the end.