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Déjà blues Roush, Martin have been close enough many times beforePosted: Tuesday November 05, 2002 1:03 PM
Where does Mark Martin go from here? To Phoenix, of course. While the 25-point penalty levied by NASCAR against the Roush Racing entry certainly hurts Martin's quest for that elusive first Winston Cup points championship, there's nothing else for him to do but buckle up for Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500K. "I am disappointed," Martin said after seeing his deficit increase from 87 points to 112. "Anybody in the Winston Cup garage would know that spring meant nothing to the performance of my car." The mandated minimum number of coils is 4 1/2; the left front coil spring on Martin's car had approximately 4 3/8 coils. Still, he insists the infraction did not give the car an unfair advantage. Martin's team said crew chief Ben Leslie put the spring -- right out of the box -- on the car Sunday morning before the Pop Secret 400 at Rockingham. The spring was questioned during inspection, and Leslie got another new spring off the truck. It also failed to pass. Springs are checked during inspection on Fridays and after qualifying. Springs also are considered part of a car's tuning package, and Winston Cup director John Darby said teams know what is permissible and what is not. "There's a constant amount of interchange with coil springs," Darby said after Sunday's race. "Do we look at every spring that goes in every car? No. We inspect it Friday morning and make sure that all the teams are very clear in what the requirements are. Over any part of the weekend, it's pretty much the responsibility of the team to make sure that they comply with everything." If it seems like déjà vu all over again for team owner Jack Roush and Martin, it's because they have been here before. Martin was fined 46 points in 1990 for an illegal carburetor spacer discovered after the spring race at Richmond. Martin lost the title that year by 26 points to Dale Earnhardt. Since 1989, Martin has finished second or third in the standings seven times. That year, Roush insisted the spacer was within NASCAR's rules -- the infamous "gray area" that managing director of competition Gary Nelson has worked extremely hard to eliminate. This year, Martin is setting his sights on running down front-runner Tony Stewart while time is running out. Getting docked points in the spring is one thing. Having to overcome a late-season deduction with only two races remaining ... well, that's a tall order, especially considering Stewart's on-track performance at Phoenix and Homestead. Stewart won at Phoenix in 1999 and finished fifth there last year, while he won at Homestead in '99 and 2000. Holding a 112-point advantage, Stewart only has to finish 11th in the final two races to clinch his first points trophy. If he leaves Phoenix with a 151-point lead, Stewart only will have to start the race at Homestead, while a 185-point lead means he doesn't even have to flip the ignition switch in Florida. But don't count Martin out just yet. He won at Phoenix in 1993 and also has third-place finish ('88). But maybe even more impressive: He has five second-place showings, including the runner-up spot to Stewart in '99. Martin also has two top-five finishes at Homestead. Then again, this team does have a history of finishing just close enough to lose. So the No. 6 puts aside its third penalty of the season -- car was too low in post-race inspection after the Coca-Cola 600 in May ($50,000), unapproved window strap at Talladega in October ($1,000) -- and treks to Phoenix. What else is there to do? After most likely another second-place points finish, Martin can turn his attention to 2003 and focus on next year's championship run. I even have a slogan: Eight is enough. B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for CNNSI.com. |
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