Mark Martin vs Juan Pablo Montoya, down the stretch? That's what I want to see at Sonoma

  
Give 'em hell, Mark (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   SONOMA, Calif.
   Mark Martin was once NASCAR's King of the Road Courses.
   Back when.
   But he hasn't been on one of these things in a couple of years.
   So what can NASCAR's hottest, smartest driver do in Sunday's Sonoma 350?
   Now wouldn't a win just take the cake?
   Martin is one of this season's great stories. Ageless, at 50, he's already won three Sprint Cup events, at Phoenix, Darlington and Michigan, in three quite different ways. He's finally got that consistency going for him, after bad luck in the opening weeks of the season.
   And he's looking just like a champion – smiling, confident, yet humble (as only Mark Martin can be)…and winning.
   The best driver in NASCAR never to have won the Cup championship might just well win that thing finally this season.
   But first Sonoma.
   This is a very technical course. Shifting, braking, entry points, exit points, limited passing spots, plus sometimes curious pit strategy (the ideal is to pit just the lap before the yellow comes out, so you'll have the lead on the ensuing restart).
   So, while the race itself may seem fairly short, on the clock, inside a driver's head it's a constant battle.
   "Road course racing has evolved over the years," Martin ponders. "These used to be some of the most fun races we did. 
   "But for me, the last six years or so that we ran them, they became much more of a challenge, because all the drivers are really good at it now, and all the teams put just as much emphasis on the road course races as they do every other race. 
    "Back in the day, teams didn't have the wherewithal to focus on road courses. It was a little less intense. 
    "This is a tough deal right now, with the competition like it is. And it's very, very difficult to pass, and we are very dependent on fuel mileage and track position. 
    "It wasn't at the top of my list to-do, but we definitely had fun (testing) at Road Atlanta. The car seemed good…and if we get it good here, then we'll do good.  If we don't, then we'll battle it to the end."
    Expectations this season? Martin has far exceeded those, of those following him, and of his own.
    However now, with such success, riding such a big wave, Martin worries that the theory of rising expectations may hit.
    "I'm very cautious about expectations," Martin says warily.  "I feel like a huge portion of my discontent and frustration over my career has been based on not meeting expectations. 
   "So I am 100 percent bound and determined to be happy. And this has been a great success this season, no matter what happens going forward.
    "I took this job (with Rick Hendrick full time this season) with hopes I might win a race…and that after we get one, then we'll worry about multiple. 
    "It's a dream come true to win three races before halfway, for anybody in this sport, I don't care who you are. 
    "For me, it's beyond that."
    Give a lot of credit to crew chief Alan Gustafson, still one of the most underrated team bosses in the sport.
    But it hasn't been easy for Martin and Gustafson: "We've had some horrendous bad luck…and we've also had some really good fortune,  enough to certainly take the sting away from the bad luck and disappointments," Martin says.
    Keeping a close eye on Martin, it's obvious that he is enjoying himself far more than perhaps at any other point in his long, outstanding career.
    And keeping 'fun' in the game is sometimes a crucial, if underestimated, element.
   So, how about a Mark Martin versus Juan Pablo Montoya finish to Sunday's 350?
   That would be a thriller. Two of the world's greatest road racers mano a mano….   
   "Seriously, that's such a great question -- because one of the reasons I wanted to stick around was because Juan Montoya was coming to NASCAR," Martin says. 
    "I wanted to be around to see that, and be a part of that, and be able to race with him….on an oval as well as a road course. 
    "It's obvious he shines everywhere he goes. But definitely he started out really shining here. (Montoya won here in 2007.)
     "He shines every day he straps in that thing.  What he has done is incredible: to come to this sport from the racing he came from, and to do what he's done, is pretty spectacular."