If winning comes with age, Mark Martin should be visiting Victory Lane quite a few times this season.

Martin continued his quest for his first Sprint Cup Series championship, winning the Southern 500 last Sunday at Darlington Raceway.

“Once we got out front, man, it was just easy,” Martin said. “The car was awesome.
Martin started 12th and remained in the top-15 for nearly the entire race. But it wasn’t until he took the lead from Tony Stewart with 46 laps remaining that he led for the first time. But that was the only lead he needed, as Martin never looked back en route to his second victory of 2009.

“It’s early in the year,” he said. “But a lot of cool things could happen the way things are going.”

Jimmie Johnson took second place, completing a one-two sweep for Hendrick Motorsports. Tony Stewart once again drove his No. 14 Chevrolet to a top-five finish, this weekend taking third. Stewart’s teammate, Ryan Newman, drove his No. 39 Chevy to a fourth-place finish, and points leader Jeff Gordon took home fifth to give Chevrolet a sweep of the top five positions.

Martin Truex Jr. of Ocean County led 61 laps and finished sixth. He was followed by Talladega winner Brad Keselowski in seventh, giving Chevrolet the top seven spots before the Ford of Greg Biffle finished eighth. Rookie Joey Logano, driving the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, had the best finish of his career, taking home the ninth position. Polesitter Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10.

The biggest news of the weekend wasn’t about a driver in the race, but one who wasn’t in the event at all.
Jeremy Mayfield, who had failed to qualify for the Southern 500 Friday night, was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Saturday for violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy.

Mayfield, the driver-owner of his No. 41 Toyota for Mayfield Motorsports, will not be permitted to drive or own a car in NASCAR until reinstated.

Mayfield said he will announce an interim owner and driver as early as this week.

“Those roles will commence immediately beginning with next week’s Sprint Open and continuing through Charlotte and beyond,” he said.

NASCAR refused to comment on the substance that Mayfield had tested positive for, saying only that the failed test was not alcohol-related.

In a statement released by his team, Mayfield said he believes the failed test is the result of a combination of over-the-counter and prescription drugs, and says he and his doctor are working with NASCAR to resolve the matter.
Nationwide Series:

Kyle Busch once again dominated the Nationwide Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200, leading 143 of the race’s 153 laps. But he failed to lead the most important one – the last. Matt Kenseth took the lead with four laps remaining after Busch cut down a tire to win the event. Jason Leffler was second, followed by polesitter Carl Edwards in third, Erik Darnell in fourth, and Justin Allgaier in fifth.

Coming Up: The NASCAR Sprint Cup will hold it’s annul All-Star event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway next Saturday next, while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will kick off the weekend with Friday night action from Charlotte.

Contact Knoll, 17, of Eldora, at bknolljr4cmcherald @yahoo.com