Mark Martin continues to prove that his age is not an issue, holding off a late charge from Jeff Gordon to win the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway last Saturday night.

Martin, returning to his first full-time season since 2006, scored his fourth victory of 2009 and moved into the top 12 in the standings with only six races remaining before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.

“I’m going to feel like hell tomorrow because I ain’t going to sleep much tonight,” Martin said on Saturday following the race. “When I’m pumped up driving fast race cars, I certainly don’t feel 50.”

Martin took the lead with 16 laps to go after teammate Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch tangled on track, losing both momentum and opening the window for Martin to move into first. Gordon also took the opportunity to move into second.
Martin led a race-high 195 of 267 laps. Gordon finished second, followed by Kasey Kahne in third. Tony Stewart retained the points lead with a fourth place finish, and Denny Hamlin was fifth.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch’s rough stretch continued Saturday, as he struggled all night long and eventually blew an engine. He finished 33rd, and dropped two spots to 10th in the standings. At one point in the race, Busch radioed his crew “I got nothing. I don’t care what you do (to the car). It’s junk.”

Polesitter Brian Vickers finished seventh after winning his fifth pole of 2009. He has yet to win this season.
Nationwide Series:

Joey Logano took the lead after passing Kyle Busch with 25 laps to go and never looked back, holding off Busch to win the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Busch was second, followed by Brian Vickers in third, Jason Leffler in fourth, and Kevin Harvick in fifth.

Truex Jr. to MWR: Martin Truex Jr. was announced as the new driver of the No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota for 2010 in a press conference at the Michael Waltrip Racing headquarters last week.

Truex will move from his current ride, the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet at Earnhardt – Ganassi Racing to the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota at MWR.

“NAPA has been a great supporter of MWR's and I'm looking forward to being a part of their family,” said Truex. “I've been going to the local NAPA store in New Jersey where I grew up since the age of 16 to buy auto parts for my first Jeep. I'm honored to carry their logo and look forward to helping them with their success in NASCAR.”

No word on whether Truex’s current sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, will also come to MWR and the No. 56 team. Bass Pro Shops is rumored to want only a partial sponsorship deal for 2010.

Michael Waltrip also announced that he will continue driving the NAPA-sponsored No. 55 Toyota on a part time basis in 2010.
Coming Up: The Sprint Cup Series drivers enjoy a rare weekend off, while the NASCAR Nationwide Series teams head to Gateway International Raceway. The Camping World Truck Series returns to action at the Kentucky Speedway.

Bruce Knoll, 17, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknolljr4cmcherald@yahoo.com

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