Martin set for full-time Hendrick ride
Hendrick Motorsports is set to announce veteran Mark Martin's full-time return to the Sprint Cup as their fourth driver for 2009, replacing the out-going Casey Mears
Following the announcement of Martin's departure from Dale Earnhardt Inc at the end of the season to give way for Aric Almirola to take over the No. 8 car full-time for 2009, Hendrick Motorsports is expected to announce the hiring of Martin next Friday at Daytona.
Despite only running a limited schedule since 2006 as a first step towards retirement, the 49-year-old is expected to return full-time to the series driving the No. 5 car and racing for the first time in the Sprint Cup Series for Rick Hendrick.
Last year Martin drove for Hendrick Motorsports in three Nationwide Series events scoring two second places and this year he has driven twice for JR Motorsports - which is now Hendrick'' squad in the second level series - giving them their maiden victory in a controversial finish at Las Vegas.
Martin has driven most of his career for Jack Roush but has not won a Sprint Cup Series title yet.
Last year he led the championship but gave up on fighting for the title when he stepped out of Ginn Racing's No. 01 car at Bristol to hand driving duties to Regan Smith, as he had initially planned.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Montoya's memories of a lost rival and rising star
Montoya: Vettel F1 2019 issues more likely technical than mentality
Leclerc reminds ex-Ferrari president di Montezemolo of young Lauda
Mercedes joins Williams and RB with 'quick and cheap' F1 cockpit airflow upgrades
Alpine gets F1 spare car for first time in 2024 as lighter chassis appears in China
F1 Chinese GP: Stroll leads FP1 as small fire causes early red flag
Live: F1 Chinese GP updates – FP1 & Sprint qualifying
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments