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[/media-credit]MARK MARTIN
No. 55 AARON’S/BEST OF THE BEST TOYOTA
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PREVIEW
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 55 Aaron’s/Best of the Best Toyota driver Mark Martin quickly points out three reasons why he likes Texas Motor Speedway. The 1998 Sprint Cup race winner and three-time Nationwide winner says Texas is one of his favorite stops on the NASCAR circuit. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver hopes to improve upon the No. 55’s ninth place in the 2012 owner standings.
Why Mark Martin likes Texas Motor Speedway:
1. WINNING
“Texas Motor Speedway is the site of a lot of great success for me. I think we’ve won a race and finished in the top five seven times. We blew up the first year leading the race and Jeff Burton went and got his first win. Then the next year (1998) we got the win. I’ve won three Nationwide races there. It’s an absolutely great place to race and man is it fast!”
2. FAN SUPPORT
“Texas Motor Speedway is about 450 miles from my hometown of Batesville, Arkansas. I’ve had a stronger fan following there than anywhere else. Sure I listen in driver introductions when the fans cheer or boo, but I really notice the fans in general throughout the weekend. They are pretty vocal. Since it isn’t that far from Batesville it’s one of the places where my fans go. Texas and Kansas are probably the two places where I see or hear from most of my fans. That’s always a great feeling.”
3. PROMOTION
“I just really salute everyone at Texas Motor Speedway for furthering our sport. It is a venue we can all be extremely proud of. They might not have hit the nail on the head coming out of the gate all those years ago but they sure have fixed it. It’s a track we need to keep going to. I’m proud of Texas Motor Speedway. That’s one thing about Bruton Smith. He puts the money into the facility. It’s not all about taking it back out. I have to respect that. Putting money in the facility makes it better to race on, race at, and a better experience for fans.”
NOTES
· CAREER: Click here for Martin’s career stats.
· BEST OF THE BEST: The No. 55 carries a special paint scheme this weekend celebrating Aaron’s 2011 Best of the Best employees, divisions, regions, stores and franchises. All are from Texas. Winners, based on operational results for the 2011 calendar year and appearing on the No. 55, include:
· Division of the Year Dave Buck – Southwestern Division (Houston, Tex.)
· Franchise Division of the Year Wallace Vernon / Tom Blassingame / Charles Hollinger – Bear Rental Purchase (Killeen, Tex.)
· Region of the Year – Company Ryan Malone – South Texas (Corpus Christi, Tex.)
· Region of the Year – Franchise David Foster – Alliance North (Decatur, Tex.)
· Store of the Year – Company Joe Borrego – C1024 (Odessa, Tex.)
· Store of the Year – Franchise Joey Dolberry – F684 (Early, Tex.)
· APPEARANCE: Martin will appear for 15 minutes at Aaron’s Corporate Display at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday at 3:40 p.m.
· CHASSIS: Primary 729 – Backup 708 – Neither has raced in 2012.
· MWR IN POINTS: All three MWR cars are in the top-10 in the 2012 owner standings. Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota is tied for third, No. 55 is ninth and Clint Bowyer’s No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota is tenth.
· TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Date Thursday April 12
Practice 4:30 p.m. SPEED
Date Friday April 13
Practice 3:00 p.m. SPEED
Qual 6:30 p.m. SPEED
Date Saturday April 14
Race 7:00 p.m. Fox
· DRIVER SCHEDULE:
Apr. 22 Kansas – Martin
Apr. 28 Richmond – Martin
May 6 Talladega – Michael Waltrip
May 12 Darlington – Martin
May 19 All Star Race- Martin
May 27 Charlotte – Martin
June 3 Dover – Martin
June 10 Pocono – Martin
June 17 Michigan – Martin
June 24 Infineon – Brian Vickers
June 30 Kentucky – Waltrip
July 7 Daytona – Waltrip
July 15 New Hampshire – Vickers
July 29 Indianapolis – Martin
Aug. 5 Pocono – Martin
Aug. 12 Watkins Glen – Vickers
Aug. 19 Michigan – Martin
Aug. 25 Bristol – Vickers
Sept. 2 Atlanta – Martin
Sept. 8 Richmond – Martin
Sept. 16 Chicago – Martin
Sept. 23 New Hampshire – Vickers
Sept. 30 Dover – Martin
Oct. 7 Talladega – Waltrip
Oct. 13 Charlotte – Martin
Oct. 21 Kansas – Martin
Oct. 28 Martinsville- Vickers
Nov. 4 Texas – Martin
Nov. 11 Phoenix – Martin
Nov. 18 Homestead – Martin
