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[/media-credit]MARK MARTIN
No. 55 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE
KANSAS SPEEDWAY PREVIEW
CORNELIUS, N.C. — When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits Talladega Superspeedway the first weekend in May, Mark Martin will host his eighth annual fan appreciation event on May 5 at his Batesville, Ark. car dealership and museum.
Joining Martin at Saturday’s autograph session will be two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip who’ll fly to Batesville after he qualifies the No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota at Talladega.
The daylong event (8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CDT) will include an Aaron’s display, Lucky Dog, Sirius Radio remote, race cars and souvenirs. Click here for directions: http://www.markmartinmuseum.com/directions.htm
Martin would like nothing more than to bring the race-winning trophy from this Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway to the open house in May. After Saturday night’s third-place finish in Texas, the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver is one of the favorites at Kansas where he won in 2005.
MARTIN ON FAN APPRECIATION DAY: “This is our eighth year doing it and it’s a blast. We get so busy racing and going places that sometimes you just run out of hours in the day. So we wanted to set aside a day just for the fans. Each year it’s gotten better and better. This year Michael Waltrip will join us. We’ll do autographs, question and answers, and just have a fun time. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in 30 years in this sport, but I know I couldn’t have done much of this by myself. I had a lot of help and a lot of support over the years. This is just a small way to repay those who’ve supported me.”
KANSAS: “After Texas I’m really excited, but I was excited anyway. I love going to Kansas Speedway. There’s nothing else that I find quite as much fun as going to work with a great race team with a great attitude. So it’s fun for me to go to every race that I get to go to. But with the great run we had in Texas we’ll be able to roll this setup logic into next week’s car. We’re still trying to improve on our long haul — getting a little easier on the tires so the thing will stay faster. If we can make any more improvement maybe we can get right up there and make some sparks for those guys. It’s a great place. It’s almost like a home track because I raced so much up in Springfield (Mo.) and I-70 Speedway and around there, so we should have a lot of charged-up fans.”
NOTES
CAREER: Martin owns a win and five top-10 finishes in 12 starts at Kansas Speedway. He’s led 152 laps. Click here for Martin’s career stats.
2012: Michael Waltrip Racing’s three full-time Sprint Cup teams are fourth (No. 56), seventh (No. 55) and 11th (No. 15) in owner points.
MEDIA AVAILABILTY: Martin will be available for interviews in the Kansas Speedway Media Center at 5:10 p.m. on Friday.
TELEVISION APPEARANCE: Martin will appear live on SPEED-TV’s RaceDay at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday from Kansas Speedway.
CHASSIS: Primary 720 – finished 18th at Las Vegas in 2012. Backup 708 – has not raced in 2012.
PINTEREST: MWR now has a home on the Pinterest social bulletin board where you can view the latest videos and photos. http://www.pinterest.com/michaelwaltrip.
MWR ON TWITTER:
@55markmartin
@mw55
@brianlvickers
@rchilders55
@mwrteam
@aaronssports
@toyotaracing
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Practice 1:30 p.m. SPEED
Practice 4:30 p.m. SPEED
Qualify 12:00 p.m. SPEED
Race 1:00 p.m. Fox
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Race #: 8 of 36 (04-22-12)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
Race Length: 400.5 miles
Banking/corners: 15 degrees
Banking/straights: 10.4 degrees
Frontstretch: 2,685 feet
Backstretch: 2,207 feet
Top 12 Driver Rating at Kansas
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 120.6
Greg Biffle………………………….. 118.0
Tony Stewart……………………….. 105.9
Jeff Gordon………………………… 105.4
Matt Kenseth……………………….. 101.5
Carl Edwards………………………… 97.3
Mark Martin…………………………… 92.9
Kurt Busch……………………………. 90.9
Brad Keselowski……………………. 90.8
Kevin Harvick………………………… 90.0
Clint Bowyer…………………………. 88.7
Denny Hamlin……………………….. 85.1
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (eight total) at Kansas.
No. 55 DRIVER SCHEDULE:
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
