Martin pleased with season despite problems

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- While Mark Martin appears to be the NASCAR equivalent of the Buffalo Bills, he wants no sympathy.

	MArk Martin has finished second in the Winston Cup standings three times. Credit: Autostock

Or any race-campground disc jockey to cue up that oldies song that spoofs Charlie Brown -- the one where the deep-bass-voiced guy wonders, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?" in the chorus.

Heading into Sunday's season-finale at Homestead, Martin appears headed for a yet another runner-up finish in the Winston Cup points championship. He's done it three times, finishing second in 1990, 1992 and 1994, but this time there's an asterisk next to his name.

Martin trails leader Tony Stewart by 89 points. In the minds of his employers, Roush Racing, the deficit should be much less.

Wednesday's announcement by company president Geoff Smith that owner Jack Roush will appeal several two-week-old penalties from Rockingham's post-race inspection is one of those have-tos, according to Martin.

"Yeah, I do have better things to do right now than deal with this," said Martin, who left the decision up to Smith and Roush. "You know me," he added after Wednesday's announcement. "I didn't waste a whole lot of time on what-if."

A left-front spring that didn't quite meet NASCAR's rulebook mandate -- 4 3/8 inches compared to the required 4 1/2 -- cost Martin 25 points in the Winston Cup points standings, Roush 25 points in the owner points standings, and crew chief Ben Leslie a $5,000 fine after Rockingham.

Martin was understandably bummed; it's not the first time a penalty has sabotaged his title hopes. In 1990, he was docked 46 points for an illegal carburetor spacer following the spring race at Richmond. Lost that title by 26 points to Dale Earnhardt.

But he also has no trouble summoning perspective.

"Just a year ago we were upside down," he said Wednesday.

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Indeed, he finished 12th in 2001, well off his usual pace, his worst since a 15th-place finish in 1988, his first year with Roush. A new, youthful crew chief, the 30-year-old Leslie, and a mostly-new team -- both snagged from teammate Kurt Busch in the offseason switch of Martin's No. 6 and Busch's No. 97 personnel last January -- have re-invigorated the 43-year-old driver.

"I'm really proud of what my team has done," said Martin, who has been vocal in his support of Leslie. "They've really revived my career."

Part of the irony surrounding Martin's penalty and pending appeal is that he's considered an old-school driver, a guy who understands chassis, and "feel" setups, and who knows what an illegal spring can and cannot do. He also understands the new rules, which are meant to limit softer springs of old, and those rules' intended crackdown effect.

"You don't run soft springs at Rockingham, and that rule was to discourage the softer springs being run on the flat race tracks," said Martin. "And this spring was much stiffer than that."

Two other teams were hit with 25-point deductions this season for spring violations -- Jeff Green's following the fall Richmond race, and Ward Burton's following the fall Martinsville event. In both cases, the offending parts were altered. Roush folks have been adamant that nothing was done to Martin's left front spring at Rockingham; it was yanked from a box and installed as-was on race morning.

"According to Ben, there were a few others they found that were marginal [in NASCAR-correct dimensions], too," said Martin of Leslie's post-penalty spring inventory.

So Smith feels that NASCAR's recent, no-exception trend in spring penalties sets a dangerous precedent. It's the cornerstone of what Smith will present to NASCAR chairman George Silvermann, and the two commissioners that Silvermann selects to hear the case, Saturday morning at Homestead.

There's a very poor history of racing plaintiffs winning NASCAR appeals, but Smith and Roush want to set their own precedent -- by airing their case that Martin and his crew had no intent of cheating. Leslie probably wouldn't mind absolution, either. Counting the spring issue, he's been fined three times this season (for a too-low car after Martin's Coca-Cola 600 win, and for an unapproved window strap at Talladega this fall).

	Jack Roush filed an appeal on behalf of his driver Wednesday. Credit: Autostock

"We want those points [back] because Mark and that Viagra race team earned them on the race track," said Smith. "You've got the scarlet letter tattooed on your forehead that's 'cheater.'"

On the track, Martin has crept closer to Stewart during the past two weeks, finishing second at Rockingham and fourth at Phoenix. Stewart finished 14th and eighth, respectively, but combined with the 25-point penalty, and the running-out of time, all Stewart has to do is have a decent day Sunday (finish at least 25th) and Martin's catching the bouquet again.

Of course, there had to be more drama: Martin's private plane blew a land-gear tire just before takeoff last Sunday night in Phoenix, and he and his two pilots went for a frightening runway skid before the incident ended. NASCAR president Mike Helton ended up giving Martin an airlift ride home to Florida.

"It never came up," said Martin of the point-deduction controversy and its absence from flight discussion. "I figure this is part of business."