Mark Martin's win at Dover was his first since 2002. Credit: Autostock

Martin on a roll heading into 10-race stretch

If ever there was a driver who deserved a chance at a championship without all the attendant politics, it is Mark Martin.

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He's contended before and lost, once on a questionable point penalty and again on a late-season surge by his competitor.

Now, despite a season fraught with mechanical difficulties and more bad luck than a reasonable deity ought to allow, he is one of the lucky 10 who will battle heads up for the title.

Four top-three finishes in the final six races carried Martin to the Chase, capped off by runner-up finishes at Michigan and Pocono and third-place runs at Watkins Glen and California.

His late-season surge to the top 10 was helped by the fact that some of the top runners had serious trouble over that span, including Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

As bright as the season turned out to be for Martin, it sure didn't start out that way. Seven laps into the Daytona 500, Martin's engine blew and he was 43rd heading to Rockingham.

He had just four top-10s in the first 13 races of the season, but he also won at Dover, tracking down Tony Stewart in the late going. Trouble was, that first-place finish came sandwiched between a pair of 36th-place efforts at Charlotte and Pocono.

As most of the Fords in the field struggled to implement the new engine program from Roush-Yates Engines, Martin seemed to suffer the most. He had two of the new bullets explode, at Daytona and at Pocono, and he suffered through a fuel problem and other maladies in other races.

But whatever the problem might have been, it got fixed in a heck of a hurry to help propel Martin to his closing flurry. Over the 26 races, he had one victory, seven top-fives and 12 top-10s.

Daytona 500: The good news about blowing up seven laps into the race was that Martin could still use the tires his team bought in July. He was 43rd, and was nearly home by the time the race ended.

Subway 400 at Rockingham: Two laps down in 12th is much better than 43rd, but it doesn't do much for confidence.

UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas: At last, Martin reclaimed some momentum with a fifth-place showing on what has been Roush Racing's home track.

Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta: A lap down in 14th.

Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington: Another top-10 for the veteran, who logged seventh.

Food City 500 at Bristol: The first of three sub-par performances for Martin, he was 23rd, a lap down.

Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas: Two laps down in 17th, it was another disappointing day.

Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville: Engine-related woes put him 34th at the end.

Aaron's 499 at Talladega: Finally, Martin led a lap in 2004 and finished sixth.

Auto Club 500 at California: In a warmup for his end-of-season run, he was 11th on the lead lap.

Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond: Contending for a top-five at Richmond, he wound up seventh at the finish.

Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's: A crash put him many laps down and he finished 36th.

MBNA 400 at Dover: While everyone else was having trouble -- including NASCAR -- Martin didn't put a wheel wrong and ran down Tony Stewart for the victory.

Pocono 500: Another blown engine, another 36th-place finish.

DHL 400 at Michigan: Another engine-related problem put him 34th at the end, 18 laps behind winner Ryan Newman.

Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma: One of the best road-course racers in NASCAR, Martin finished eighth in wine country.

Pepsi 400 at Daytona: Shaking off a truly brutal Daytona 500, Martin was sixth at the end of this race.

Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland: He contended early, but wound up 24th, two laps down as Stewart dominated all day.

Siemens 300 at New Hampshire: One the lead lap in 14th, Martin was getting ready to rumble.

Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono: The engine held together this time and Martin finished second behind Jimmie Johnson, who was stellar all day.

Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis: A flat tire on the extra lap during the green-white-checkered finish cost him dearly. He was running well up in the field, but faded to 25th.

Sirius at the Glen: While Tony Stewart won, Martin sneaked into third place and almost caught road-course ace Ron Fellows for second.

GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan: It was an all-Roush day at MIS, as Martin was advancing on eventual winner and teammate Greg Biffle when the checkered waved. He was second.

Sharpie 500 at Bristol: A late pit stop cost him, and he finished 13th, but judging by how many cars were missing significant pieces, he did just fine.

Pop Secret 500 at California: If Martin had been set up for shorter runs, Elliott Sadler would have been chasing him. He settled for third behind Sadler and Kasey Kahne.

Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond: Finished fifth to nail down eighth place in the points and contend for the championship. He said before the race that all the was thinking about was finishing well and making the final 10, and that's exactly what he did.