Mark Martin has finished in the top 10 in 48 percent of his 71 plate races. Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images

Martin the Lone Ranger when it comes to 'Dega

Fourth-place Chase driver only one in top 10 with a win at track

Mark Martin doesn't have a Cup championship -- yet -- but, he does have one thing the other nine Chase drivers do not: a victory at Talladega. Two, actually.

Martin, one of only five drivers who have competed in all 71 restrictor-plate races, conquered 'Dega on April 30, 1995, and on May 10, 1997. His Spring '97 victory established a 500-mile stock-car record when he won the caution-free Winston 500 with an average speed of 188.354 mph. (Thanks to Tim of Davis, Calif., for that addendum to this week's Chase By the Numbers.)

Inside the Chase Point standings entering 'Dega No. Driver Pts. Behind 1. J. Johnson 5,362 -- 2. R. Wallace 5,355 -7 3. R. Newman 5,350 -12 4. M. Martin 5,341 -21 5. T. Stewart 5,339 -23 6. G. Biffle 5,339 -23 7. J. Mayfield 5,281 -81 8. C. Edwards 5,259 -103 9. M. Kenseth 5,238 -124 10. Ku. Busch 5,192 -170 Career restrictor-place stats Driver No. T-10 Pct. Avg. J. Johnson 15 8 .533 14.4 T. Stewart 27 15 .556 15.1 M. Martin 71 34 .479 15.2 K. Busch 19 10 .526 16.5 R. Wallace 71 24 .338 18.8 M. Kenseth 23 7 .304 19.9 G. Biffle 11 1 .090 20.7 J. Mayfield 46 8 .174 21.3 R. Newman 15 3 .200 22.3 C. Edwards 4 0 .000 29.7

Martin also has top-10 finishes in six of his past 13 races at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

"Everybody knows that I'm not the world's biggest fan of restrictor-plate racing," Martin said. "I know that it's really exciting for the fans and I know that if I were at home you couldn't pry me away from the TV, but for the drivers it can be pretty frustrating, because nothing is really in your control.

"If you make a move, whether or not it's a good or bad move, completely depends on what happens with the other people around you. You might go to the front or you might go to the back, but it depends more on what they do than what you do.

"On top of that, you ride around hoping to avoid the big wreck and it can just make for a frustrating day."

Frustrating or not, Martin hasn't been too shabby at plate tracks. His 34 top-10s in restrictor-plate races are the most ever, and he has finished in the top 10 in 48 percent of his 71 plate races.

Nonetheless, Martin is has the same hope as the other 42 drivers who'll take the green flag Sunday: Get out of rural Alabama with the car intact.

"We had a good run last weekend at Dover and we are up to fourth [in points]," Martin said. "Talladega may really be a wild card here, because you just can't predict what's going to happen.

"I know that we'll have a good car and hopefully we can just stay out of trouble, get a decent finish and move on to Kansas where we also hope to run well."

Other Chase drivers ...

• Jimmie Johnson: "In our sport, there are so many risks involved that you learn to deal with it in some ways and try to keep an open eye while you're on the track to avoid potential problems. Talladega is a huge risk. Martinsville is a risk. So there's still a few out there. I think everybody is real nervous about Talladega and hopefully everybody drives that way and we don't have any big pile ups. But again, we're out there racing and trying to do our jobs at a high rate of speed and sometimes things happen.

"The crashes are spectacular and they look amazing and impressive. With the soft walls and the safety inside the car, I have no worries. After you see the flips and crashes we've had and these guys walking away and bragging about how fun the ride was on TV says a lot about our race cars."

Inside the Numbers Career restrictor-plate race starts Rank Driver No. 1. Mark Martin * 71   Ricky Rudd 71   Ken Schrader 71   Rusty Wallace * 71   Michael Waltrip 71 6. Dale Jarrett 70   Sterling Marlin 70 8. Terry Labonte 68 9. Bill Elliott 65   Kyle Petty 65 * -- Chase driver Fantasy ReportMarty, Danielle and Jimmy Spencer discuss 'Dega! Around the TrackJeff Burton and EASports take you for a lap at Talladega FedEx PreviewNBC/TNT's Marty Snider looks ahead to Talladega NASCAR WeatherCNN/Headline News forecasts Talladega's weather Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

• Rusty Wallace: "We always go into the Talladega races expecting to keep our noses clean and come out of there with a good finish and that's certainly the case again this weekend. But we're smart enough to know that with this brand of racing, anything can happen. We've had our share of ups and downs at Talladega.

"We went through a period where it seemed like we either crashed or blew up in almost every race at Talladega. But during the last five to seven years, our luck has really done a big turnaround. We've been running strong, led a bunch of laps and really had genuine chances of winning many of the races. That's what we're looking to continue there this weekend."

• Ryan Newman: "I have never been a fan of restrictor-plate racing. Mostly because we've never performed overly well on superspeedways. But, this year Penske Racing South has really improved their restrictor-plate program. We had the best Speed Weeks we've ever had, then we backed it up with our best qualifying attempt at Talladega in May. We had a shot at bettering our career-best fourth-place finish in May as well, but we got caught in 'The Big One' there toward the end of the race. That was pretty disappointing.

"For the first time in my career, I'm looking forward to going to Talladega. If we can qualify well again, and stay up front all day, the racing is actually fun. The closer you are to the front, the more likely it is that you'll avoid the mess. That's what our plan is for this weekend."

• Tony Stewart: "The race just carries more variables that are out of your control than any other race. When they have crashes at Talladega, the number of people caught up is normally pretty large. That's kind of why we view Talladega as a wild card race. You can't really predict anything. It's not as easy as saying, 'These guys run well here.' Guys who don't run well at Talladega could be contenders to win the race if the right circumstances happen. It's one of those scenarios where the guys in the top-10 are really going to be careful, but they're still going to have to race hard to gain as many points as they can.

"The strategy is making sure you've got somebody you can draft with. You have to take the opportunities as they come, but with those opportunities you have to make a very quick decision. You've got to think, 'What happens if I try this and it doesn't work? What are the ramifications going to be?' You don't have the luxury of sitting down and taking the time to analyze the situation. You've got to make a split-second decision. A lot of times it'll work, but there are times when the decision that you made doesn't work. But once you've committed yourself to doing something, there's not much you can do about it."

• Greg Biffle: "Talladega is obviously a wild card for everyone. Restrictor-plate racing is difficult in that as a driver, you can only do so much. You're car will only go as fast as it will go and that's what you've got for the day. You can try to draft with the fastest cars but that's about all the control a driver has in a restrictor plate race.

"We'll just need to stay out of trouble and hopefully get out of there with a top-five or top-10 finish."

• Jeremy Mayfield: "We're off to a much better start in the Chase this year, but we've left some points on the table in the first two races. We go into every race to win. If that's not possible, then we're after every point we can possibly get. We're going to fight, scratch and claw for every position and point we can get. At Talladega, you do that with a bit of finesse. The race demands three hours of total concentration by 43 drivers. We know a single mistake can lead to the big one. It's that intense.

"You don't go to Talladega with a predetermined strategy that you will do this in this situation or you will draft with that group of drivers. It doesn't happen that way. There are some drivers you may prefer to draft with if the opportunity presented itself, but the only strategy is to team up with the line of cars that will take the No. 19 Dodge Charger to the front at that particular time. The key to success at Talladega is choosing the right drafting partners."

• Carl Edwards: "I know it seems strange but I do like Talladega. The last two times I've raced there we have not had the best of luck. Last fall we were running up front when a mechanical failure ended our day early. Then in the spring we had a few problems but unfortunately got caught up in 'The Big One' and that all but ended our day early. I would really like to redeem myself this weekend. I think I've learned a lot in the races since then, mainly I've learned to be more patient.

"It's been difficult but I'm starting to understand big-picture racing better and that's what will make us a better team. We had a decent finish at Dover last week which we knew would be a big hurdle for us in the Chase. I think if we can avoid wrecking this weekend we might be OK. ... I think we have the ability to finish a lot better than most people think we will."

• Matt Kenseth: "The first thing that comes to mind when I think about returning to Talladega is that I hope I don't hit anything! It's the same as always when we think about Talladega, but I think we've got better cars than we've ever had for our speedway program. Our speedway program has been a lot better the last couple of years.

"I don't want to lie and say that I look forward to going there, but I look forward to going there more than I have in the past. I think we can be competitive and hopefully we can be in the lead draft and stay out of trouble."

• Kurt Busch: "If you're running in the top-five during the race, usually you're single file, not three-wide pack, that's something you try to position yourself for. If you're stuck in the middle there's not much you can do. You don't want to get caught up in a wreck, so you have to decide if you want to go forward or if you want to hang out in the back and wait for a pit stop to jumble up the field.

"Qualifying is important, but, if you qualify up front, you can get shuffled to the back if you get into the wrong draft. We'll see how it shakes up. We have a good car. It's the car we ran seventh here earlier this year so I'm excited to bring it back."

• Earnhardt Jr., Gordon step up to the plates