Mark Martin couldn't stop on pit road because of brake failure. Credit: Autostock

Roush drivers hope to regroup following M'ville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Mark Martin, in an attempt to shed the self-described "Mr. Pessimist" tag, predicted his No. 6 Ford would be in Victory Lane following the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Well, it didn't exactly work out that way. And not just for Martin, either.

Inside the Chase Standings after Martinsville Pos. Driver Pts. Behind 1. T. Stewart 5,957 -- 2. J. Johnson 5,942 -15 3. R. Newman 5,894 -63 4. G. Biffle 5,874 -83 5. C. Edwards 5,808 -149 6. R. Wallace 5,791 -166 7. M. Martin 5,787 -170 8. Ku. Busch 5,785 -172 9. M. Kenseth 5,785 -172 10. J. Mayfield 5,741 -216 Roush drivers on the remaining 1.5-mile tracks in the Chase Driver No. W T-5 T-10 G. Biffle 11 2 3 5 C. Edwards 4 1 2 2 M. Martin 54 3 17 26 Ku. Busch 19 2 4 9 M. Kenseth 22 1 3 7 Note: Atlanta, Texas and Miami Chase troubleMartin loses his brakes, the 16 and 20 battle and Rusty wrecks Tough dayGreg Biffle talks about his 20th-place finish Playing roughKurt Busch spins a slower Michael Waltrip, gets penalized Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

The entire Roush Racing contingent experienced trying times in Sunday's Subway 500, though Kurt Busch battled back from a rough driving penalty -- he spun out Michael Waltrip -- to net the lone top 10 among the five teams.

Matt Kenseth finished 12th, Greg Biffle 20th, Carl Edwards 26th and Martin, the victim of front brake failure late in the event, 34th.

"We expected to be good here," Martin said. "I predicted we'd win and we had this bad a weekend. That should tell you why I don't do that. I think that's ridiculous. Now I look like an idiot!

"I said we'd win this race and we didn't even come close, but the effort was incredible. And wherever we are right now [in points], I'll guarantee you we'll move up before the end of the season."

Few would disagree. Of the four remaining races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, three are on 1.5-mile speedways -- Roush's specialty.

Though Jimmie Johnson scored the victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway last fall, many felt Martin had the dominant race car. Edwards won there in the spring. Biffle won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"They suit us better than this one," Martin chuckled.

Heading to Atlanta, Biffle leads all Roush teams in the championship standings, 83 points behind leader Tony Stewart in fourth position.

"We've got them right where we want them," Biffle said. "It's awesome. It's perfect. It was a good day for us. We're only [83] back. I think we're well within striking distance for four races."

Edwards, meanwhile, was just happy to escape Martinsville with his race car intact. For a time, he wasn't so sure that would be the case.

"There was one time, right when Mark [Martin] was having his trouble, that I couldn't go any farther," Edwards said. "I mean, if we didn't get a caution right [for Martin's trouble] then we would have been in big trouble. I don't know if I knocked the dust out of it or something, but it was a long, hard day."

Edwards leaves Martinsville fifth in the point standings, 149 points behind Stewart. Martin is seventh, 170 points out and Kenseth is 172 points out in ninth.

Busch is tied with Kenseth at 172 points out, but is eighth in the standings based on having more wins than Kenseth. His two-position gain means he exits the Chase cellar for the first time in 2005.

"All in all it was great," Busch said. "To be able to come back and work our way through the pack. We took four tires when we thought we needed to stay out and then we had a long green flag run and that put us in great position.

"So it was a good day, to come home with almost a top five."