Last Lap: Best of the rest

Considering Mark Martin's diligent three-year effort to shed the eternal pessimist label, one can't help but wonder just how hard he hit the wall Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The internal bell had to be chiming.

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Following a nasty head-on collision with the outside wall that resulted from Martin's misinterpretation of J.J. Yeley's intention to pit, Martin emerged from the infield care center with a big smile. Laughter. Borderline giddiness.

He wanted folks to know he was having fun. He succeeded.

But then he said his Chase was over. His contention that the accident had eliminated him from the championship hunt is puzzling, makes you wonder if he didn't bump the ol' noggin pretty good.

"It don't matter. I'm having fun, man," Martin said. "You know, [a championship] wasn't meant to be and if it was, I'd already have a Cup."

(Quick note: All kidding aside Martin's accident was nasty, and it was thrilling that he emerged fired up and fit-as-a-fiddle, even hopped up on the window sill to salute the fans in a never-before-seen-and-once-thought-impossible show of exuberance. He was far more boisterous atop that window ledge than he's ever been in Victory Lane. Now back to his comments...)

"They tell me that a lot of people were having trouble [at LMS] anyway, but we didn't need to throw that away. We had a good car and a good run and were having fun and we had an accident."

That's just it. Accidents are all too common in the Chase. It's almost certain everyone will have a setback before it's all said and done, and Martin is just 102 points behind leader Jeff Burton.

That can be expunged in a single race, and this weekend's Subway 500 could very well provide the perfect opportunity. Martinsville's tight quarters provide a considerable Chase obstacle, and Martin carries the third-best career average finish at Martinsville Speedway among active drivers, behind only Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Problem is Burton is fourth.

"I'm not worried about it," Martin said. "I wasn't before and I'm not now."

Shouldn't be. He's right in the thick of it. Matter of fact, eight drivers are still in contention, given circumstance smiles upon them. Kasey Kahne is eighth, 160 points behind Burton, and there's no question he can win Atlanta, Texas and Homestead.

Kahne's six victories in 2006 have come on intermediate racetracks with like tendencies to the aforementioned trio.

A look at history proves 160 doable: In 2004, Johnson was 247 points out of first with six races remaining. Like Kahne, Johnson won LMS. He then went on to win three of the next four events and entered the season finale in the thick of the hunt before ultimately falling eight points short of champ Kurt Busch.

Point is Kahne's still in this thing, along with the seven guys in front of him -- including Martin, a four-time Cup Series runner-up who deserves a championship as much as any driver in the sport's history.

But I don't think he'll get it. It's Kenseth's chalice.

Then again, I'm the guy who said Martin wouldn't even make the Chase.

Is Mark Martin the best driver never to win a championship? If not, who is?

There are a slew of legendary choices, including Buddy Baker, Davey and Donnie Allison, Harry Gant and Junior Johnson and Fred Lorenzen, Ricky Rudd and Tim Richmond and Curtis Turner.

Many folks went with some of today's most successful stars, such as Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, based, respectively, on wins and championships in other series. One response even said Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin deserve mention.

But Martin carried the majority vote, with good reason. There's a lot to be said for a guy who has posted 16 top-10 points finishes in 19 seasons.

RIP3: Without a doubt, Mark Martin. Four times he's finished second in the points. I believe if he wasn't such a gentleman on the track he would have at least one championship today.

But then again, if he was a spin 'em to win kind of driver, he wouldn't have the respect that he does today. I guess it comes down to what is more important to Mark Martin.

	Inside the Numbers The list of active drivers with 10 or more wins and no Cup title Driver Wins Mark Martin 35 Jimmie Johnson 22 Jeff Burton 18 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 17 Ryan Newman 12 Greg Biffle 10 Sterling Marlin 10

Several people cited Martin's driving style as a key inhibitor to his title tally. I disagree. Terry Labonte won two titles, didn't he? Texas Terry raced cleaner than a maternity ward.

Excuses are subjective, certainly, but a NASCAR penalty played a huge role in Martin's second-place finish in 1990. Following a victory at Richmond that season, NASCAR found a carburetor spacer in Martin's engine that resulted in a stiff 46-point penalty.

He would ultimately fall 26 points short of Dale Earnhardt for the championship that season. Many fans cried foul. Still do, for that matter.

R61797R: Lest we forget Mark Martin has had a few instances where NASCAR seems to have "pulled the rug from under his feet" by penalizing his team in championships seasons! 46 points? 25 points?

While Tony Stewart beat him by more than the 25 penalty points Dale Earnhardt would be 20 points in the hole without that NASCAR penalty to Roush and Martin would have won the championship.

Mark Martin is unequivocally the greatest driver without a championship. And if you'd like to compare him to a few recent drivers with championships, Mark comes out on top of that list, too.

Martin better than Tony Stewart? Better than Kurt Busch? Matt Kenseth? Jeff Gordon?

He's a wheelman, no doubt about it. But that's a mighty lofty assertion.

tph29: Davey Allison. Hands down. He used to kick MM's butt a bunch and they both drove for new teams - RYR and Roush. In addition, Davey won at least two races a year beginning in his rookie year.

It is hard to gauge what would have been, but he was on his way to greatness. He won poles, races, and lost the championship by no fault of his own in '92. He and Larry Mac were a great match, and Davey's career was just getting going when he died.

Three words: One Hot Night. That's all you need to know about Davey Allison.

When a man is willing to destroy the best racecar in his team's stable and earn a one-way ticket to the ER to win an exhibition race, he's a racer's racer.

Allison won 19 times in what amounts to just six full seasons, went to Victory Lane in one out of every 10 starts. By comparison, Johnson has 22 wins in 178 starts and Ryan Newman has 12 wins in 183 starts.

Allison's best year was indeed 1992, when he finished third in the championship standings behind Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott after wrecking out of what was arguably the most thrilling race in NASCAR history -- the '92 Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

That segues well to the next response:

kahnelliott: Davey Allison. If he hadn't died he may have two or three Cups by now. Even when Ernie Irvan got in the 28, he was on his way to winning a championship, but almost died in a wreck at MIS, and I think Davey was a better driver than Eager Ernie.

That Texaco Thunderbird was a bad ride throughout the early-and-mid 90s and Allison had the driving ability in his blood to get the job done.

Davey was of fine pedigree, indeed. Ironic, isn't it, that it was Irvan's cut tire and subsequent wreck that collected Allison and sealed his fate in the '92 season finale?

Jeff Gordon tumbled three spots with another DNF. Credit: Autostock

Chase Standings After Lowe's Motor Speedway (5th of 10 races) Pos. +/- Driver Behind 1. -- Jeff Burton Leader 2. -- Matt Kenseth -45 3. +1 Kevin Harvick -89 4. -1 Mark Martin -102 5. +1 D. Earnhardt Jr. -106 6. -1 Denny Hamlin -137 7. +1 Jimmie Johnson -146 8. +1 Kasey Kahne -160 9. +1 Kyle Busch -195 10. -3 Jeff Gordon -216 • Complete standings, click here Race RewindWatch a condensed version of the Bank of America 500! Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836 SUPERSTORE •   2006 Chase driver hats!

Kahnelliott: The fact that Martin can come so close so many times and never close the deal makes me wonder how good he really is. I understand that he's been in the sport a long time and won 30 something races and numerous IROC championships and is a nice guy and the competitors love him.

But he has had one of the best cars in NASCAR since he got in it back in the '80s. He's had one of the best owners ever and has been in one of the best organizations for years. If he was really that good, he would've won at least one of the close battles he's had with some of the all-time greats.

Anyone can win races if they're given good cars and good equipment. Winning the Cup proves just how good of a racer you truly are.

Ridiculous. Winning the Cup is a big deal, sure, the ultimate goal, and failing to do so would undoubtedly leave a void on Martin's resume. But by no means does it detract from his ability behind the wheel. Great teams win championships.

If you want to know how good Mark Martin is, pick any no nonsense driver, say Stewart or Burton, and attend an autograph session. When your turn at the table arrives, ask for an opinion of "how good of a racer" Mark Martin is.

3Man: Going strictly off of wins, it would be Junior Johnson, who has 50 wins but no titles. Fireball Roberts would also be a name to consider. Problem is, nobody cared about the championship in those days. A lot of big names didn't even run for it.

I'm not old enough to know this first hand, but from what my old man tells me, the big deals were the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and World 600. Those races were a much bigger deal than the championship, and both of those guys won at Daytona.

Championships became a bigger deal in the '70s when Winston came in and shortened the schedule. The first real hard luck driver would be Bobby Allison with five runner up finishes, but he finally got his title in '83.

Mark Martin gets my vote as the best driver without a title, but Jimmie Johnson is quickly gaining. When looking at the 48 we always say it's just a matter of time before they win one, but we use to say that about the 6 a decade ago. There are no guarantees.

Johnson's worst nightmare: The Buffalo Bills of NASCAR.

GJ0196: Mark Martin is an obvious choice. Davey Allison and Tim Richmond are also obvious choices. Harry Gant is a pretty good pick too. I go with Ricky Rudd, though.

Twenty out of his 26 full seasons, he finished in the top 11 in points. All six of those other seasons he was driving very subpar equipment: three seasons with the Wood Brothers and the final three seasons with his own single-car team.

He won races during 18 of his 26 full seasons, including 16 seasons in a row with at least one.

Only three Busch Series starts, and one of those was a win. I think he may still be the last owner/driver to win a race. He built his own program from the ground up, not to mention rebuilding the RYR No. 28 back into a championship contender after a couple dismal years, and rebuilding the Wood Brothers to a consistent threat for top-10s by the end of his final season there.

The results for both teams went way down after he left. He also had the best years for Kenny Bernstein's team. He may not have all the second- and third-place finishes in points as Martin, or the legend of Allison or Richmond, but he is certainly if not the most consistent driver to never win a Cup, then right behind Mark in that category.

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Awesome response, Martha. Very well done. Rudd is the consummate racer, gritty, determined. If there's one guy I'd want in my corner during a scrap, it's Rudd. He's the Rooster, and he's tougher'n woodpecker lips.

And yes, Rudd's 1998 victory at Martinsville Speedway marked the last time an owner/driver won a Cup Series race. He was the last of a dying breed. In fact, Geoffrey Bodine's victory at Watkins Glen more than 10 years ago was the last time an owner/driver other than Rudd won a Cup race.

Mumph: For me it's Harry Gant. His popularity garnered him multiple nicknames like "Handsome Harry," "High-groove Harry," "Mr. September," and, of course, "The Bandit."

He ran well on every track. He won his share of races. He also maintained the respect of fans and competitors alike. Harry was the epitome of a "clean" racer who won by racing hard and not "moving" people out of his way. If anyone every deserved a championship, it was Harry.

Gant appears in a television ad campaign here in Charlotte for a local ophthalmologist, touting Lasik eye surgery. He's ageless. You'd swear he was 40 years old.

jjorjd: Hey Marty, my fat sister-in-law started singing, but I took that 200 mph duct tape and taped her mouth shut. She is so big her butt cheeks have different zip codes. Oh well, like Larry the Cable Guy says, "Gotta love those sassy fat chicks."

The best driver would be my favorite, Mark Martin, because he is in a class of his own, a gentleman on and off the track and a respectable driver. But he is going to Chevy next year? Smartest owner of the year? Frye and Ginn! Wow, Jack Roush couldn't and they could.

This guy kills me.

Yes, Martin is going to Chevy next year. Rumor has it that if he wins the championship this year, he may drive Ginn Racing's new No. 13 Chevy in '07 rather than the No. 01 he's slated to pilot on a part-time basis.

He'd have the latest past-champion's provisional, and thus a guaranteed spot in the field for the No. 13 in every race he enters.

He's only 102 points out. It could happen.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.