LAS VEGAS -- Somewhere along the line during the first three races of the 2007 Nextel Cup season, driver Mark Martin made a realization that has kept a smile pretty much frozen on his face -- even when he is deflecting repetitive questions about his plans for the immediate future.

He said following another top-five finish in Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that he now knows what he thought last year was false. Last year, in his 19th year of driving for Roush Racing, Martin thought he might be getting a little washed up.

"Here's the thing: I thought I was getting too old to do this stuff. And now I have found out that my car wasn't as sharp as it needed to be. It wasn't me," Martin said. "There's still some racing left in me. I really thought my ability was diminishing."

In other words, Martin, the long-time Ford man when he was driving for Roush, now seems certain that the Chevrolet he is driving for Bobby Ginn Racing is better than the Ford he competed in while with Roush. That appeared to be the statement he was making after driving his No. 01 Chevy to a fifth-place finish Sunday, although he tried to downplay it a little when pressed on by reporters.

"The biggest thing I have figured out in these first three races is that my ability has not diminished as much as I thought. My car, my team is very strong. My cars are very sharp right now," he said.

"I'm not going to go there with your statement. But my car is a Chevy and it is better than my car was last year. You know what I'm saying."

Actually, after three races in which he finished second in the Daytona 500, third at California Speedway and fifth in Vegas on Sunday, it looks as if Martin's driving skills have not diminished at all. He said that is not true, however.

"I'm sure they have diminished some; just not as much as I thought. I'm sure they've diminished some; I'm 48 years old," he said.

And while Martin conceded that he has somewhat made up in experience for whatever he may have lost because of his advanced age, he insisted that it is still a young man's game. This despite the fact that Martin still leads in the driver standings, holding a six-point advantage at the moment on Jeff Gordon, who finished second Sunday.

"Experience helps, but the engineering today really makes it a young man's sport. Young and brave," Martin said. "I'm not willing to wreck in practice or wreck in qualifying to hang it all the way out. I'm only going to put it on the line when I have to, where they'll put it all on the line 100 times and only mess up twice."

Martin hasn't messed up much this season, although he actually thought he might have brought his car home with a higher finish Sunday after leading a total of 15 laps and spending much of his day riding in the top-three.

"There were times when I thought our car was good enough to win the race. And even at the end of the race, I thought we had a third-place car," Martin said. "Then on the last restart, I don't know if I had a tire going down or what -- but it got real tight. And we brought it home with a top-five anyway.

"But what a strong team. What a great opportunity. You just don't see guys put together a part-time schedule with a team this awesome."

Ah, yes, there is the matter of that part-time schedule. Martin is scheduled to run 23 races for Ginn this season. He's supposed to split seat time with rookie Regan Smith, who is slated to slide into the driver's seat of the No. 01 Chevy when the Cup circuit races at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25.

But Martin sure is having fun driving, and he keeps leaving the door open ever so slightly to the possibility that he won't walk away as scheduled. He did say Sunday that if he wins next Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, that might change everything.

"I suppose a win might. But the points lead doesn't. I'm not worried about that," Martin said. "I've said it before and I'll say it again -- at this point in my life, it just doesn't mean that much to me. But driving a great racecar does. And I want to tell you, that was a great racecar I drove [Sunday]."

Gordon said no one in the garage is certain what Martin will do. But he said he thinks Martin would enjoy going out on top after four races if Martin can hang onto the points lead after Atlanta -- and that he doesn't think that would be a bad idea.

"I'd take a long vacation. I'd enjoy it while it lasts. I'd say I went out while I was on top," Gordon said. "I don't know, I think he made a decision -- and when he made that decision, things have come along that could be more rewarding to him than leading in points.

"I think it might be a little bit different if we didn't have the Chase. If the Chase format wasn't in there, he might stick around a little longer. But with the Chase, everything changes when you go into those last 10 races of the season. I'm not saying he wouldn't be a factor, because he's done a fantastic job."

Martin made it clear that he fully expects a fantastic finish again in Atlanta, a venue he enjoys.

"I don't specialize on tires or tracks like this one [in Vegas]. My specialty is Atlanta," Martin said.

So if he wins the race in Atlanta, will he run at Bristol?

"I don't have a clue. Please, let's talk about that then," he insisted. "I don't want to run Bristol. Let's talk about that next Sunday. Let's leave my comments where they were -- because they are still what they are.

"I don't have an interest in that race. I also don't have an interest at this time in chasing the points. But I love driving the cars that we have. I love it."