ELLISVILLE, Fla. -- Saturday was a long day at Columbia Motorsports Park, but Mark Martin, with a veteran's savvy and candor, summed it up in one succinct sentence.

He was addressing a disconsolate Ricky Carmichael, who took a DNF in Saturday night's Super Late Model race after completing less than one-third of the 25-lap feature on the half-mile oval.

Carmichael begins on the FASCAR track

They say he has the talent; all he needs is the seat time. Ricky Carmichael's stock-car debut proved invaluable as he makes the transition from motorcycles.

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"Don't get caught up in the results," Martin said before leaving the rural Florida short track at about 11 p.m. Saturday. "Latch onto what you learned, because that's what's important."

Carmichael learned he could race cars, but after bouncing off the wall four or five times between practice, his first stock-car heat race and the feature -- along with doing a "whoop-de-do" style vault over the back of a competitor's racecar --he knows there's a lot of ground yet to cover.

Before that occurs, Saturday marked a couple of important milestones in motorsports, though one was a baby step and the other a monumental chasm.

The first was Carmichael, 27, the 15-time AMA motocross and supercross champion, making his first start in a stock car as part of Ginn Racing's driver development program. Carmichael finished 11th of 12 cars after hitting the wall on the backstretch entering Turn 3 on about the seventh green-flag lap.

Team owner Bobby Ginn, who initially went to the wrong North Florida backwoods racetrack but arrived in plenty of time for Carmichael's third-place finish in his heat race, plans to have the native Floridian in one of his Nextel Cup Series cars when his gradual development curve culminates.

But Carmichael's debut paled in relation to the second, and most major event, specifically a continuance of the realization that Martin's streak of 621 consecutive weeks of competing at a Cup Series racetrack was over.

While the event was similar to the end of the sport's record of 788 consecutive race starts that ended when Ricky Rudd decided to take a one-year hiatus from the sport following the 2005 season -- Martin's absence from Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway was way more significant because he was the Nextel Cup points leader when he stepped away.

It was a point that wasn't lost on Ginn, but it also was no surprise to the millionaire developer and sports promoter who'd offered a car for Martin to race anywhere he desired -- despite a split schedule already having been worked out between Martin, who's scheduled to compete in 21 points races, and rookie Regan Smith, who'll do the other 15 in the No. 01 Chevrolet.

"This was entertainment, sure, but I think something really special was going on here, [Saturday night]," Ginn said. "This is why we did what we did when we signed up Mark Martin [because] he wanted to run a limited schedule, but even more than that, he wanted to work with young drivers and we wanted a development program."

How successful the development will be remains to be seen, but as an artistic success, the packed house in Columbia's tiny frontstretch grandstand and the mass of people around the Mark Martin Performance pit area -- for which the track designated two of its officials to serve as security to maintain control around the Martins and Carmichael -- speaks to a ton of interest being created by this program.

"[Saturday night], the most meaningful thing going on is that, at a racetrack in a small town in Florida the stands are full and the people are having a good time," Ginn said. "And a marquee driver steps out of leading the [Nextel Cup] points and comes out here to a Saturday night special and sits in the dust and signs autographs, works with his kids and really brings racing back to the grass roots.

"And that is a successful investment for us."

As Ginn said, on the eve of the first Cup race Martin has missed since the Feb. 14, 1988 Daytona 500; all Martin was thinking about was being a teacher, a mentor and a leader to Carmichael; his son Matt, 15, for whom racecars are one of several activities of which he's devoting time; and his Mark Martin Performance race team.

It's a lesson applicable to racers -- or fans of racers -- whether they're 5 or 85. And make no mistake, that entire range of ages was present, in great numbers, among the estimated crowd of more than 2,000 at the regular FASCAR Saturday night show.

"Ricky certainly brings new fans to car racing," Ginn said. "But [Saturday night isn't really about marketing. This is what you do to train young drivers to hopefully go on and play in the big leagues. That's really what this is about.

"Again, for a driver of the stature of Mark Martin to step out of the points lead and to be willing to do this, to come and work with a couple young drivers, brings something back to racing. If anything was promoted [Saturday night], it was racing."

When Martin parked his vehicle outside the racetrack and strolled through the Turn 1 gate just before 3:15 p.m. with his wife, Arlene, and Matt by his side, he had no way of knowing what the next seven-and-a-half hours would hold.

An argument could be made that there was little difference between Columbia County, Fla., and Bristol, Tenn., other than the area codes.

Martin did a pile of media interviews, paused for an autograph session in the pit area next to his racecars and was the target of dozens of cameras.

Mark Martin with 15-year-old son, Matt, and Ricky Carmichael

"This was not exactly what I had in mind for [Saturday night]," Martin said as he scanned the dozens of people surrounding his two-car pit, including five or six camera crews and several print reporters. "But it comes with the territory, you know what I mean? But I'm very happy. The happiest I've been in a long, long time."

There was a lot about Martin's carriage and demeanor that said exactly that. At one point he said there was "so much rolling around in my head" that he couldn't think of an answer to a question.

"I'm not sure I'm focusing on short-track racing right now because there's a lot going on here," Martin said, laughing again. "And Ricky's doing the driving, so I'm not having to think about as much as I usually do."

But in the midst of all that, the cars -- and the racing -- never faded from the forefront. And it wasn't the racing in Bristol, even though Martin was well aware what was going on there.

From the time he walked into his team's pit virtually all he was concerned with was what was happening with his cars. Martin did make a point of greeting a number of guests in his area, but he was perpetual thought and perpetual motion.

"I'm pretty nervous about this," Martin said. "Matt seems to run real good when I'm not here, so if I had my choice I would get to racing and get this over because I'm just too nervous."

Despite saying that, Martin had walked up to his pit area smiling and relaxed. But there was no question "the boss" was there. He slapped on a headset, a pair of Mechanix gloves and he was the first one to grab a jack when Carmichael's car returned to the pits after its two practice runs.

That was the course of the evening, with Martin striding between the Nos. 4 and 66 cars repeatedly and offering tips and counsel.

Martin had one last chance for an out, when someone asked him at about 7 p.m. if he still had time to gas up the jet and fly to Bristol. Martin just burst into a grin and laughed as he answered.

"I don't want to," Martin said. "That's not what I got in mind.

"For me, I'm having an awful lot of fun. Ricky's a super, super young man and I'm really enjoying working with him, and I'm looking forward to moving forward, because this is the first little brick in the foundation."