Martin brings veteran's outlook to youthful DEI

INDIANAPOLIS -- For a guy who was supposed to be easing toward semi-retirement, Mark Martin just keeps getting busier.

He drives part-time on the Nextel Cup circuit, and in select events on the Busch and Craftsman Truck tours. He oversees motocross star Ricky Carmichael's transition from motorcycles to stock cars. Now he's been thrust into the high-profile position of teammate to Dale Earnhardt Jr., and added the role of mentor to a bevy of young drivers who have always admired his career.

And there's likely more to come, in the form of a 2008 driving schedule that hasn't been finalized yet. But Martin can worry about that later. After Dale Earnhardt Inc. absorbed the assets of his old team, Ginn Racing, he has plenty to do already.

"I think my duties have been increased," Martin said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. "Everything that I did at Ginn Racing, I still have those duties, but even more now. All the things with the driver development program, the leadership, there's more to do now. That's what I expected. That's what I want to do. There's more of that happening right now. Of all my duties, this just means there are more of them to do, and it's more exciting."

That doesn't seem to bother Martin, a suddenly sunny 48-year-old who left the full-time grind of Nextel Cup racing behind last year. He's increasing the schedule for Carmichael, who's scheduled to compete again this weekend in late-model cars owned by Martin. He feels personally responsible for Aric Almirola, the former Gibbs development driver who'll split the No. 01 car with him for the rest of this season. And he can't wait to provide advice and encouragement to other young teammates like Martin Truex Jr. and Paul Menard.

"I've always wanted to help people that wanted help. For them to think that I can provide some kind of leadership to help them is great. I'm not sure I can. But for them to think I can, then it will. That's what's special. I'm not sure I've had any impact on Kurt Busch or Regan Smith or anyone else who's come along, but they think so, and it really makes me feel good." he said.

"Paul Menard is a tremendous raw talent. He wants to absorb that 25 years of experience, and hopefully those guys can sort through the stuff that's beneficial and the stuff that's old-school, old-fogey talk. I know when I came in, and I listened to the old-timers, they spent a lot of time talking about how much better it was in the old days than it was today. I wasn't really interested in that. I was interested in how can we make today better. Hopefully, they'll be able to sort through that when they're around me, and I can have some kind of positive impact on their careers."

Truex, for one, looks forward to it. "I'm a huge Mark Martin fan, I always have been," he said. "I like the way he goes about his business, I like the way he races. The amount of knowledge he has is incredible. I look forward to being able to tap into that. I talked with Mark for 20 minutes already [Friday]. I've always gotten along with him real well. I look forward to learning a lot from him in the future. He's going to be a great asset to our entire organization." (Continued)