Martin looking forward to time away, Smith's debut

On Friday afternoon in the garage at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, practice for the Nextel Cup Series was winding down. The U.S. Army Chevrolet that Mark Martin drives was already up on jack stands, the crew preparing the car for qualifying.

Next to the car, a smiling, yes, smiling Mark Martin. We said hello. We shook hands. We talked about the first three races. Then I looked at him and didn't even have to ask the question. Mark shook his head.

Bill Weber

"I need a break," said Martin, with an even bigger smile.

"We've been working hard on this since Talladega last year."

"I'll believe it when I see it," I said.

He waved his hand, smiled, and walked back to his car.

Well, I still haven't seen it, but now I do believe it.

Mark Martin will not race at Bristol this Sunday.

For an hour on Tuesday afternoon, Mark fielded questions from reporters around the country on a conference call.

It was a long time. It was a good time.

"I did enjoy that," Martin told me after the call.

"After the announcement at Talladega last fall, I didn't think anyone would ever want to talk to me again," he said with a laugh.

That was when Mark stunned the garage and the grandstands announcing he would drive a limited schedule, in 2007 and 2008, for Ginn Racing, in a Chevrolet.

Anyone of one of those factors would have been a big announcement. The three together? Huge.

"There didn't seem to be a lot of happy people after that. I'm just glad people are noticing," Martin said.

There are numbers we could talk about: 621 consecutive starts, four times a runner-up in the championship standings, 35 career wins in the Cup Series. A series-record 47 wins in the Busch car and five IROC championships (13 wins). But those accomplishments have come at a cost.

"The schedule sucks every ounce of time you have," Martin said Tuesday on the weekly teleconference.

"In my whole life, racing has always come first and then family. I have the opportunity to change that. I am carrying out that plan to cut back. I'm not interested in chasing that championship. I had a great career, but 2007 isn't the year to do that anymore. There are other things I'm interested in pursuing. There are portions of my life that have been passing me by. I hope to pick up a few pieces of that at age 48."

I have tremendous respect for Mark Martin. If reporters were allowed to have a favorite driver....well, never mind. A number of years ago his Busch Series team challenged me to put down the microphone and work with them Friday and Saturday at Michigan. Mark even said it was OK. I did it, it was fabulous. The guys, and Mark, made me feel like part of the team. They even let me keep the crew shirt and I still have it.

Wow. Mark Martin will not be in the starting lineup Sunday.

Smith takes over

Regan Smith will make his Cup Series debut in the Car of Tomorrow. It's also the car leading the owner points.

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"I've done it for 621 races. People that are saying they can't believe it, they haven't lived it. I have done it 19 years straight, and been doing it successfully for 19 years straight. With that comes great responsibility to the media, sponsors and the fans to continue to meet those expectations and fight for a championship. I don't want to do that now. It's not about the championship, now it's about racing in general. I don't have that pressure on my shoulders anymore."

I'm happy for Mark. I'm sad for us. Can you believe it?

"Listen, some of [the people] that can't believe it are 35 years old. Thirteen years from now they might understand. Some are my age and have not been as blessed as I have been.

"In my racing career, we've always been close [to winning the championship]. I have always felt if I could work a little harder, find a little bit more inside me, that would put us over the top. Now I'm ready to enjoy my racing rather than make it such a task. Life has been passing me by, now I'm having a ball driving."

At age 48, Mark Martin has led the points three consecutive weeks, a position he relinquishes this weekend. But maybe the fact that Martin is sticking with his plan to run a limited scheduled should not be the big story. Maybe what he is doing on the track is the story.

"The partial schedule is news, but it is cool to know we have been leading the points. I have not been as successful as the greats, but I have been successful in my career. I have never won the Daytona 500 or the Nextel Cup championship, but nobody has ever worked harder at that than I have, I think. I have given everything I can to it. Now, it's like having my cake and eating it, too.

"I'm not ready to quit racing or even give up Nextel Cup racing. But I had to find a part-time ride with a good team that would put me in a competitive car. That is difficult to find. So I owe a lot to [Ginn Racing CEO and GM] Jay Frye, team owner Bobby Ginn, and [crew chief] Ryan Pemberton. Really, the greatest sense of pride of all for me right now is that they are getting the recognition they deserve."

But Martin never thought all that recognition would arrive this quickly. He didn't think he would be leading the points heading to Bristol.

"No. I did not. I knew that Ryan was incredible and the team had suffered horrible setbacks with Ernie [Irvan] and Jerry [Nadeau] when they were so hot. They had to battle through a lot of drivers and setbacks. The organization had a lot of work to do and still does but I'm surprised the results have been what they are for all three teams.

"We just want to get on the same level as the competition. And the cool part is that they want me to hang around and help them with it. I'm proud of what Sterling [Marlin] did at Vegas and what Joe [Nemechek] did at California. We are working together and working well together. We have great crew chiefs and great crews and they have shown great promise."

Now Mark Martin is trying help find the promise of the future. This weekend he is going to the track, only the track is in Lake City, Fla., and he will be coaching, not driving. He will be working with his son, Matt, and motocross superstar Ricky Carmichael, who is making the move from two wheels to four.

"We're going to have a blast up there on Saturday."

Then on Sunday?

"I have a nice 42-inch plasma screen and TiVo so I'll be replaying the wrecks, moving them back and going forward and watching them in slow motion. I will be sorely disappointed if there isn't lots of wrecks, because it seems like there sure is I'm in the race there.

"So there probably will be again. I think that it's going to be interesting seeing the Car of Tomorrow in its first race. Seriously, I'm just going to hang out; barbecue a little bit and hang out and watch the race."

"I'll be tired because we'll be working Saturday night. I'm looking forward to just being relaxed on Sunday."

And Martin is also looking forward to the following two weekends.

"This weekend I am still on a schedule," said Martin, with a laugh.

"I'm tired of schedules. After this weekend I'm not going to be meeting a schedule. Martinsville is my first 'off' weekend; I'm really looking forward to that. And I'm just as excited about spending Easter weekend in Batesville [Ark.]."

That's where Mark has his car dealership. It's a Ford dealership, by the way.

"I'll have two full days with my fans where I'm not burned out. I've done it before but I was always burned out. It'll be better than it was last year. I was sick [with a cold] last year and it was still a blast. This will be even better. The next three weekends are going to be fun for me."

Martin admits he might feel a little twinge of anxiety come Sunday, a wish that he was in the race. But he doubts it.

"I didn't have any idea we were still leading the points when I got out of the car Sunday [after Atlanta]. I was really pretty proud of that. But not as proud as my son Matt is. Sometimes he's hard to impress. But he seems to be very proud of that fact."

Regan Smith will sit in for Mark on Sunday. He's 23 years old. This will be his first Nextel Cup Series race.

"Regan, he's ready. He's displayed great speed, great adaptability. I went testing with Regan on more than one occasion; worked with him at Bristol. The guys have a good racecar and a great race team.

"Regan's biggest challenge at Bristol will be to try to avoid everyone else's troubles. Obviously we'd like to see him run all 500 laps, and that's not easy to do even for a veteran up there. So it's going to be an interesting weekend, but we think the world of Regan as a person, young man, and as a really bright new star coming into the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series."

"Just hearing Mark say those things gives me more confidence," Smith said.

"It's just the little words of encouragement and the little things that he says. For instance, Mark was watching the Mexico race. I had a problem at the end of the race there. We had a flat tire and didn't get the finish we deserved.

"He was watching, and he let me know that. And just to know that he's watching and that he's rooting for us. And even though he's not going to be in Bristol this weekend, I'm sure when I talk to him Monday he'll know everything that happened throughout the course of the race and that means a lot to me.

"As I've said before I've looked up to him since I was 4 years old when I first started watching races on TV and that's pretty special."

"Regan is humble and that is exactly how I want him to be," Martin said. "We really believe in him and we know he's going to do well."

Mark Martin may not miss the race on Sunday. But he will miss something else. The fans. He says it in every interview. He can't thank the fans enough.

"I'll miss the cheers at driver introductions. Over the past year, through the change of teams, the fans have been overwhelmingly supportive and that means more to me than any Nextel Cup trophy or any Daytona 500 ever would. The respect they have shown me, the feeling of love. I guess I have done something right, and that's the highest tribute."

So while Mark Martin barbeques in his backyard on race day at Bristol, Regan Smith will get to hear the cheers and drive the 01 U.S. Army Car of Tomorrow. And in addition to the "splitter" on the nose and the "wing" on the tail, this car has one more thing on it this week, that neon yellow rookie stripe.

After the conclusion of Tuesday's teleconference, Mark was offering Regan some advice when the media lines were disconnected. Shortly after the call, I asked Mark what advice he gave Regan.

"Oh, I was telling him there's no way around being nervous and feeling the pressure once he gets to Bristol. It's going to be a big weekend for him. I felt it's important for him not to be nervous and put all of that out of his head. He shouldn't have any unrealistic expectations.

"He knows what he can do. He knows what he has to do. He should not try to do more than that."

In other words, don't try to be Mark Martin. At least, not yet.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.