Martin believes it's his time at Indy, and so do others (cont'd)

"When he retired, or so-called retired, to me, I wasn't as disappointed as him but I was pretty disappointed that he never won a championship because in my opinion in all the years that I raced against him he's one of the best out there. All the guys that I've raced against that I feel like are top-notch experienced drivers, they've all won championships, and he is to me the most deserving guy out there to have one. And he doesn't, so I was pretty disappointed. Whether it's a Daytona 500 or Brickyard 400, I'm certainly going to be happy for him."

Confidence can make a big difference. Former crew chief Andy Petree remembers coming to Indianapolis in 1995 with a car that was good, but not great. No matter. Soon after the team unloaded, Petree remembered, driver Dale Earnhardt told the crew he was going to win the race. He went on to do just that.

"We didn't have a lot of reasons to say we were going to come in here and dominate," said Petree, now an ESPN analyst. "We didn't dominate, but we did win. That confidence he came in here with carried us along until we won that race. I just think it's worth a lot. If Mark is saying that, I'd say watch out for Mark Martin."

Another former Brickyard winner, Dale Jarrett, said Martin has never lacked confidence. He's just been hesitant to show it publicly.

"What he portrayed there is the confidence that is inside of Mark Martin. You don't see that a lot," said Jarrett, also now a TV analyst. "Obviously, he knows as well as the rest of us that talent-wise he's second to none out here, ever. I think he's always had that confidence inside him, but he was a little hesitant to put that out in front of everybody, because in this sport unfortunately you're disappointed more than you're happy about results. The guy who's won the most races, Richard Petty, has won 200 and lost 1,200. So Mark doesn't want to have that disappointment out there, but he's always had that confidence inside. He's getting a little older now, so he's ready to speak his mind and let everybody know what he's thinking."

That's what startles his peers the most -- not the fact that Martin thinks he can win, but that he's saying it out loud, as if challenging all the demons of his professional past to just try and bite him one more time. While his Dale Earnhardt Inc. team hasn't won a race since Martin Truex Jr.'s victory at Dover in June of 2007, Martin has a strong history at Indianapolis, and a confidence level that has people wondering just who this short guy with the crew cut really is.

"I know it's tough to think about other people outside the guys who have been dominating right now, but Mark can make up the difference in a lot of situations," said former Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson. "Also, you have to look at him and think of when he goes out on a limb and says something like that, Mark always thinks the world is coming to and end and the sky is falling. So for him to say that he has a shot at winning, he's feeling pretty good about things, and I believe him."

Martin isn't saying anything to dispel that notion. "Our flat-track program has been exceptionally strong, especially at Phoenix and Richmond. And I expect that it will be really well here," he said. "They have something really working on the flatter racetracks for us. And this team is a team that can do it. You know, we might be due."

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