Martin's consistency proof he's a 2009 Cup contender

CONCORD, N.C. -- Sure, the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship is getting mighty interesting.

But what about the 2009 Chase? Why not take a very premature peek about how it might shape up?

More directly to the point, did Saturday night's results in the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway shed some light on how it could differ from the current Chase that likely is now down to a three-man duel between race winner Jeff Burton, current points leader Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle?

After capturing his second win of the season Saturday, Burton is second in the standings and trails Johnson by only 69 points heading into this Sunday's race at Martinsville. Biffle is third, just 86 points off the pace and a mere 17 behind Burton.

Conspicuously missing from this year's Chase is one veteran driver who showed again on Saturday that he could make a run at a championship next season. That would be Mark Martin, who drove the No. 8 Chevrolet fielded by Dale Earnhardt Inc. to a ninth-place finish.

Martin isn't in this year's Chase because, for the second year in a row, he's driving only part time. Saturday's start was his 21st of this season, but the finish was his 11th inside the top 10. Martin has more top-10 finishes in fewer starts than the likes of defending Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman, 2006 Chasers Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch, and a host of others.

And next year, Martin will be driving full time again as he already has announced plans to get behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevy of Hendrick Motorsports currently being piloted by Casey Mears. Not only will Martin be making a return to full-time racing, but he'll be doing it in good equipment.

So there is a very good chance, a probability even, that Martin could make the Chase next year at the ripe old racing age of 50.

Just a number
Burton, for one, said after winning Saturday that in racing as in life, you're only as old as you feel or act. He's 41, for example, and is contending for his first championship with the confidence that he may now possess the knowledge it takes to actually win one.

"No one's ever proven to me why you can't do at 41 what you could do at 23. If you convince yourself you can't, then you can't," Burton said. "Put Mark Martin in a car and have him race against a 21-year-old, and see what that 21-year-old thinks when he gets back out of it. It is what it is.

"We're lucky to be in a sport where you can be successful in your 40s. You know, you can convince yourself you're too old to do it. Trust me, a lot of people will try to convince you you're too old to do it. But with age comes a lot of advantages, too."

Burton said he treasures victories now more than he did when he was younger and he failed to realize how difficult they truly are to come by. He said that was a lesson taught to him constantly -- but only slowly absorbed as he got older himself -- by Martin when they were teammates together, driving for owner Jack Roush.

"I appreciated winning then because Mark Martin was my teammate and he taught me to appreciate it," Burton said. "Mark Martin helped raise me as a racecar driver at this level. He emphasized to me, over and over and over, that you never know when you're going to win another race. You win a race, it might be your last.

"I used to laugh at him. Not about me winning -- but I used to laugh at him thinking he might not ever win again. I thought that was hilarious."

Tracking Martin
Martin is no stranger to the Chase or its format. He made it in 2004, 2005 and 2006 -- the last three seasons he drove full time for Roush -- finishing fourth, fourth and ninth, respectively.

Like Burton, Martin has never won a championship. He finished second three times during the pre-Chase days, and is returning to full-time racing in part because he wants to give winning a title at least one more shot.

Burton, for one, said it would be foolish for anyone to count Martin out. He said he remembers a time earlier in his career when others made the mistake of doing so in regards to another veteran driver.

"The thing that stands out in my mind is we left Pocono one day, and [Dale] Earnhardt was struggling. I guess it would have been in '99," Burton said. "There was a sticker on the back of somebody's van going down the Interstate. It said, 'Earnhardt: Time to cash in on the 401(k).' Now here was a seven-time champion that had won however many races they'd won to that point. And as it turned out, the next year he went out and almost won another championship.

"I hear that kind of stuff today about Gordon. Jeff Gordon, he can't drive anymore. Guess what? Jeff Gordon can drive. I said it the other day and I'll say it again: It's ludicrous to think that he has a baby so now he doesn't want to win anymore. I mean, it's insane."

Three others who finished in the top 10 in the Bank of America 500 and could factor into next year's Chase are Kasey Kahne (second Saturday), Kurt Busch (third) and David Ragan (10th).

But Martin is the most compelling wild card who will be in the mix next season. And if he or any of the others gets in, who will be out?

Based on what Martin has done this year in limited appearances and the driving skill he exhibited once again Saturday night, he'll be taking someone's spot.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.