Martin focused on Bristol, not dwelling on Michigan

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Mark Martin is not the kind of man to live in the past. He prefers to view life out of the windshield rather than the rear-view mirror.

In preparing for his 1,000th NASCAR national series start in Saturday night's Sharpie 500, Martin said he and crew chief Alan Gustafson have already worked hard to put last weekend's failed fuel-mileage strategy call behind him, and return their focus to the task at hand, putting together three solid finishes and cement a place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

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Mark Martin talks about his 1,000th NASCAR start, his respect for Kyle Busch and what Jimmie Johnson has accomplished in his career.

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"I have accomplished everything I had hoped to accomplish this year already, and much more," Martin said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. "The least difficult thing of all the things I had hoped to accomplish, I thought, would be making the Chase. And Alan and I are both confident in our performance from here forward. I'm not so confident in our luck but I'm certainly confident in our performance and that's all we can do."

"In some ways, the tension has increased because we should be comfortably in instead of where we are. He and I both are working as hard as we can to keep that minimized. ... It just would be devastating for my team to not be included in that elite group. But they have won more races than anyone else this year, so they can be proud of that."

Martin and Gustafson are living proof of the adage "you win some, you lose some." Gustafson's gutsy fuel gamble at Michigan in June paid off when Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle both ran out of fuel in the final two miles, handing the victory to Martin. However, Lady Luck turned her back on the No. 5 team last weekend. An almost guaranteed top-10 became a frustrating 31st-place finish when Martin's Chevrolet engine sputtered and fell silent on the final lap.

Martin said he immediately went to work trying to rebuild Gustafson's confidence.

"I worked at it Sunday night, right away, and Monday morning," Martin said. "He's a very, very, very competitive guy and he's so smart. It's such a special opportunity in my lifetime to have a chance to work with him. He was doing much better on Tuesday." (Continued)