Gustafson not concerned about No. 5 car's situation

When the 2009 season began, Mark Martin was considered a popular dark horse pick to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Four races into the grind that is a 36-race marathon, it no longer is such a popular notion. Martin sits 34th in the standings heading into Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway -- and he's 35th in owners' points, perilously close to the top 35 cutoff where he would have to start qualifying for events on speed beginning next week at Martinsville Speedway.

Return to Bristol

Quite a bit has changed about Bristol since Mark Martin last raced there in Cup. But, as he says, it's still a race track.

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It has been a mystifying start to the season for Martin's crew chief, Alan Gustafson.

After engine failures -- rare for any Hendrick Motorsports team -- at Fontana and Las Vegas in two of the first three races, Martin was running fourth in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he ran over something on the track, puncturing a tire and causing him to wreck. After that, it was all Gustafson and the veteran driver could do to bring Martin's No. 5 Chevrolet home in 31st place.

"It's almost humorous now," Gustafson said. "We're proud of Mark and all of the guys. We had a good car [in Atlanta]. We weren't the greatest on the short runs, but I think we were as good as anybody on the long runs. We just ran something over and cut a right-rear tire. It's just unfortunate.

"The guys deserve a lot better. Mark deserves a lot better. Unfortunately we don't control all that happens. We just have to go to Bristol now and be ready to go, and keep doing what we've been doing. I think we've been running as well as anybody, with maybe just a few exceptions. The 24 [driven by Hendrick Motorsports teammate and current points leader Jeff Gordon] may have been better than us at a few races, but I think we've run as well as anybody the first four races; we just have nothing to show for it. Hopefully that'll change."

Martin was wicked fast at Atlanta, and he showed it by winning the pole for the race. Three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said he believes it is only a matter of time until Martin's luck turns for the better.

"He's had plenty of speed," Johnson said. "It's been two motors and a tire. I look at it as bad luck. He's been way quick. Actually, I've been really impressed with everything he's done." (Continued)