Vickers: Martin remains the one to beat, not Johnson (cont'd)

Sound crazy? Well, yes. But hear him out.

"I wouldn't put everything on the table for them. I wouldn't say, 'All in,' on the 48 team," Vickers said. "I don't think it's a given; I don't think anyone knows that it's a done deal. If that was the case, they would just go ahead and hand him the trophy now.

"I think Mark is going to give them a run for their money. I think Mark has a tremendous amount of experience. He has a good car, good equipment, a good team, and he is extremely hungry."

Told of Vickers' comments, Martin smiled and said he certainly appreciated the support. He admitted that he's feeling very confident about the cars the No. 5 team, headed up by crew chief Alan Gustafson, has been able to put on the track especially as of late.

"Well, that's nice that [Vickers] said that," Martin said. "Now we have to go out and do it. Like I've said before, I'm really, really proud of this race team and proud to be a part of this effort. It's really phenomenal what we've been able to do.

"There is no reason other than just the odds that say we can't sustain what we've been doing. We've been doing it long enough and actually gotten stronger in the past 10 or 12 races, based on our experience together."

Vickers pointed out that Martin, at age 50, is exhibiting signs of racing vitality usually associated with the much younger. He figures that will serve Martin well down the stretch in the Chase.

"Everybody focuses on his age," Vickers said. "But it's interesting to see how this unfolded because rarely do you ever see someone in a sport -- in our sport or any other sport -- who is at Mark's experience level or age or whatever you want to call it, the amount of years he's been in this sport, that is still as hungry as he is.

"He still hasn't won a championship. Most guys that make it that long or are still here this long, they have won championships and they're just kind of burned out. They've accomplished their goals; they're done and moving on."

That isn't the case with Martin, Vickers insisted.

"Mark is really, really hungry," he said. "I think Jimmie is going to have a fight on his hands."

Martin said only that he's not about to give up. He also repeated the mantra to which he has held fast throughout the season -- that he's having fun and just wants to drive great race cars and compete to win races. Having already exceeded all the expectations he had about his return to full-time duty after driving part-time the past two seasons, he keeps saying that anything else on top of what he's already accomplished will be a bonus.

That includes possibly winning his first Cup championship.

"There are a lot of things to happen yet," said Martin, grinning. "Punctured tires, accidents ... there are just lots of great stuff to go yet. We haven't even gotten started good in this Chase yet."