Go figure. Years after a sponsorship with Viagra failed to do the trick, it took a sponsorship with a company specializing in kids' cereals to make driver Mark Martin feel young again.

Actually, it had more to do with hooking up with owner Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, which sponsored the No. 5 Kellogg's-sponsored Chevrolet that Martin, at age 50, drove with such youthful vigor during the 2009 Sprint Cup season.

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I'm very proud of what we accomplished -- and on top of all that, I had more fun than anybody.

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MARK MARTIN

Martin won five times, captured a series-high seven poles, and was the only one left within even shouting distance of fellow Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson heading down the stretch to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Sprint Cup season. Martin eventually finished second to Johnson in the point standings, but not before undeniably becoming the feel-good story of the season.

"We were the only team in the garage that had earned a chance at it in the last race, and that's quite an accomplishment," said Martin, who has never won a championship and had run a part-time schedule the previous two seasons.

In the end, though he was left with the fifth bridesmaid's points finish of his long career, Martin said the outpouring of support he received throughout the year from fans and fellow competitors alike meant as much to him as he figures a championship would.

"I don't have one of those trophies, so I don't know what one of those things would mean to me. But I can't imagine it meaning any more than the feeling that I felt from so many people, competitors and fans," Martin said.

Didn't get much better than this

Of Martin's five victories, none was more dramatic or placed more hope in his championship fuel tank than his victory in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 20. It was the first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and put the top-seeded Martin in control of his own destiny.

"This is just incredible," Martin said afterward. "Pinch me. I'm sure I'm dreaming."

The disappointment still lingers

He was in the running for a possible win or at least definitely a higher finish than Johnson in the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Nov.1 when he got caught up in a wreck on the next-to-last-lap. His car flipped and slammed into the outside wall before coming to a stop in the infield, relegating him to a 28th-place finish that more or less reduced his title hopes to a pipe dream, even though he wasn't mathematically eliminated until Homestead.

"There is no frustration," Martin said after the season ended. "I'm very proud of what we accomplished -- and on top of all that, I had more fun than anybody. I had a blast. It's been an honor and a privilege, and I didn't leave nothing out there. I never left anything anywhere.

"My race team dug as hard as they could dig, and we accomplished more than anybody else in the garage this year except for the 48 [team of Johnson]. That ought to be enough to make you proud."