Keselowski will benefit from Martin's success (cont'd)

But if these two are to begin dueling soon as two of the top-tier drivers of the next generation, Keselowski needs to line up a full-time Cup ride. Logano already has a good one at Joe Gibbs Racing, where he replaced the outgoing Tony Stewart at the beginning of this season.

Keselowski thought he was slotted to gain some valuable part-time experience this year and next, when he had planned to drive the 10 races that Martin wouldn't -- if Martin actually ever could have stayed away and run only the 26-race part-time schedule he for which he had originally signed on.

• Stay in the loop on the 600
• Get your tickets for all events

This isn't the first time Martin's plans to stick around have impacted a young driver hoping to shape his own full-time future in The Show. Remember how Martin talked about Regan Smith being the next great driver when Martin was splitting seat time with Smith for the ill-fated and short-lived Bobby Ginn Racing operation?

By the end of that very season, Martin was giving out the same quotes -- but with Aric Almirola's name subbed out for the forgotten and shoved-aside Smith. Then a part of the No. 8 team at the soon-to-be renamed and reorganized Dale Earnhardt Inc. stable, Martin shared that ride with Almirola until leaving at the end of the season for his current full-time gig with the No. 5 at Hendrick.

With sponsorship scant and full-time funding a pipe dream following Martin's departure, for which Martin cannot be blamed, the No. 8 team was shut down and Almirola's career stalled after only a short time this season.

That isn't likely to happen with Keselowski. First of all, he has options. Second of all, he has people -- and we're not talking about people to do his taxes here. Third of all, he has that one Cup victory already and now another top-10 finish to back it up.

The difference

Keselowski's victory at Talladega and his strong run at Darlington -- long considered two of NASCAR's most harrowing tracks -- give him valuable currency as he seeks a full-time ride for next season. That should attract sponsorship dollars even in this waning economy.

Heck, his initials are BK. Couldn't you just see him doing something goofy with the Burger King King who is getting so much air time in commercials these days? It would make more sense than the current BK tie-in with the Star Trek franchise, and who said all those commercials have to make much sense any way?

Rev the Vote

Make your choice for the Fan Voted-In driver for the 25th All-Star Race on May 16 at Charlotte.

• Vote now!

Furthermore, let's take this logic one step further. As owner Rick Hendrick likes to say -- or at least used to say -- the inn is full at his Hendrick Motorsports shop. (Of course it turned out his word didn't mean a whole lot in that case, but that's another story for another day).

So there's no room on the Cup roster at Hendrick in 2010 for Keselowski, whose win at 'Dega whetted his appetite for a more ambitious (read: quicker) full-time entry into racing in NASCAR's top series. Well, what if BK and Mr. H get with some of their people to find a spot for him at a place that, well, is sort of Hendrick Motorsports but not quite -- thereby satisfying NASCAR's rule that will begin limiting organizations to a total of four teams each at the end of this season?

After all, Hendrick provides chassis and engines for Stewart-Haas Racing. Guess who sponsors a limited number of Cup races this season for them? That's right. Burger King.

And if that doesn't work, what about funding a full-time Cup team for Keselowski through JR Motorsports, which currently fields his Nationwide team? Earnhardt, the team owner there, has said he's not sure about a foray into Cup racing and wants to be careful about anything he does as far as expansion with his company, but he also has admitted he has not completely ruled it out as a possibility.

Truthfully, Martin has done Keselowski a huge favor. Keselowski openly admits now that, because of the success he has experienced in very limited exposure to Cup racing thus far, he no longer would have been content next season with running a part-time schedule anyway.

He said he thinks he's good enough now "to where maybe I'm a 10th- to 20th-place Cup driver. I know that to make that next step, I need to run full time. I need to have a full-time ride at the Cup level to be a guy who can run for the Chase or take wins."

Ten races next season would not have been enough for him to take that next step. Now it appears to be only a matter of where he takes it from, and with whom. For that, Keselowski can thank Mark Martin.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.