Early trouble at Michigan drops Martin to 13th 

BROOKYLN, Mich. -- Mark Martin fell out of Chase position Sunday at Michigan International Speedway because he was too aggressive too soon.

Overjoyed to have the Kasey Kahne decision behind him and ready to focus on maintaining his precarious place in the top 12 in the point standings, Martin said he was eager to go racing when the green flagged waved.

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Fans chime in as Beau Estes and Mike Bell break down the Chase hopes of Mark Martin in Green-White-Checkered.

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Unfortunately, Martin's excitement got the better of him and the front of his No. 5 Chevrolet paid for it.

"I ran into the back of the No. 82 [Scott Speed] car. He lifted for Juan [Montoya] and I didn't know it was time to lift yet and I pounded him pretty hard and that really messed the car up," said Martin, who dropped to 13th in points. "I put us behind, anyway, early in the race getting up against the outside wall. We got behind because of that, too. I will call it my mistake.

"I was charged up and excited and amp'd up when the race started and had to hammer down a little bit more than I could control."

At one point in the race Martin was a lap down and had fallen 90 points behind the Chase cutoff. But Martin's team made some fast laps at the end of the race to minimize the damage. He finished 28th.

"I'm real proud of the rebound that the guys made," said Martin, who is 35 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer. "We're going to go down swinging and that's what we did [Sunday]."

Bowyer, who finished 13th at Michigan, and Martin have flip-flopped positions the past two weeks.

"Clint is a guy that can easily replace anybody in the Chase," Carl Edwards said. "Both of those guys [Martin and Bowyer] are really strong right now. They could easily go out there and win two in a row. If you go out there and mess up, then they could capitalize on that. You have to be careful."

Richard Childress, who owns Bowyer's No. 33 Chevrolet, not only is wary of Martin, but other drivers within striking distance with three races left before the cutoff.

"That's going to be a battle," Childress said. "It's not just racing two guys, it's about four guys that can still win that. Clint still is pretty wired. The pressure that goes along with where he's sitting now. ... It's a tough deal, tough on the drivers. He and I are going to talk [Monday]."

Bowyer, who made the Chase in 2007 and '08 before missing the cut last year, has been in this position before.

"Hopefully, we can do some things that will get him focused in on what he's got to accomplish these next three races," Childress said. "It's a lot about being right there and having the focus and concentration."

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