Photo by: Michael C. Johnson
BACK TO POCONO
In first race, Martin Finished Second; 0.997 Seconds Behind Logano
CORNELIUS, N.C.— No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Mark Martin’s last visit to Pocono Raceway might have been his best performance in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Martin made a daring pass on a restart to take the lead with just seven laps left in the track’s first 400-mile race. Joey Logano retook the top spot with three to go and beat Martin to the finish line by 0.997 seconds for the Toyota sweep of the top two spots.
The Michael Waltrip Racing team returns to the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania triangle this weekend with the same driver, crew, car and Goodyear tire compound in a bid to finish one spot better. Pocono is one of a handful of active Sprint Cup tracks where Martin has not won but owns seven second-place finishes. Last week at Indianapolis Martin’s 11th-place finish increased his streak of consecutive top-11 finishes at Indy to eight years.
MARK MARTIN: “We are all motivated by winning. That’s why we are racers. We know we can win this weekend at Pocono. When you know that it makes you want to get to the track that much sooner.”
MARTIN ON TOYOTA: “They gave us awesome motors at Indy and throughout the year. They've been very, very helpful with us at MWR for sure. This is my first experience with them. And there are a lot of racers that help us with the engines and the technology, and I really enjoy them. And they've embraced me, and that's been nice. They have really made me feel welcome.”
NO WINS BUT SEVEN 2ND PLACE POCONO FINISHES: “You're not owed this stuff, man. I've earned all those second-place finishes, and I'm proud of that. You're not entitled. You've got to go get 'em.”
POCONO: “I’m fine with running 400 miles there. I think the fans saw a great show in June. I couldn’t tell the race was shorter. They did a great job with the paving. I wasn’t too optimistic but we put on a great race. I didn't think it would be possible to have a first race that good. That was just absolutely the best I can ever remember for new pavement. The Goodyear tires were fantastic as well.”
Source: Michael Waltrip Racing
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