Martin ready to rock on Sunday at Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. – For the second year in a row, Mark Martin has asked his fans to choose his song for Sunday afternoon’s driver introduction at Bristol Motor Speedway. Martin’s eclectic taste in music gives his fans a chance to choose songs from rock n’ roll and rap genres. The winning song will be announced via Twitter just before the start of the introductions.
“I love music,” said Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. “I love finding new music. The reason I like rap music so much is that it tells a story. It’s not just words that rhyme, but words that tell a complex story. I have a lot of admiration for old school rock, too. AC/DC has been one of my favorites for years. I want something that has a good beat that not only represents me, but makes the fans get into it a little bit, too.”
Music isn’t the only thing on Martin’s mind as he enters the fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup event of the season. Ranked 11th in the driver standings, Martin will line up ninth in the new and untested Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-625 on the unpredictable 0.533-mile short track.
“Bristol is kind of like Talladega (Ala.) Speedway in that fact that anything can really happen,” Martin said. “Maybe not to the extreme that Talladega is, but it definitely has that capability. We saw that last March when we had an awesome race car, but got caught up in someone else’s accident. It just happens.”
In 44 Cup starts at the speedway, Martin has posted two wins, 16 top-five finishes and 23 top-10s. Martin first visited Victory Lane there in 1993 and again in 1998. His experience gives him an understanding of what it will take to have a good run at the oval on Sunday.
“The best thing to do is be good right off the truck; qualify well; get a great pit box and a great starting position and just stay up front all night,” Martin said. “Not only does that help during the race itself, but it also gets everyone’s confidence up and gets them pumped up for the race.”
Pre-race coverage of the Cup event begins Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX, and the race starts at 1 p.m.