DOVER, Del. - Mark Martin chased the championship contenders for the victory in Sunday's Sprint Cup race, but the veteran driver settled for a rock-solid fourth-place finish at Dover International Speedway.
Martin, who started the 400-mile race second in his No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet, ran in the top five for virtually the entire event. And when the race was restarted for the final time with 43 laps remaining he was running in second place.
"I wanted to win so bad for this team and for our Soldiers that I lost my rhythm briefly at the end and got passed," said a candid Martin, who finished behind three Chase drivers: Greg Biffle (race winner), Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. "I gave it everything I had as did this Army team. The pit stops were awesome all day, and as our Soldiers do ever day, we fought to the end."
Martin's stellar performance at the track known as the Monster Mile was his second straight top-five finish and his fourth straight top-10.
"We were solid from the get go and really felt this could be the day that we would pull off a victory," explained Martin. "This Dale Earnhardt Inc. team, led by crew chief Tony Gibson, gave m
e an incredible car to drive. We made very few changes throughout the race. It's just a real pleasure to drive for this team and have that big Army logo on the hood of our Chevy Impala SS."
Of the top-nine finishers in Sunday's Camping World RV 400, Martin was the only non-Chase driver.
"We're so close to that win and we're going to do everything humanly possible to get to Victory Lane in the final eight races," said Martin, who shares the U.S. Army/DEI ride with Aric Almirola.
The No. 8 DEI team remains 15th in Sprint Cup owner points.
Martin and the Army team return to action next week at Kansas Speedway, where Martin won in 2005.
