Mark Martin has outside chance at Cup

Mark Martin’s Down But Definitely Not Yet Out

Mark Martin may trail Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson by 108 points entering Sunday’s Ford 400 finale but it’s not in his DNA to go down without putting every ounce of his skill and determination into the fight.

And who knows — witness the recent Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots game — what could happen.

If anyone can stage a comeback, it’s the veteran Martin who, on nine occasions, has gained more than 108 points on Johnson. It happened most recently two weeks ago in Texas, when Martin’s fourth-place finish coupled with Johnson’s accident-troubled 38th, resulted in a net gain of 111 points.

Regardless of how matters shake out, “I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done this season,” said Martin, only the second NASCAR Sprint Cup driver past the age of 50 to win five times in a season.