Daily Archives: January 12, 2017

Mark Martin’s Fitness Regimen Redefined the NASCAR Athlete and Prolonged a Winning Career

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Team owner Jack Roush (L) and Mark Martin, driver of the #6 Viagra Ford, celebrate winning the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Banquet 400 on October 9, 2005 at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

To the surprise of no one, Mark Martin continued to win races at the highest level well past an age when most competitors have hung up their helmets.

With five victories past the age of 50, Martin also came within one standings position of winning the 2009 premier series championship.

The phrase ‘age is just a number’ may be cliché – but it certainly applied to the diminutive Martin, whose fitness regimen of heavy weight lifting and healthy eating became legend and ultimately sent his fellow competitors flocking to gyms and nutritionists.

In short, Martin lived his life like a man half his age – and drove like it as well.

“I told the guys I don’t have any problem keeping up with a 25-year-old,” he told The Associated Press in April 2009 after becoming the third-oldest winner in NASCAR premier series history at Phoenix International Raceway. “I feel really good.”

Only one driver – Harry Gant – won more races after his 50th birthday. Martin polished off a 40-victory resume during a magical year driving for Hendrick Motorsports in 2009, adding to his 35 wins at Roush Fenway Raceway. That’s the most wins by a competitor without a series championship. Continue reading →

Daniel Suárez: Promoted Earlier than Expected – But Not Too Soon

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Photo – Getty Images

Don’t worry about Daniel Suárez.

And don’t buy into the assumption that, in promoting Suárez to fill the seat of departing Carl Edwards, Joe Gibbs Racing is making the same mistake it made in 2009 when the organization threw then-18-year-old Joey Logano into the deep end of the pool.

Laboring under the weight of replacing Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Toyota, Logano never blossomed at JGR. It took four years of seasoning and a move to Team Penske for Logano to realize his enormous potential in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car.

Suárez, on the other hand, is already 25, and possesses a ferocious work ethic matched only by his desire to learn – and learn quickly. Continue reading →

XFINITY Champion Suarez Promoted to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

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HUNTERSVILLE, NC – JANUARY 11: NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez talks about his future driving at NASCAR’s highest level during a press conference at Joe Gibbs Racing on January 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Photo by Bob Leverone/ Getty Images

The phone call interrupted Daniel Suarez’s lunch. He didn’t mind.

Team owner Joe Gibbs was calling with the surprising news that Suarez, winner of the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship last season, would be promoted to drive the team’s No. 19 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota in 2017 as a replacement for Carl Edwards.

Edwards had told Gibbs about his decision to leave racing during the Christmas holidays. Continue reading →

Edwards Steps Away from Full-Time NASCAR Racing

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HUNTERSVILLE, NC – JANUARY 11: NASCAR driver Carl Edwards talks about his career in a stock car during a press conference to announce his retirement at Joe Gibbs Racing on January 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images

Calling at least a temporary halt to a career he described as “living a dream,” Carl Edwards confirmed Wednesday his decision to step away from driving race cars to pursue what he described as other adventures.

In a decision that shocked the NASCAR world, Edwards, 37, said he was leaving the Joe Gibbs Racing team and one of the best rides in stock car racing “because I’ve always followed my gut. All the signs point to this being the right thing to do.”

Daniel Suarez will be elevated from the NASCAR XFINITY Series operation at JGR to replace Edwards in the No. 19 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota.

Edwards would not rule out returning to racing in the future, but, during a 37-minute news conference in which he was near tears, he emphasized that many other things – at this point not identified – have his attention.

He said he is satisfied with his driving career, which includes 28 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup victories and an XFINITY Series championship. He barely missed a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup title twice. Continue reading →