by Joe Beasley

Created on: February 19, 2009

One of the biggest stories entering the 2009 Sprint Cup season is whether or not Mark Martin can finally win the Sprint Cup championship that has eluded him for over 20 years. Mark Martin drove the #6 Ford owned by Jack Roush for nearly 20 years before retiring to a partial schedule and a new team in 2007. During his tenure at Roush Racing (now Roush-Fenway Racing), Martin finished 2nd in the series standings a record 4 times. Mark has spent the past two seasons running a partial schedule for Dale Earnhardt inc, and while mildly successful, did not win a race during his semi-retirement.

Legendary car owner Rick Hendrick persuaded Martin to join Hendrick Motorsports starting with the 2009 season. In driving the #5 Carquest/Kelloggs Impala in 2009, Mark joins Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jimmie Johnson as the Hendrick Motorsports "Dream Team". Considering the success of the Hendrick teams, including the last three Sprint Cup championships belonging to Jimmie Johnson, fans and media alike consider 2009 to be Martins best chance at winning the series title that has been just out of reach nearly every season since 1989.

Although Mark Martin refuses to discuss the championship until much further into the season, his excitement and attitude alone heading into this season have resulted in numerous stories about him having his best shot of his career at winning it all. Long known as Nascar's greatest driver to never win a championship, 2009 certainly appears to be the year for the 50 year old veteran to finally remove his name from that dubious distinction. While many fans believe Mark was robbed of a title in 1990 when Nascar fined him 46 points for an illegal carburetor spacer that had no effect on performance (he lost the title by 26 points to Dale Earnhardt Sr.), nothing short of winning it all in '09 will change Marks place in racing history.

With the best set of teammates a driver could ask for, a car that is capable of winning several races this season, and a driver who is as good as they come, 2009 looks to be the year to add the only piece of hardware missing from the Batesville, AR. natives trophy case. Just as sure as Martin will wake up tomorrow morning at 4:30 to do his daily workout, you can rest assured that the most respected driver in the Sprint Cup garage is a definite favorite to claim the biggest prize in motor-sports. Can Mark Martin win the Championship in 2009? The answer my friends, is a resounding YES!

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