Michigan Is About as Good It Gets For Mark Martin's Championship Run

“Just not getting caught up into it. You know, it would be nice to be locked in but it’s also nice to be contending to get in. It would be a lot worse if you were back and didn’t have a shot at it.”

Wow! How much difference a year makes, especially when you are 50-year-old Mark Martin who just last season was sitting 26th on the grid, and a whopping 663 points away from the final spot to make the chase.

Martin has found a way to freeze the hands of time while getting a new lease on life at the same time.

Martin has somehow found the fountain of youth at Hendrick Motorsports, when he signed his multi-year contract back on July 4, 2008.

He has also found a way to keep that passion very much alive, especially at an age when its not hard to look around at all the younger drivers who are climbing the same hill that he has already climbed.

“You know, things change as you age and for me I have had good fortune from the racing standpoint to not have the passion not diminish any or the willingness to do what it takes to be the very best you can possibly be."

"So those are a couple of the things that have really helped me,"added Martin.

He will once again find himself a championship contender if he can only keep himself consistent these last four races.

His last championship run came back in 2002, while driving the No. 6 Roush Fenway Pfizer/Viagra sponsored race car.

Martin, who won this race back in June while conserving enough fuel to beat out fellow driver Jeff Gordon, and Joe Gibbs racing driver Denny Hamlin brings with him a series leading four victories.

The win was his fifth at the two-mile track, which is the most for the Martin at any racetrack.

In his 47 previous races there, he has earned five wins, 17 top-five finishes, and 29 top-10s.

Surprisingly, Martin, who has 45 career Sprint Cup pole positions, has not earned the pole for a Cup race at the speedway.

Martin has led a total of 883 laps at MIS. Martin reflected what it was like to come from the 32nd starting spot to win the race back in June.

"The win at Michigan was like, 'Wow! Did we really win this?' Martin also added, “You know the deal is that it’s nice to start in the front, but you don’t have to. You do the best you can with what you have to work with."

"Last time here we qualified 32nd. We didn’t want to, but we did and we worked with what we had to work with.”

Even though father time is clicking on his heels, he still finds balance and solitude in this high energy sport to keep moving forward.

“I don’t know. I feel 25 when we win, but I feel 75 the next morning. So I don’t know. It kind of balances itself out I think. Sometimes you feel pretty good and sometimes you don’t. We’re just out here doing what we love.”

As Martin gets ready to make his 48th cup start this weekend, none of these numbers will mean a thing at the end of the season if he doesn’t make the chase for the Sprint cup championship.