Congratulations, Mark Martin

Mark Martin won his second race of the season at Darlington on Saturday night. Not bad for a guy who's already retired, what twice? 3 times? Not bad at all.

Mark is now over age 50, and shows that Nascar is not just a sport for young guys anymore. It was good to see Mark back in victory lane once again, and I have a feeling this won't be the last time we see him there, since not only will he be competing for a spot in the Chase for the Cup this year, and possibly a championship, but also once again in the 5 Hendrick Chevrolet once again in 2010. Way to go Mark Martin! Long may you retire if it means winning races!

Another very impressive driver for Rick Hendrick has been the spring Talladega winner, Brad Keselowski. Not only has Brad already won a Cup race, he's been in negotiations with Rick Hendrick for a future role at Hendrick Motorsports. Ooops? I wonder what happened. Now that Mark Martin has confirmed his plans to run a full 2010 season in the 5 car, where does that leave Brad? Either out in the cold, as far as Hendrick is concerned, I suppose, or could there be other plans in the works? I have a theory, but I'm not going to share it just yet. Let's just see how this plays out for a while, why don't we?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his free fall from major league driver to the ranks of obscurity on Saturday night. He drove through his pit at one point, which put them behind, and finally hit the wall hard and finally then spun out late in the race at Darlington. While the '88' stock seems to be going down, the argument among his fans as to what needs to be changed rages full force. Some Jr. fans believe the fault lies entirely upon crew chief Tony Eury Jr.'s shoulders. I read one supposed fan not only advocating that Tony Jr. be fired, but that he have an axe applied to his head. I think that's a little harsh.

Whatever Dale Jr.'s problems are on the track, he keeps being the top news story in Nascar circles. I don't think that Dale Jr. ever really wanted that notoriety, but he's got it. He's had it almost since the very beginning, and he certainly sells the merchandise. To me, it's easy to like a guy like Dale Jr. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, the real deal, as they say around here. I know people say he's overrated as a driver, or that he complains too much, but I don't see that, really. He gets a little coarse on the radio at times, but very few drivers don't, when you get right down to it. A driver doesn't win 18 races in Cup and do it because he's overrated, so for me, that argument is idiotic, at best.

I have to say that Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are doing a very good job in their new endeavor at Stewart-Haas Racing. Once again, the Indiana Gang posts some good finishes, this time at Darlington. I agree with what someone said on Fox TV: "It's not a matter of if they'll win this year, but when."

Until next time,

God be with you and your family!

Spense.