Mark Martin did not race in Sunday’s Save-Mart 300 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. If you last watched a NASCAR race three years ago, this would not surprise you. You would have seen Martin sitting in a custom-built rocking chair next to fellow retiree — and now on-air personality for ESPN — Rusty Wallace.

Martin supposedly retired after the 2005 season, his last with the Roush Fenway organization. He went out the same way he ran most of his career: running toward the front but never quite able to reach the top.

If he had stayed retired, he would be remembered as one of the best drivers never to win a championship at NASCAR’s highest level. Even Wallace won a Winston Cup — barely.

Retirement has not suited Martin well. He isn’t alone, however. He’s just the poster child for hanging out longer than he said he would.

Past champions Bill Elliot and Terry Labonte show up every once in while and the same is expected of Dale Jarrett. Jarrett’s “final” race was the Sprint All-Star Challenge back in May.

So far he has kept his promise.

The difference between Martin and the others is that any time Labonte or Elliot — or Jarrett, if he comes out of retirement — is that one past champion per race has a guaranteed spot in the field. If Martin quits for real and wants back in, the car he races will have to be in the top 35 in points or he will have to get in on his qualifying time.

For Labonte and Elliot, this would be a problem. For Martin, it isn’t and that’s another difference between him and those other guys. Martin, at age 49, is still competitive. He still runs at the front of the pack when he races and contends for wins. He almost pulled off the biggest victory of his career in the 2007 Daytona 500.

Kevin Harvick beat him by less than a second and it served as just another example of Martin’s entire career. He can climb the mountain but when it comes to reaching the summit, he’s always a few feet short.

Martin is running a limited schedule this season. When he isn’t behind the wheel of the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. No. 8 Army Chevy Impala SS, Aric Almirola is. Almirola came up through the Joe Gibbs developmental system and runs well when he gets the seat time.

This week’s rumor is all about Almirola and that precious seat time. Taken by itself, the rumor that Almirola will be the full-time driver in the No. 8 car for 2009 is nothing special. He’s earned it and DEI isn’t going to fire anyone else. Martin has been a huge asset for that team, but it is time for him to step aside and let the younger guys have their shot. So no big deal, he’s retired, right?

Not so fast. There is a part two to this rumor.

Part two involves Hendrick Motorsports. Sound familiar? A DEI driver rumored to be moving to Hendrick? This time, the rumor is Martin taking over the No. 5 car currently being driven by Casey Mears.

Poor Casey. I like him. He’s a good guy, he’s something of a legacy — ever hear of a guy named Rick Mears? — and he keeps getting jerked around.

Yes, he’s only won one race, but since he reached NASCAR’s top ranks, he’s been in four different cars with two organizations. He hasn’t been with the same crew long enough to really make a connection, and it shows. Now he might be the odd man out again and his options are getting slimmer.

If Martin takes over the No. 5 car for a full season — and possibly makes a real run at a championship instead of just screwing around — and Mears needs a ride, I have a few suggestions.

Option one: Richard Childress Racing’s new No. 33. Mears would fit well with Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer. He’d have less pressure on him, and the Childress organization seems better at nurturing drivers instead of demanding perfection.

Option two: If another rumor comes true and Tony Stewart gets the new RCR car, Mears could jump in the Gibbs No. 20. He’d be teamed up with former mate Kyle Busch, too. This isn’t likely because if Stewart leaves, first crack at his car belongs to Gibbs prodigy Joey Logano.

Option three: Lots of B-list teams will be looking for drivers for 2009. Bill Davis is once again trying to get his second car to a competitive level. It isn’t too late for Gibbs to announce a fourth car. Or Gillette-Everham. We have a lot of time left to see who gets fired.

Option four: This is my favorite. Richard Petty Enterprises — or whatever it’s going to be called after the recent fire sale to an investment company — should hire Mears to drive the No. 45. Get Kyle Petty out of the car, permanently and give the team some consistency.

Mears will keep the car in the top 35 and in every race, as long as the engines hold up. Plus it will give Petty a connection to the old days of NASCAR, which is what they’ve been trying to do all along.

Any way it shakes out, Mears will have a ride and Martin will continue to drive until he collapses.

For all the second places and coulda-shoulda-wouldas, Martin has never been a quitter. That is no rumor.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.