Diecast Diaries: Retirement? What Retirement?

This edition of Diecast Diaries looks at Mark Martin’s successful return to full-time NASCAR racing in 2009, and his near-miss in the title fight with team mate Jimmie Johnson.

Martin raised a few eyebrows in 2008 when he announced that he would be joining Hendrick Motorsports for the 2009 season, racing a full schedule in the team’s famed #5 Chevrolet Impala SS.

It was to be the veteran’s first full-time campaign since 2006. Since leaving long-time home Roush at the end of that year, Martin had raced on a part-time basis for Ginn Racing and later Dale Earnhardt Incorporated when the two teams aligned.

A full-time return always seemed out of the question though, especially with Martin turning 50 during the 2009 season. That was until legendary team owner Rick Hendrick came calling.

“You’d have to say Rick Hendrick, #5 car,” Martin told Speed TV’s Steve Byrnes back in 2009 when asked what were the reasons behind his surprise comeback. “I wouldn’t do it for anyone else, or any other car on the circuit.”

Although it took some time for Martin to be persuaded to join Hendrick, he soon realised that it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

“I wouldn’t consider it at first,” he admitted in that same interview. “Rick asked me more than once and I told him no to a full-time deal before I had a chance to absorb what that opportunity was.”

“I realised that there’s nothing in the world that will take the place of what racing does in my life. I’d been so incredibly happy in 2007 and 2008 driving the limited schedule with the wonderful teams and opportunities in very competitive cars. [But] what am I going to do? Sit on the couch?”

After weeks of discussions, Martin let himself get attached to the idea of driving Hendrick’s longest-serving car, letting go of the idea of racing the car part-time and going all-in once again.

“I talked to Rick about sharing the car, and that’s how I let my heart get wrapped around driving the #5 car,” he said. “We discussed that for about six weeks and when it came down to all or nothing – I always said if it was all or nothing, I’d choose nothing – I had my heart wrapped around this.”

Martin signed a two-year deal, joining a powerhouse team that also consisted of Jimmie Johnson, who was in the midst of what would become a record-equalling seven-time championship run; four-time champ Jeff Gordon still at the height of his power; and race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was entering his second season with the team.

He replaced Casey Mears, who had a fruitless year in the #5 in 2008 after he took the place of Kyle Busch who had moved on to Joe Gibbs Racing, where he remains to this day.

Cup titles weren’t initially the aim for the man who had come achingly close to NASCAR’s biggest prize four times in the past, but race wins certainly were – and they came. Martin, the retired driver who’d just reached his half-century, looked like a hotshot youngster in the prime of his career.

At the fourth round of the season in Atlanta Martin claimed his first pole position since 2001, and went back-to-back a week later in Bristol. He only had to wait three more weeks for his first win with Hendrick, taking victory in the eighth race of the year in Phoenix, ending a 97-race winless streak which stretched all the way back to 2005. He added victories at Darlington, Michigan – where he outlasted team mate Jimmie Johnson on fuel mileage; Chicagoland, and New Hampshire.

It wasn’t all positive through. Martin initially struggled to break into the all important top-12 spots for ‘Chase’ qualification thanks to a poor run of luck which saw him suffer a couple of engine failures and get caught up in multiple wrecks. He eventually made it as high as sixth when the regular season wrapped up.

However, thanks to the Chase system that NASCAR had at the time, wins carried more weight, and when the post-season begun, Martin had the most wins of anyone, which vaulted him right up to the top spot.

Martin eventually went into the season finale at Homestead, Miami, as one of just two drivers, along with Johnson, who was able to win the title. That being despite having his chances all but written off by onlookers after he was caught up in a terrifying multi-car crash at Talladega – the 32nd of 36 races in 2009.

Unfortunately, his 12th place finish in the season finale was not enough to claim a maiden NASCAR Cup title and he took the runner-up spot for the fifth time in his storied career.

Martin ended his comeback in 2009 with five wins, second-most in the series that year, and 16 other top-10 finishes. He wouldn’t repeat that success in 2010 or 2011, taking just a handful of top-10s as he failed to qualify for the Chase on both occasions.

The 2010 season really would prove to be Martin’s final full-time season, as he went on to run part-time for Michael Waltrip Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Stewart-Haas Racing in his final years as an active driver.

Martin retired for good after the 2013 season and was later voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, joining its class of 2017.

As for the #5 car, Martin’s replacement Kasey Kahne raced the car for six seasons, but could only find victory lane six times. He left the team at the end of 2017, and the car was rebranded as #24 when rookie driver William Byron joined the team in 2018, with what was the #24 (driven by Chase Elliott) becoming the #9.

Diecast Diaries is a regular series where I tell the real-world stories of the cars in my personal collection of diecast racing cars.