Nextel Cup Series

PERSONAL Birthdate: Jan. 9, 1959 Hometown: Batesville, Ark. Resides: Daytona Beach, Fla. Marital Status: Married (Arlene) Children: Amy (10/14/72), Heather (10/31/74), Rachel (10/31/74), Stacy (1/29/78), Matthew (12/17/91) Hobbies: Weight training, quarter-midget racing with son, Matt

HIGHLIGHTS Four-time series runner-up (1990, '94, '98, 2002) NASCAR Top-10 finisher for 12 consecutive seasons (1989-2000) Owns 34 series wins and 41 poles Won a career-high seven races in 1998 Won inaugural race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1998)

YEAR-BY-YEAR NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RECAP 2004 Finished fourth in series points. Finished with one win, 10 top fives, 15 top 10s and two DNFs. Enjoyed a renaissance after sub-par year in 2003, finishing in the top five for the 11th time and in the Top 10 for the 14th time. Won the June 6 event at Dover International Speedway. Finished 43rd in the season-opening Daytona 500 after engine failure limited him to only one lap, but climbed steadily in the point standings, breaking into the Top 10 – in 10th place – following the Labor Day weekend event at California Speedway. Earned a berth in the inaugural “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” the following week, after the Sept. 11 event at Richmond, race No. 26 and the cutoff point for the Chase. Began the Chase in eighth place and finished fourth. Was one of only two Chase qualifiers (Jeff Gordon was the other) to finish the final 10 races. Announced on Oct. 14 that 2005 will be his final fulltime NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. 2003 Finished 17th in series points. Suffered his worst championship finish since 1988, his first season with Roush Racing. Went winless for only the fifth time in his 17 full-time seasons. Finished with five top fives and 10 top 10s. Best finish was second at the first Pocono event. Suffered seven DNFs, his worst total since eight in 1994. Ran the final 22 races without scoring a top-five finish. 2002 Finished runner-up in series points, 38 behind champion Tony Stewart. Marked the fourth time in his career that he has finished second in the championship (1992, ’94, ’99) and 13th time he was among the top eight in points. Had one win, which came at the Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 in May at Charlotte breaking a 73-race winless streak. Scored 22 top-10 finishes for Roush Racing. His top-10 total tied for series lead with rookie Ryan Newman. Held championship lead for two weeks late in the season. 2001 Finished 12th in series points. First time out of top 10 since finishing 15th in inaugural season with Roush Racing in 1988. Struggled through difficult season; went winless for only the second time in last 13 seasons, the other time being 1996. Also did not record a top-three finish, the first time that had occurred since joining Roush. Did manage respectable showing in points by posting 15 top-10 finishes, including pair of season-best fourth-place showings. Earned two poles, the ninth multiple-pole season of his career. Poles came at Richmond and Bristol, the seventh of his career at that track. It is the most poles he has attained at any one track in the series. 2000 Finished eighth in series points. 12th consecutive season finishing among the top 10 in the championship, but snapped run of seven consecutive years among the top five. Won at Martinsville to give him at least one win for four straight seasons and 11 of the last 12. Had 20 top-10 finishes, including seven third-place finishes. Did not win a pole, marking the first time since joining Jack Roush in 1988 he was shut out. Ended a run of 12 consecutive seasons with at least one pole. 1999 Finished third in series points. Third consecutive season among the top three and seventh time of his career. Seventh straight season among the top five in the championship. Posted two wins – Rockingham and Dover –for the eighth multiple-win season. Had 26 top-10 finishes, with 19 among the top five. Won his lone pole at Rockingham, extending his streak to 12 consecutive seasons with at least one pole. 1998 Finished second in series points, 364 points behind champion Jeff Gordon. Third runner-up finish in championship (1990, ’94). Sixth consecutive season among the top five in the championship. Had career-high single- season victory total, with seven. Previous best was five in 1993. Second in series in wins, trailing Jeff Gordon (13). Victories came at Bristol, Las Vegas, California, Charlotte, Dover, Michigan and Texas. Wins at Las Vegas (inaugural event), California and Texas were first of his career at those tracks. Posted 17 finishes in 33 starts among the top three. Had 26 top-10 finishes in all. Won from the pole at Dover and added other poles at Rockingham and Darlington. 1997 Finished third in series points. Fifth straight season among the top five and fifth time in his career among the top three. Also third in the title race in 1989 and ’93. After going winless the previous season for the first time since 1988, bounced back with four wins. Victory total third in the series.Won at Infineon, Dover, Michigan and Talladega. The win at Infineon came from the pole. Coupled with three wins at Watkins Glen (1993-95), all four career road-course wins have been from the pole. Recorded 24 top-10 finishes, including 16 among the top five. Coshared series lead for poles with Bobby Labonte, with three. Poles came at Dover, Rockingham and Infineon. 1996 Finished fifth in series points. Fourth consecutive season among the top five. Had 23 top-10 finishes, including 14 top fives, but did not record a victory. Snapped a run of seven consecutive seasons with at least one win. Had four season-best runner-up efforts. Ranked second in the series in pole positions with four, trailing only Jeff Gordon (five). Poles came at Bristol, where he swept the top spot for both events for the second consecutive year, Pocono and Richmond. 1995 Finished fourth in series points. Third in series in wins (4) and second in poles (4). Trailed only Jeff Gordon, who had eight poles. Had 22 top-10 finishes, including 13 among the top five. Recorded victories at Charlotte, North Wilkesboro, Talladega and Watkins Glen. Captured Watkins Glen from the pole for the third consecutive season. Other poles came at Bristol (twice) and New Hampshire. 1994 Finished second in series points for second time in five seasons. Finished behind Dale Earnhardt again, but this time it was a distant 444 points. Had two wins – captured Watkins Glen from the pole for the second consecutive year and won at Atlanta – and had 20 top-10 finishes overall. Watkins Glen was only pole of the season, but extended streak of consecutive seasons with at least one pole to seven. 1993 Finished third in series points. Second time he finished third in the championship – the other was 1989. Third in the series with five wins and second in pole positions, with five. Trailed only Ken Schrader (6) in poles. Five wins also established a career best. Wins came at Watkins Glen, Bristol, Darlington, Michigan, and Phoenix. Poles came at New Hampshire, Bristol,Watkins Glen and a sweep at Rockingham. Won from the pole at Watkins Glen and Bristol. ... Extended string of seasons with at least one pole to six. 1992 Finished sixth in series points for second consecutive year. Earned two wins – Martinsville and Charlotte – and posted 17 top-10 finishes overall. Had one pole (Atlanta), giving him at least one pole for five consecutive years. 1991 Finished sixth in series points. Had one win – Atlanta – and 14 top-five performances. Led series in poles for first time, with five. Swept poles for both races at Charlotte and Martinsville. Other one came at Pocono. Gave him 14 poles in the last three seasons. 1990 Finished second in series points, only 26 points behind champion Dale Earnhardt. The margin was the fifthclosest championship in series history at the time. Tied for second in series for wins (3) and poles (3). Wins came at Richmond, North Wilkesboro and Michigan. Poles came at North Wilkesboro, Pocono and Martinsville. Made 10 front-row starts. Posted 23 top-10 efforts, including 16 among the top five. 1989 Finished third in series points. Made dramatic jump to a championship contender in just his second season with Roush and third full season overall. Earned first premier-series victory Oct. 22 at Rockingham in his 113th career start. Added five runner-up finishes and had 14 top-five performances. Six pole positions, which tied Alan Kulwicki for the series’ season high. 1988 Finished 15th in series points. Turned out to be a career move as he joined owner Jack Roush in what would become a long and successful relationship. Notched 10 top-10 finishes, including career-best second at Bristol. Also earned a pole at Dover. 1986 Finished 48th in series points after not running the premier NASCAR series in 1984 and ’85. Ran five events for Gunderman Racing. Did not record a top-10 finish, but did earn a pair of outside poles. 1983 Finished 30th in series points. Ran partial schedule for four different teams, J.D. Stacy (7 races), Morgan- McClure (6), D.K. Ulrich (2) and his own (1). Best finish came while running with Stacy as he matched his career best with a third-place effort at Darlington. 1982 Finished 14th in series points. Competed in first full season as driver/owner and finished runner-up to Geoff Bodine for Rookie of the Year. Competed in 30 races, including one for Bob Rogers, and posted eight top-10 finishes, including a pair of season-best fifth-place efforts. 1981 Finished 42nd in series points. Made his initial venture into the series as a driver/owner. Competed in five races, which included an impressive third-place finish at Martinsville and poles at Nashville and Richmond Fairgrounds. His first career pole – at Nashville – came in just his third career start. First career start came April 5 at North Wilkesboro, where he started fifth and finished 27th.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY Has series-leading 45 victories in NASCAR Busch Series. Grew up racing up short tracks throughout the Midwest. Won three consecutive American Speed Association championships from 1978-80 before moving to NASCAR; returned to ASA and won 1986 title before making permanent move to NASCAR.

NOTEWORTHY Owns Mark Martin Performance, a company which sells quarter-midget racing chassis. Helped build the quartermidget track at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway. Set a NASCAR Busch Series record for victories with his 32nd victory in 1997, at Rockingham.