Fifty Years Young

In today's day and age, we expect motor racers to retire early. Gone are the days where they race deep in their forties. Heck, even as some turn thirty, we hear of retirement plans. It is all about getting the young, raw talent behind the wheel.

In Nascar, that is no different. Rookie Joey Logano is eighteen and racing at the highest level of stock-car racing. Right now, the sport has a crop of drivers under twenty-five that have the potential to be long-running contenders for wins and champions.

But on Saturday night, Mark Martin dominated in a fashion to remind everyone that despite being the elder statesman of the Sprint Cup, he still has plenty to give. His victory, his first in nintey-seven races, made him only the fourth driver to win a Nascar race over the age of fifty. He is the first to do so since 1993.

But it wasn't just at Phoneix. Martin has looked as sprightly as those drivers thirty years his junior. Already he has notched up three poles. If it wasn't for issues out of his hands (two engines going up in smoke and a tire blow out), he would be comfortably inside the top-12. Going into the fourth race of the year, he was on the cusp of falling out of the top-35 in points.

After those issues, many wondered if that was it. Had the fairy-tale turned into a nightmare? The veteran responded by remaining ever positive and has steadily notched up the points. With victory over the weekend, he now sits a mere nine points from the coveted twelfth position. Will Mark Martin make the Chase? I think the answer is pretty clear.

His victory was a popular one up and down the pitlane. It was great to see so many different people come and congratulate Martin in pitlane. Team-mates current and old, former team owners and long time competitors. Outside of a Dale Earnhardt Junior victory, one for Mark Martin would be the choice of Nascar fans.

The question still remains - can he finally win the championship. Some still question whether he has that killer instinct to take victories which are all important to the Chase. As the season goes on, I really think he is in with a shot. He is consistently up the front and now with the first victory for the team, they can only move on from here.

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, in Mark's case, there is no need for new tricks when the old ones still impress.