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Martin Takes Chicagoland For Fourth Win In '09
posted 07/12/09 5:35 pm
ABC 7 News - Martin Takes Chicagoland For Fourth Win In '09
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(Sports Network) - Mark Martin gave his boss, Rick Hendrick, a huge birthday present Saturday after he held off teammate Jeff Gordon in a double- file restart with two laps to go to win the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Martin set a track record for leading the most laps at Chicagoland with 195, but gave up the lead to his other teammate, Jimmie Johnson, after a restart with less than 40 laps remaining. Denny Hamlin pushed Johnson out of position on the following restart. Hamlin and polesitter Brian Vickers then got together and slowed each other down, allowing 50-year-old Martin to pass underneath the two to reclaim the lead with 16 laps to go.

"That was fun," Martin said. That's what life is allow about."

An incident involving Kyle Busch in the closing laps set up the final restart. Martin pulled away from Gordon and went on to capture his Sprint Cup Series leading fourth victory this season and the 39th of his career.

Martin and Gordon posted a one-two finish for Hendrick, who celebrates his 60th birthday on Sunday.

"I told him it would be almost to his birthday by the time we got done here, so it's close enough," Martin added.

Martin and Gordon also earned a $1 million bonus from race sponsor LifeLock. The Hendrick duo finished first and second in the June 14 LifeLock 400 at Michigan, which qualified them for the bonus.

During the mid-stages, Gordon and Carl Edwards made slight contact, getting both cars loose. Gordon lost track position, but a pit stop call by crew chief Steve Letarte to take on four new tires during a late-race caution helped the four-time Cup champion to a runner-up finish.

"We had our struggles, but we had a good car," Gordon said. "Carl Edwards and I were racing really hard, and he got loose underneath me. We about wrecked, so we had a long battle from that point on, but what an incredible call Steve Letarte made."

Kasey Kahne finished third, while points leader Tony Stewart and Hamlin rounded out the top-five. Stewart fell back in the field late in the race when he had to pit again for a loose lug nut

Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers finished sixth and seventh, while Johnson ended up eighth. Clint Bowyer and Juan Pablo Montoya completed the top-10.

Busch had a frustrating night as he dealt with an ill-handling car before his engine expired in the final laps. He wound up with a 33rd-place finish.

The only major incident in the 400-mile race occurred following a restart on lap 226 when Paul Menard blew a tire after making contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Burton and Scott Speed crashed while trying to avoid Menard's spinning car.

"I know double-file restarts are exciting, but it's the fourth week in a row we've been wrecked on a double-file restart, and I'm done with it," a disgusted Burton said after the incident.

With the victory, Martin moved up two spots to 11th in points, as seven races remain before the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" begins. Stewart's lead is now 175 points over Gordon. Busch fell from eighth to 10th.









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