Martin makes his second trip to Victory Lane of season with win at Darlington

Mark Martin and the Cheez-It/CARQUEST team won their second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the 2009 season Saturday, May 9, at Darlington Raceway.

Mark took the lead with just 46 laps remaining and held off his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson to take the Southern 500 win.

Mark Martin celebrates his second trip to Victory Lane of the 2009 season after winning Saturday at Darlington Raceway.

Links Kellogg's Racing Official Site 2009 Sprint Cup Series Race Schedule Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR.com

"This feels great," Mark said in Victory Lane. "I want to thank the fans and Cheez-It, CARQUEST and Chevrolet for all of their support and of course Sprint. Alan Gustafson (crew chief) and this race team and the boss. Hey, Rick (Hendrick) – thank you, man. I am loving it. That was so incredible. Once we got out front, it was just easy. The car was awesome."

Mark's victory was the 37th of his 27-year Sprint Cup career, and he tied Bobby Isaac for 17th on the all-time winner's list. He is third on the list for the most wins by any current full-time driver, behind teammates Jeff Gordon (82) and Jimmie Johnson (41).

Following two practice sessions on Friday, Mark qualified 12th for the 500-mile race. The team, however, was not happy with the Chevy's performance in race trim, prompting the crew to make major changes to the car's setup prior to race time.

"That's definitely the toughest race I've ever won – one of the toughest races I can remember running," Alan said.  "We weren't very good on Friday. Mark went out there and got us a good qualifying lap, salvaged a starting spot for us. But we knew we had a lot of work to do on the car. We made some adjustments that are really probably four or five times more than we would normally make on a race day morning. So, really proud of all the guys for making those adjustments and getting it right."

When the race began Saturday, the handling of the Cheez-It/CARQUEST Chevy still was not perfect. Mark radioed to the team that the Chevrolet was very loose. Mark entered pit road on lap 22 for his first pit stop of the night. With right-side tires and fuel, he exited pit road in eighth place, five positions better than he had entered.

Although loose during the opening laps, the Chevrolet's handling continued to improve throughout the green-flag run. During the next three pit stops, Alan called for four tires and minor adjustments to aid the car's handling. On the team's fourth stop on lap 162, however, a lug nut on the left front tire came off, forcing Mark to re-enter pit road on the following lap. The mistake was costly, and Mark, who entered pit road in seventh place, rejoined the field in 22nd – his lowest position of the night.

But it didn't take long for Mark to rebound. Within 30 laps, Mark muscled his way back into the top 10. In the four pit stops that followed, the team alternated between right-side only and four tires. The Cheez-It/CARQUEST Chevrolet's handling had balanced out, with Mark reporting that car was "pretty good."

With the idea of track position in the forefront of Alan 's mind, he made a key call on lap 297 for a fuel-only pit stop, moving the team from 12th to sixth for the restart. Alan then reported to Mark that his plan was to spend the least amount of time on pit road for the remainder of the race to gain valuable track position.

Alan's plan came into play as, during a lap 321 caution period, the majority of the field chose to enter pit road with Mark remaining on the track and taking over the lead for the first time that night. In the final 40 laps, Mark was advised to save fuel the best he could.

During the race's final caution period on lap 344, a relived Alan informed Mark that he had enough fuel to make it to the checkered flag. Although the team felt relief, Mark's nerves remained on edge.

In the final laps, Mark again had to hold off his teammate for the win. After several laps of close racing, Johnson radioed to crew chief Chad Knaus, that the No. 48 "had nothing" for the No. 5. Johnson, too, was playing the fuel-mileage game.

Mark extended his lead during the final 10 laps and took the checkered flag for his second win of the season. The victory advanced Mark and the No. 5 team four positions to 11th in the Sprint Cup standings – 52 points ahead of 13th. 

The Kellogg's/CARQUEST pit crew will compete in the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on Thursday evening. The competition will air on the SPEED Network at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.