By Ryan - Posted on June 19, 2009

In convincing style, NASCAR News is happy to report that Mark Martin has propelled himself into the chase standings again with a win at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.  The 50 year old Martin used great pit strategy to place himself 2.99 seconds in front of Jeff Gordon in a race that is traditionally known for its fuel mileage issues.

This makes his 3rd win of the season and the 38th of his career.  Martin continues to defy the odds as a driver in his 50s.  No driver has won multiple races after the half century mark, and this year Martin has three in the #5 Chevy.  All those numbers are not bad for a guy who has tried to retire from the Sprint Cup twice, and continues to return stronger than ever.

The race was not without intrigue, and Martin would have been content with a top 5 until the leaders, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle both ran out of fuel on the final lap.  “When Jimmie ran out at the line, I said, 'I want to run hard! It's three-quarters of a lap. What can happen? I can surely make it.' And we ran out coming off of [Turn 4]. I can't believe we won this thing," Martin said in victory lane. 

Young gun driver Denny Hamlin explained the reasoning behind the first and second place cars running out of fuel at the same time.  He said, “The 16 [Biffle] and the 48 [Johnson] kind of baited each other into running hard, and that's what happened.”  In Michigan, it is a common occurrence for fuel to be an issue because of long green flag laps and varying pit strategies.  But either way, the “old man” benefits yet again from wise decision making and great driving.  If he continues his pace, perhaps that illusive championship is in his very near future.