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Mark Martin Wins Southern 500 at Darlington

Mark Martin's confirmation of another full-time seat in next year's Sprint Cup Series sure served him well, as the 50-year old veteran powered to his second win of the season at Darlington Raceway. It was his second win this season and also the second at the “track too tough to tame”, giving him enough point boost to climb into the overall Top 12.

The Southern 500 had a record 17 cautions on Sunday – it seems most of the races are getting caution records this year – and Martin took control of the race after the 15th re-start. Having pitted for refuel during the previous caution, the Hendrick Motorsport stayed on track for the upcoming 3 cautions of the day, while all drivers in front of him visited the pit lane for fresh tires.

Needless to say, the 3 following cautions were just what Martin needed to stay on track without being forced to save fuel, and eventually led to his second chequered flag of the season. Jimmie Johnson was the only driver to challenge Martin for the lead in the last 20 laps of the race – having used the same strategy as his Hendrick Motorsports teammate – but the veteran was not to be denied of the Darlington win.

This is a big surprise. We had a strong car but I never expected to win. Alan Gustafson is absolutely the best. I'm living a second childhood right now and he's my childhood hero. I thought Jimmie (Johnson) was trying to snooker me the in the end, trying to get me off-guard. I was trying to save gas but I couldn't let him get near me because I know how tough he is,” said Martin.

He slowly secured enough car lengths of advantage to Johnson to win the race, with Tony Stewart coming in 3rd place. The Stewart-Haas driver led most of the second part of the race before stopping for refuel during the 15th caution, but immediately powered to 3rd place with 20 laps to go. He had to settle for that position until the end, though, while followed by teammate Ryan Newman in 4th place.

Championship leader Jeff Gordon completed the Top 5 – therefore retaining his lead in the point standings – after a troubled pit stop mid-way through the race. The Hendrick Motorsports driver had to pit under the green flag due to a suspected puncture and rejoined the pack on lap down, but eventually recovered well in the second part of the race to finish 5th.

Martin Truex Jr, Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle (who was on pole for a win at Darlington until his unfortunate spin on Lap 296), Joey Logano and pole sitter Matt Kenseth completed the overall Top 10.
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