Martin rides top-five streak into Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (May 1, 2010) -- Mark Martin is no stranger to success at Richmond International Raceway. This weekend, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet will return to the Virginia speedway ready to add to his current streak of top-five finishes. In his last four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond, Martin has finished fifth or better. Most recently, the NASCAR veteran took the checkered flag fourth last September after starting from the pole position. Overall, he has tallied one win, 17 top-five finishes and 27 top-10s in 48 Cup starts. Martin, who visited Victory Lane at Richmond in 1990, enjoys the intense racing under the lights at the speedway. “I think it’s a favorite of the fans as well as the drivers,” Martin said. “Richmond is big enough that you can put a lot of cars out there. It's got great racing room on it, the way the transitions are from straightaway to corner and the banking as well… You can run multiple lines around the racetrack, and it's some of the best racing that we do all year. It's just fun to race there." Along with Martin, the No. 5 team and crew chief Alan Gustafson know what it takes to score a top-five finish at the speedway. Under Gustafson’s lead, the No. 5 team has scored six top-five finishes in the last seven events at Richmond. "Richmond is one of our better tracks,” Gustafson said. The No. 5 team has had a good history of performing well there with a lot of different drivers. It just seems to be a place that we're able to understand well and produce good finishes. It's a great track to race and a place that, if your car is good, you can pass and make your way to the front so that helps, too." Race coverage for the event will begin this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX.