Martin excited to see 'hometown fans' at Kansas this weekend

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Returning to Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup event is special for Mark Martin not only for the great racing, but because of the hometown welcome he receives from fans.

“It’s a great racetrack, a really great racetrack,” said the driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. “I’ve raced a lot in Springfield (Mo.) and even up at I-70. I get a lot of hometown kind of fans there, and it’s fun and exciting. It’s one of the closest tracks we have to Batesville (Ark.), too, so it seems like I have a lot of support there. I’ve always really enjoyed racing there, and this year we get to do it twice.”

Martin has competed at the Midwestern racetrack 10 times since the track began hosting Cup events in 2001. He has earned one victory, one pole position, two top-five finishes and four top-10s during that time. The veteran NASCAR driver holds a 12.6 average finish and has led 152 laps at the 1.5-mile track.

During Martin’s last appearance at Kansas in 2010, the No. 5 team was forced to change engines following practice on Friday. Martin and the team overcame their 40th-place starting position and rallied to a 14th-place finish.

Tune in to FOX at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday to watch Martin make his 11th Cup start at Kansas Speedway.