Martin cruises to Victory Lane at PIR

Last Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), 50 year-old Mark Martin won the Subway Fresh Fit 500, just beating out Tony Stewart by .734 seconds at the finish and earning his first win of the 2009 season.

Martin started in the pole position and led 157 of the 312 laps of the race in his #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet Impala SS by Hendrick Motorsports with an average speed of 108 mph.

The only setback of the race for Martin was in lap 302, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed into turn four, causing the field to pit with the exception of Ryan Newman.

When Martin left the pits he was in second place, behind Newman, until the restart in lap 307, when he sped past Newman for the led.

The victory is Martin's first in 97 races and his second at PIR.

In Victory Lane, Martin said, " I told the guys I don't have any problem keeping up with a 25 year-old, at least not for the next 15 minutes. I feel pretty good."

Former owner Jack Rousch and former teammates Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, and Greg Biffle all came by to congratulate Martin for his big win in Victory Lane.

Tony Stewart, who finished second at PIR, posted his sixth top-10 finish of the season. Kurt Busch came in third, with Jimmie Johnson finishing fourth.

After this win, Martin left with prize money of more than $232,000 and is in thirteenth position in the driver points standings. Jeff Gordon is still leading in overall points by 85 over Jimmie Johnson.

PIR brought in over 80,000 in attendance.

Next weekend NASCAR continues at fan favorite, Talladega Superspeedway. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com