Martin doesn't win but is best in field

DOVER, Del. -- Jimmie Johnson's domination Sunday at Dover International Speedway left everyone else in the field running for best in class.

But the guy who could do no better than follow Johnson across the finish line for second is still the best of the drivers trying to win this year's championship.

Mark Martin's runner-up run Sunday gave him a start to the Chase of finishing first and second. His victory at New Hampshire last weekend and second place at the 'Monster Mile' still has the veteran on top of the point standings and his dream of a storybook championship season very much alive.

But in typical Mark Martin fashion, he's downplaying everything at this point.

"It's just two races," Martin said. "And I think a first and the second is a pretty good way to come out of the gate. But we've got eight more to go, and all kinds of things can happen."

Martin is right to an extent because past Chase history has seen drivers who got out of the gate fast ultimately fail as the championship stretch of the season wore on. So rather than bask in the glory of a hot start, Martin would rather preach that there are still 11 others all with a shot at the title.

"You know, I still say that there's 12 in it, and 12 can win," he said. "You know, it might be a challenge for a couple of the teams that are toward the back right now. But you just don't have any concept, I guess, of how much racing eight races is. It's a lot of racing. A lot of things can happen."

Martin has to hope something happens to Johnson, who appears to be his strongest challenger for the crown with two races in the book.

But it does present an odd scenario in that Martin has to try and beat someone who is a teammate at an organization he has tried to help since joining Hendrick Motorsports at the beginning of the season.

"Don't forget, you know, that was one of my major goals when they brought me in," Martin reminded everyone Sunday. "To be able to make a contribution to Hendrick Motorsports. I hoped I might get a win, but I definitely wanted to at least be useful."

He's been much more than that, already winning five times this season and looking very much like he has the best chance in his storied career to finally claim the elusive championship.

'It's just two races,' Mark Martin says, downplaying his first- and second-place finishes. (Getty Images)

But Martin has also made it very clear that despite the solid potential he has for achieving that goal this season, he's not going to let the success of his career be judged by whether he hangs up his helmet with a Sprint Cup championship or not.

"I think at the end of the day, he's made a vow to himself that he's not going to be affected and his happiness is not going to depend on what goes on relative to a championship," Johnson said. "I think he's fighting that battle internally right now and as the races go by, I see him changing slightly, but at the same time, in the meetings and all the times we're around one another, he still won't open his mind up for it. He's keeping his head down and staying focused on that path he made with himself."

And because Martin commands such respect around the garage area, fellow competitors and most everyone else associated with the sport understands his point of view about downplaying the title aspirations.

"As we all know Mark, he will definitely undersell or view it in a different way. I don't know how exactly to describe it, but we all know him well," Johnson said. "I think as time goes on and in my talking with him, he knows there's a really good chance that he can be a champion. He's doing everything he can to not think about it. He's been so close so many times. He went through some tough times in his life and his career, facing that and found a way to be happy without it."

That's not to say Martin will be unhappy with a Cup trophy on his mantle. He'll strap in the next eight weeks and give it his best shot, knowing he'll have to battle at least one of his teammates to accomplish the quest, more than likely the guy who spanked the field on Sunday.

"So we're going to race them," Martin said of Johnson and the 48 team. "We're going to race our guts out no matter where he we wind up. And no matter how they are. That dude still is Superman in my book, you know. Looked like it today."

Martin looked like he might be wearing a cape himself on Sunday.