Martin's contemporaries, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd, have been retired from racing for a couple years. But here's Martin winning three of the last eight NASCAR Sprint Cup races. He's showing racers young enough to be his sons how to git 'r done.

Upon further review, don't say a word to ol' Mark. While everyone waits for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to improve his finishes under the guidance of interim crew chief Lance McGrew, Martin is one of the best stories in racing.

Martin's victory at Michigan, the 38th of his Cup career, jumped him to eighth place, up five places in the standings. He pounced on the win after Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle ran out of fuel.

Think of Martin and "respect" comes to mind. I don't think he has an enemy in the sport.

Following Martin's latest win in the No. 5 Chevrolet, team owner Rick Hendrick said, "I've worked with a lot of drivers. He's probably as good as I've ever seen on a chassis, reading the chassis, knowing what he wants, and then knowing how to run the race.

"He's very, very focused. He's like a computer. When he sits down with those other drivers, he starts explaining his car, they listen. I mean, that was what Jeff Gordon told me before we ever got him to come over. He said he'll help us all. You know, Jimmie [Johnson] said that. After about two or three races, Junior [Earnhardt] said, 'You need to get him to run a couple more years.'

"So it's everything from the way you read the car, from the physical conditioning, the shape he's in and the regimen he has. I mean, he adds so much to the entire organization."

While Martin would be delighted to be a Chaser for the fourth time, he is a glass-half-empty guy, who is still seeking his first Cup championship.

"I'm not gonna deal with expectations that cut my legs out from under me again ever in my career," he said. "I'm going to go out and drive the race car as hard as I can drive every time I get in it. I'm not gonna expect anything other than, you know, a tremendous effort by my team and from myself.

"I'm really pleased that we are having such a great year. But the thing that pleases me more than the trophies is just that we've been fast. That's really important. When you're not fast, there's not a whole lot you can do. But when you are fast, if you keep doing that every week, sooner or later you get great results.

"So, I just don't feel any pressure. I'd like to see us make the Chase, because this race team deserves it."

Johnson avoids meltdown

"At the time, in the car, I wanted to have a meltdown," the three-time reigning Cup champion said on a Tuesday conference call. "I started to have a meltdown and then this feeling came over my body. We did everything we could to win the race. Needing to drive the car that hard to get to the front came into play, and we can't control that.

"So, yes, I was disappointed. [As] I got out of the car, a sensation came over me that, yeah [not winning stinks], but we had a lot to be proud of. We dominated the race, and those positive things started coming to the top of my mind instead of belaboring the negative stuff."

A Gordon guarantee

Following tire-testing this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon guaranteed that the new tires will hold up.

"I'm 100 percent confident," the four-time Cup champion said. "I ran this tire as hard as I possibly could. I can promise all the fans [that they will] see a great race and be confident that the tires are not going to be an issue."