Martin has new outlook on Daytona with Ginn

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Mark Martin is approaching a Dale Earnhardt-esque record for Daytona 500 futility, but he said that Ginn Racing will give him his best shot to end his 22-year-old losing streak.

Amazingly, Martin has never finished better than third at Daytona International Speedway. This Sunday's Daytona 500 will be his 23rd attempt at the track that is located a mere 10 miles from his home.

Martin moved from Roush Racing to Ginn Racing for the 2007 season, and he said he realized immediately that the team placed a heavier emphasis on NASCAR's season opener.

"We [Roush Racing] never really put a monumental effort into the Daytona 500, ever," Martin said. "We put an average effort in because it was one of 36 and that is sort of how we always handled it at Roush Racing.

"They [Ginn Racing] put more of their energy into the Daytona 500 than we have in the past."

Ginn, formerly MB2 Motorsports, has perennially managed to wield fast restrictor-plate cars. Sterling Marlin, Martin's teammate, was the second-fastest Chevrolet in qualifying.

Martin knows that he is running out of time to win the 500. At 48, he sees less than five chances remaining, and the clock is ticking.

"After I made the decision [to move to Ginn], I never even considered it until the deal was done," Martin said. "When the deal was done, I said, 'You know, we can win the Daytona 500.'

"Daytona wasn't discussed in the driving at all. After it was done, obviously I knew it was a fact and then we talked about how Daytona was an important race to me and obviously, it is to them too."

Marlin and Joe Nemechek dominated Daytona 500 testing for Ginn Racing back in 2005, but that year and since then the team has been plagued by wrecks. Nemechek lost a fast car in the 150s qualifying race last year, and Marlin and Nemechek both finished three laps down in the Daytona 500.

Simply put, Ginn has never been able to put together the perfect Speedweeks despite its emphasis on restrictor-plate racing. It is banking heavily on Martin to change that.

"Obviously I was excited about coming to Daytona because they have had a tremendous history with plate cars," Martin said. "But that was just a bonus. That didn't really weigh into the decision [to leave Roush]."