Mark Martin is a tough guy.
He has that leathery tough-man look from the days before the NASCAR circuit evolved into a collection of millionaires in fancy motor homes.
But as tough as he is, Martin was lucky to escape unscathed from a wild ride at Michigan Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon.
Martin started in the pole and had the dominant car of the day and was leading before Bobby Labonte spun in front of Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 66. It forced Martin to back off, which in turn cause contact with Kasey Kahne. Martin’s No. 55 spun along pit road, hitting on the inside of the garage-entry wall.
Martin’s car was essentially impaled, but fortunately _ no one _ including Martin was hurt. Martin was treated and released from the infield care center.
“I really feel that was a freak accident,” Martin said. “ I’m not sure you can ever completely fix something like that. That was a pretty freak angle that I got it. I’m not sure what you can do. It could have been really bad if I would have got into that hole a little deeper where it would have caught me in the door instead of the crush area back there.”
Greg Biffle won the race after Jimmie Johnson’s Chevy had engine problems with only six laps left.
