The Parade Continues - Martin is Leaving a Winner

NASCAR great Mark Martin will stop racing full-time on the circuit after next season. Martin is currently fifth in the "Chase for the Nextel Cup," 150 points off the pace.

"I think the biggest thing in my career right now is that I don't want to go out on the decline," said Martin, who has won nearly $45 million driving stock cars.

Martin made his announcement Thursday, preparing for this weekend's UAW-GM 500.

"I told Jack that the best times that we had, we didn't know we were having them at the time," Martin said. "Those 17 years that we have been together have been the most incredible years of my life."

Martin has been synonymous with NASCAR since joining up with Roush Racing in 1988. He has 41 career poles and 34 wins, although the sport's biggest prizes have escaped him. Martin never has won the Daytona 500 and also has finished second in the championship standings a staggering four times - in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002.

Over the last few years, Martin has watched Roush Racing move its emphasis away from him. Ironically, teammate Matt Kenseth won the series title last year and teammate Kurt Busch leads the standings this year.

"There hasn't been a bigger influence on my career in the Cup series than Mark Martin," Kenseth said. "He's the one that talked to Jack Roush about me and kind of took me under his wing and made sure I had a home here at Roush Racing. I owe my success to Mark."

Martin intends to run a full schedule in 2005 and transition to a much shorter slate in 2006 - perhaps on the Craftsman Truck series.

"In 2006, I'll still be in the driver's seat," he said. "I just don't know exactly what seat that will be just yet."