Martin says he has to dig deeper

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Jimmie Johnson has all but clinched his fourth Sprint Cup Series championship.

He has seven wins in 2009, his fourth season with seven or more victories.

Yet there are some who think he is underrated.

Underrated? Who thinks that?

Well, Mark Martin, for one.

“I think he’s underrated, I really do. I think Jimmie Johnson is underrated and underappreciated,” said Martin, following his fourth-place finish in Sunday’s Checker 500.

“We’ve still got to go to Homestead and run like this again, because we still have heat behind us – Jeff Gordon, especially.

"I definitely have been beat by the best – Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt. It wouldn’t embarrass me if it was Jimmie Johnson as well.”

Martin still has a mathematical chance of winning the title, but Johnson is guaranteed the title regardless of the performance of any other driver if he finishes 25th or better at Homestead. He has only failed to do that six times in 35 races this season.

Martin appears destined for the fifth runner-up finish of his career, but he insisted that stepping up one spot is not what drives him. He was second in the final standings to Dale Earnhardt twice and to Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.

“We’ve had a couple of good days this year,” said Martin, who has five wins this season. “I’m not worried about winning a championship. I’ve told you all that.

“Things are quite different right now, but no one in my experience – from 1981 until now – no one, until now, has been able to sustain the kind of performance.

“Many achieved that kind of performance, but they were never able to sustain it. It’s very, very difficult to do.

"It might come apart and come unraveled at any time, but I don’t see that.”

Asked what he has to do to keep up with Johnson’s success, Martin paused and said, “I have to find a way to work harder. I have to dig deeper; I have to find some more.”