In taking over No. 01 car, Smith relying on Martin

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Regan Smith wanted to make sure of one detail before taking over as driver of the No. 01 racecar in the Nextel Cup Series for this Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

As Smith and Mark Martin, the driver he is replacing at least temporarily, parted ways last Wednesday, Smith anxiously asked Martin a simple but highly important question.

Martin was headed for Florida to race Late Models with his son, Matt, and upcoming NASCAR protege Ricky Carmichael. Smith was headed for the hot seat in Bristol, and wanted to make sure he had a lifeline.

"You're going to have your phone on, right?" Smith asked Martin.

"Absolutely," a grinning Martin replied.

"Good. I'm going to wear it out this weekend," Smith added.

Smith, 24, is half Martin's age and is well aware of what Martin is handing him -- a racecar that over the first four events of this season has been better than anyone else's on the Nextel Cup Series.

"Mark has laid the foundation for this team. All I am doing is trying to pick up where he left off," Smith said.

The plan all along was for Martin to run 23 events in the 01 car this season -- 20 points events, plus the season-opening Bud Shootout, the Gatorade Duels and the Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge. But as Martin forged into the overall lead in driver points with four consecutive top-10 finishes to open the season, speculation swelled that Martin might not get out of the car as scheduled once Bristol rolled around.

Smith said he wasn't certain how much Martin was tempted to stick around at least a little longer.

"It was never a conversation, so I couldn't honestly tell you that. I can't put words in his mouth," Smith said. "I don't know if he was or he wasn't tempted [to stay in the car]. All I know is he left me with a great situation to get into, and I appreciate that more than ever.

"To be honest, I didn't even look [above] the door before getting in the car. It might say Mark Martin on there, for all I know. ... Mark is a class act. I've said it before and I'll say it again: he's a legend and someone that I look up to with the utmost of respect. If he wanted to leave his name above the door there and say it was still his car, I would be fine with that -- because he is the man."

After competing in the Busch Series the last five years, Smith is excited about making his first Cup start. But he said he feels no pressure whatsoever about taking over a car that Martin had driven to first in points over the first four races. (Continued)