Martin has new perspective of racing ... from his couch

RICHMOND, Va. -- Now that no one is asking him any longer if he's really going to stick to his part-time schedule as a driver for Ginn Racing this season, Mark Martin is, if possible, even happier than he was earlier in the year.

And man, he was happy even then.

"I'm pretty sure Arlene is getting about sick of my good news and enthusiasm and exuberance," Martin said of his wife. "I think she's about sick of hearing 'Mr. Happy-Bubbly.'"

Well, Mr. Happy-Bubbly is back behind the wheel of the No. 01 Chevrolet ride he shares with rookie Regan Smith this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. It didn't look like he lost anything during his latest respite from the racetrack: he was 14th-fastest among 50 cars participating during Happy Hour practice Friday and ended up qualifying in the ninth position.

Martin said Friday that he isn't even sure what's better: taking some time off during the race season, or running up front in the 01 car when he does participate in a race.

"I think that's a tie," he said, grinning.

The usually affable Martin grins even more than usual these days. He just can't help himself. He said that while taking off last week's Talladega race, he got to enjoy a side of racing that he never did during his previous 19 seasons of racing full-time at the Cup level.

"I remember the race, the couch and the remote control," he said. "I got sleepy during the race, so I hit pause on the TiVo and took a 20-minute nap and woke back up. From there on, every time a commercial came on, I fast-forwarded and caught back up and finished watching the race. It was wonderful."

Martin said he enjoyed watching -- and not participating -- in the madness that can be a race at Talladega. Prior to watching the Cup race Sunday from his couch, he went and watched his son, Matt, compete along with Ginn Racing protégé Ricky Carmichael in a Late Model event at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

"The biggest thing was when I saw Kyle Busch's wreck [in the Busch Series race at Talladega] on Saturday," Martin said. "That was when I was really glad that I was at New Smyrna instead of Talladega. That sure was ugly.

"I blurted out more than one loud comment at the beginning of the [Sunday] race when it was four-wide stacked. That was just insane."

Watching the race on television was an experience in itself, according to Martin.

"It's a totally different perspective, that's for sure," he said. "The coverage is really fabulous. ... You get an awful lot of information about what's going on.

"You can actually know more about what's going on than when you're participating in it. When we participate in it, we don't have a chance to use all those resources. Actually I seem more informed when I'm away from it than when I'm in the middle of it -- because when I'm in the middle of it, I'm preoccupied."

Either way, these days Mr. Happy-Bubbly is obviously a very pleased man.