After two years of semi-retirement, Martin declared he is ready to go back racing full time. And he got a taste of what it was like to drive at Hendrick while he was preparing to substitute for Jeff Gordon in June 2007 when Gordon and his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, were expecting their first child during the race at Sonoma, CA.

"I got my arms wrapped around the scheduling situation. I'm incredibly excited and honored," said Martin, who is well-respected and very much admired by his peers and fans.

After two years of catching my breath, I've enjoyed it. It's been meaningful to my family and to myself, but I've learned it rekindled my passion for racing."

In 2008, driving the No.8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Martin has scored two top-5 and five top-10 finishes in 12 starts, with his best result of third coming in May at Richmond.

Martin has finished second in Cup points four times during his career, most recently in 2002 to champion Tony Stewart. He qualified for the "Chase" for the first three years of its existence (2004 - 2006).

For his career, Martin has recorded 35 wins, 41 poles and 390 top-10s in 711 Cup starts. He is also the all-time leader in Nationwide Series wins with 48.