Mark Martin will drive the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry in the March 10 Nationwide Series race in Las Vegas.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (January 6, 2012) – Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Mark Martin will drive the Interstate Batteries® Toyota Camry in the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Las Vegas in March.

“We’ve always hoped to have the opportunity for Mark to drive for us and to have him behind the wheel of our Interstate Batteries Toyota for the Nationwide race in Vegas is exciting,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He is a great example to all drivers of the dedication it takes to be successful and certainly we’re honored to have him part of our efforts in 2012.”

While Martin is only currently scheduled to race in Las Vegasfor JGR, the team is still working on opportunities for the veteran driver to secure additional races.

Martin currently has 49 career victories in 235 Nationwide Series starts. Martin has amassed 111 top-five and 151 top-ten finishes, while leading 8,093 laps. His most recent victory came just last season when he piloted the No. 32 car to victory lane in Las Vegas. He had four total starts in 2011, with the one victory and three top-ten finishes.

Denny Hamlin drove the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry in Las Vegas last year. © 2011 Autostock

Martin was the Nationwide series’ all-time wins leader until he was passed by JGR driver Kyle Busch in July 2011.

“This is exciting,” said Martin. “No organization has been better in the Nationwide Series over the past three or four seasons and to have the chance to get behind the wheel of a Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide car will be a thrill. Maybe I can pick up a few more races and try to catch Kyle to get my record back again”

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