Martin to run Daytona in July

The ink on Mark Martin's 2007 Nextel Cup calendar boasts 22 races in the #01 U.S. Army Chevy. But if you flip to July, to the small box hosting his July 7 to-do list, the pencil markings suggest another story. The Pepsi 400? That wasn't on the original slate. It is now. Martin told ESPN.com Monday that the July 7 race at Daytona International Speedway was on his docket all along, but he chose to wait and see the outcome of Speed Weeks. He had more fun than he's ever had. No pressure. And, oh yeah, he nearly won the Daytona 500. Martin stressed we not get carried away with this. He doesn't desire to run the entire slate, though some of his colleagues think otherwise. "Winning [the Daytona 500] wouldn't have changed at all how I feel about things. I've learned to never say never, so I'm not going to do that. But I'm very happy and comfortable with my schedule, and even if we'd have won the race I'm just thrilled with what I have laid out in front of me. If I want to change [my schedule] I have that luxury," he said. "I haven't gone and asked [to run the whole schedule], but I can tell you they haven't said no to anything else. I don't think that'd be a problem, but I also don't think that'll happen." Martin's current projected schedule is quite front-loaded. He knows he might get bored in the second half of the year. The Food City 500 [in Bristol] will mark the first race since Valentine's Day 1988 that Martin won't be in the Cup Series field. That's 617 straight. Martin is scheduled to be in Lake City, Fla., that weekend to be Ricky Carmichael's crew chief in a late-model race. More at ESPN.com