Martin looks to follow Labonte's lead in 5 car

This is the latest installment in an occasional series of releases highlighting some of the Cup Series' most renowned car numbers and their performance heritage. This installment takes a look at the No. 5.

Terry Labonte drove the No. 5 Chevrolet to the Cup Series championship in 1996 for Hendrick Motorsports. It was a somewhat surprising performance by a highly respected veteran who many considered past his prime.

Sound familiar? Fast-forward to the 2009 season and you'll find Mark Martin, 50 years young and in the thick of championship contention after coming out of "semi-retirement" to join the Hendrick organization. He's taken the No. 5 Chevrolet to Victory Lane four times this year and is 12th in the series standings coming into Saturday night's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Clearly, it's a good time to drive the No. 5 -- again.

Martin has returned the number and, of course, himself, to prominence. In the process, he has joined an illustrious list of No. 5 drivers, a list that began in 1949, the first season for NASCAR's Strictly Stock Division, the forerunner of today's Sprint Cup Series. That season, Felix Wilkes, Frank Mundy and Ray Erickson all drove "5" cars.

Cotton Owens drove the No. 5 in 1950, '60, '61 and '64, putting the number -- it was on a Pontiac at the time -- in Victory Lane for the first time on Aug. 16, 1960 at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, S.C.

Geoffrey Bodine was in on the ground floor when Hendrick Motorsports debuted in NASCAR -- and in the No. 5. He drove the memorable Levi Garrett-sponsored car for Hendrick from 1984-89, winning seven times, including the number's most-famous Victory Lane appearance -- at the 1986 Daytona 500.

Labonte has the record for most starts (368) and victories (12) in the No. 5, between 1994-2004. And he also has the only series championship in the number's history.

Martin is working hard toward another.