HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Mark Martin's initial year with Hendrick Motorsports and crew chief Alan Gustafson has to be considered a success and a foundation for what the duo sees as a bright future together.

Martin comes into Sunday's Ford 400 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway second in the point standings on the strength of one of the most stellar years in the veteran driver's storied career.

The performance is in no small part due to the chemistry Martin and Gustafson have found and the comfort zone they've enjoyed in their first season working together.

"It's been a real successful season for us," said Gustafson. "You know, getting Mark on board was obviously a huge step in the right direction, and being able to win five races and contend down to the wire for the championship and have a shot at Homestead has been good. It's been a great season, and the guys have accomplished a lot and really looking forward to going to Homestead. It's a really fun track to race on."

Despite trailing Jimmie Johnson by 108 points, neither Martin or Gustafson is willing to throw in the towel for a possible title.

"Going there with a shot is ‑‑ even though the shot is not as good as we want, it's still a privilege to have that opportunity to contend and win a championship and go down there and put as much pressure on Chad (Knaus), as much as possible, even though it's not as much as we want it to be," Gustafson said. "But go down there and have some fun doing that."

Gustafson's opportunity to work with Martin has been nothing short of a dream come true.

"As far as me being a Mark Martin fan, where that started is just a kid, a young race fan, who like every other kid was in love with the race cars and the speed and the competitiveness of the sport and everything that's great about it," Gustafson said. "Mark was a guy that stood out to me, what I would kind of term as a man's man. He always worked very hard for what he got, and if he fell short, he was the first guy to stand up and take the blame, and he would not point the finger and get into controversy. He'd go back and work harder and come back that much better."

At an early age, that philosophy made an impression on Gustafson and helped him shape his career path.

"That was a trait that I tried to emulate in my life and follow, and that was something I was really drawn to," he said. "He was a blue‑collar racer and he worked really, really hard for it and deserved everything he got. And that was the big thing that drew me to Mark, and his tenacity on the racetrack, as a fan, somebody watching this guy on Sunday or Saturdays in the Busch Car winning all these races. It really drew me to him, and I really respected what a stand‑up guy he was."

And now Gustafson has a chance to work with the driver who was so influential in his life. It hasn't been anything short of a satisfying experience.

"The great news about all that is sometimes I think when you have people like that, that you idolize, the opportunity when you meet them or you really get to know them, you can be let down,' Gustafson said. "But for Mark with me it's exactly the opposite. I think I'm a bigger Mark Martin fan today than I was before I knew him, and I have more respect for him today than I did then. That's a really neat thing."

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