Mark Martin was talking to millions of race fans a couple of weeks ago during an interview at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but quite clearly, he was also talking to himself. His message: He will not let his dislike of racing at Talladega Superspeedway come between him and the Sprint Cup championship he so badly wants.

"I refuse to be concerned about Talladega," Martin said that day. "I refuse."

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This Sunday, Martin's resolute words and attitude will be put to the test because the drivers in the Chase will do their thing in the Amp Energy 500 at nasty, unpredictable and potentially dangerous Talladega.

Oh, boy, and happy Halloween.

Some drivers find going flat-footed all the way around the 2.66-mile oval exhilarating.

Others simply suck it up when the series takes to the church-roof-steep banking at NASCAR's biggest track.

And some think there is something unnatural -- and wrong -- about putting a 3,400-pound stock car on superspeedway with 33-degree banking that produces speeds well in excess of 200 mph.

Martin has not been shy about proclaiming himself to be part of Group Three over the years.

In fact, he felt so strongly about not wanting to race at Talladega that he didn't. In 2007, Martin semi-retired from Sprint Cup. He left his longtime home at Roush Racing and took a job with MB2 because the folks there would allow him to compete on a part-time basis.

Martin was able to pick and choose the races he wanted to drive in, and among the first things he did was dump the races at Talladega.

For two entire seasons, Martin did yard work at home when the Cup cars were beating each other's fenders off at Talladega.

He returned to Talladega for the first time since 2006 in the spring. He had to. He had committed to run for a championship for new team owner Rick Hendrick, and that meant driving in 36 races in 2009 and that meant driving at Talladega.

This weekend, Martin will be back at the place, and how twisted is it that he will need to show well there -- perhaps win -- if he is to remain a serious threat to win this year's Chase?

Martin is second in points, 118 behind teammate Jimmie Johnson, who is going for his fourth straight championship. And unless Martin wins Sunday on his least favorite track, and/or Johnson has big trouble, Martin could leave Talladega all but eliminated from contention. Twisted.

Hence his attitude in recent weeks.

“

I plan on going there and driving like I know I am not going to wreck.

”

-- MARK MARTIN

"We'll go there, we'll try to not worry about it much and we'll strap in on Sunday," Martin said. "And unless Alan [Gustafson, his crew chief] asks me to take a different approach, we will race as far forward in that pack as we can be every lap of the whole race. That's where I'm at right now. I'm not going to sweat it."

In fact, Martin said this week, he has a good feeling about Sunday. Perhaps the pep talks to himself have helped.

"Somehow or another I just feel lucky about this one," Martin said. "If you can wreck on Lap 5 of the last one there, something tells me I ought to be able to miss it this time. That's about as bad of luck as you can have. So I don't know. I feel like it will be OK. If it's not, it will still be OK."

It's not as if Martin is bad at Talladega. He has two victories there and has finished in the top 10 in more than half of his 43 starts.

Yes, he has six DNFs and has been caught up in big wrecks: In the spring, he was caught up in a wreck minutes into the race.

But who hasn't done that at Talladega? Heck, Johnson has six DNFs at the place.

"To me, it's my opportunity to really get back into the running for it," he said. "So I plan on going there and driving like I know I am not going to wreck."

Meet the new Mark Martin -- optimist by necessity.

FIVE TO WATCH

Elliott Sadler, No. 19. Sadler will be shepherding in Richard Petty Motorsports' Ford era. It will be interesting to watch and see how it goes.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24. This is do-it week for Gordon. He has six victories at Talladega and a seventh could put him back in contention for a fifth series championship. His cars have been good of late.

Juan Montoya, No. 42. If there is one driver out there who will not be driving with fear and riding shotgun, it will be Montoya. And he has a heck of a lot to drive for.

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48. All eyes will be on Johnson. His performance could affect everything from long-term plans among his competitors, to November TV viewing habits of fans.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88. If he can keep good fortune on his side -- which is asking a lot these days -- Earnhardt could win the race. He has five Cup wins at Talladega.

TRACK CHATTER

Matt Kenseth: "Talladega is a lot like going to a 200 mph go-cart track. Everyone's cars handle there and you run wide open all day. At Daytona, the corners are much tighter and the surface is worn out, so handling is really important, but at Talladega it is much more about drafting and getting into the right position. The challenge is not getting in a wreck."

Tony Stewart: "In the next four races, we have to get 193 more points than he [Johnson] does. That's the reality of it. There is nothing that says if we do this, this, this and this that it's going to guarantee that we can even get there. A lot of it is dictated by what those guys do in front of us. It's about math. There is no magic to it."

Doug Yates, co-owner of Roush Yates Engines: "The [new Ford] engine [that debuts this weekend] really looks great in both open and plate format, but for the start of the season we're looking at starting at Daytona racing the FR9, or at least qualifying with the FR9, and for that reason we felt like Talladega was an important date for us, so that drove some of the decisions."