Driver Ricky Rudd, right, seen with a crew member during a practice for last month's Auto Club 500 in Fontana, Calif., is racing full time this season in the Cup series after taking last year off. Rudd is in 27th place in the points standings after two races. Photos by The Associated Press Mark Martin, preparing to race in last month's Auto Club 500 in Fontana, Calif., said at age 48, he's content to run a limited schedule in NASCAR's Nextel Cup series this season even though he's leading the points standings after two races.

Mark Martin had a farewell tour in 2005.

That same year, Ricky Rudd decided not to run the 2006 Nextel Cup season.

Rudd sat out last year, but Martin changed his mind and remained in the cockpit at the behest of team owner Jack Roush.

Fast-forward to 2007 and neither driver is talking retirement.

Rudd, 50, is back driving full time. He's 27th in points after starting second in the Daytona 500. He was taken out by a late crash at Daytona and had mechanical problems two weeks ago at California Speedway.

Martin, 48, is driving a Chevrolet for Ginn Racing and atop the leaderboard, off to the best start of his 22-year career. He's first in points for the first time since 2002.

Both NASCAR veterans will be on the track Friday in qualifying for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"I needed the year to answer the questions I needed to answer," Rudd said of taking 2006 off.

"Did I want to retire? Did I want to continue?

"Two years ago I didn't have the answers, and that's why I didn't want to say I was going to retire when I left the sport."

He's back this season to drive the No. 88 Ford Fusion for Robert Yates Racing after longtime driver Dale Jarrett decided to leave the team to join Michael Waltrip's startup Toyota team.

"Three-quarters of the way through last year, I decided I still wanted to be part of it while my health is good and my reactions are good," Rudd said.

Rudd's best races at Las Vegas are a pair of 12th-place finishes, including 2000 when he started from the pole. The track is the only one on the circuit where he does not have a top-10 finish.

Martin won the inaugural Cup race at Las Vegas and has won the Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race here twice, including 2005.

The Arkansas native has been the surprise of the young season. He nearly won the Daytona 500, losing by less than half a car length to Kevin Harvick.

Martin then placed fifth at California.

His early success has fans wondering if he might reconsider the team's plan to pull him from the No. 01 Chevrolet after the next race in Atlanta to make way for rookie Regan Smith, who is slated to drive the car for 14 of this year's 36 points races.

Martin, who is expected to make his 620th consecutive start Sunday, insists he doesn't want to race full time in the series even if he's first in points.

"I have a plan that I am very happy with. If I wanted to run the full season, I certainly could. I don't want to, I haven't asked to, in fact I said no to that over and over again," Martin said.

"Let's just not worry about whether or not I am fifth in the points going into Bristol (in two weeks) and just let me do what I want to do, and that is what I have on the schedule.

"I just don't see any need to be worried about the what ifs."