After trying to retire a couple times, Mark Martin has stopped trying to convince himself -- and everyone else -- that he's ready to slow down.

Two wins this year, including an emotional victory at Darlington Raceway last Saturday, are reasons why Martin already has signed a new contract to race again next year for car owner Rick Hendrick.

For years Martin said the weekly grind of the Sprint Cup Series was too taxing. Now he understands it was something else: It wasn't fun. His new approach has been like a fountain of youth, pumping new life into a sport that desperately wanted a fresh face, even if it's a 50 year-old man.

Martin tried to walk away after the 2005 season, only to return a year later at the request of car owner Jack Roush. He wanted to quit again in 2007, but he came back for a part-time schedule at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

It was there where Martin figured everything out.

"I allowed that points thing to affect how I felt about racing because I focused on that more than I really realized how much I was," he said. "When I finally stepped out of the car and did 26 races in '07, I started to gradually realize how much I love to race. I'm going to keep it that way. That requires a little bit of discipline for me, but that is where I am going to be.

"I am going to continue to race because I love to race. I'm not going to try to will more points than we can score at the finish line each week."

Martin heads into Saturday's Sprint All-Star race with two wins in the past four races.

He won the all-star race in 1998 and again in 2005, and considers the non-points event one of his favorite stops.

"You know, my answer to that is: be careful, don't set yourself up," he said. "I'm just very, very happy right now, and I don't need to say we're going to win a whole bunch more races this year. We're going to race just like we raced this race and all the other ones, and the ones we cross the line first, we'll take the trophy.

"I want to get the all-star race. That's one of my favorite races. I can't wait to get there. We're having a blast. I mean, we really, really are. I think we'll learn, as we experience the disappointments, to let those roll off our backs a little bit more."

A pessimistic approach has been replaced by a big smile.

"I am a different person," he said. "I still think that I'm cautious about what I set myself up for. But I know I'm going to have some fun. You know, I mean, if everything turns into a disaster, maybe not. But then the next week we will.

"I'm having a blast; I'm really, really having a blast. "