Mark Martin still has plenty of fight.

He did not have the best car in last night's Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Still, the old man gave young hot shots Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch all they could handle during a green-white-checkered finish.

In reality, Martin knew he didn't have an engine powerful enough or a grip firm enough to sprint past the leaders. Yet, with one lap to go, Martin tucked his front bumper in behind Busch as Bowyer was streaking toward the checkered flag.

Martin told his pit crew before the final restart that he was eager to finish the night. He conceded there was only a slight chance that he could win for only the second time in his 45th start at RIR.

He almost beat the odds.

Martin challenged Busch over the last three-quarters of a mile. He finished less than a door-length behind Busch for a season-best third-place finish.

"We were just one little whisker off from getting it done tonight," Martin said. "We fell off a little bit in the middle of the race and lost some track position, but we got it back. It was tough out there."

It was brutal for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who appeared on his way to victory for the first time in two years. When Earnhardt went into the wall with six laps to go after getting bumped by Busch, Martin saw his window of opportunity reopen.

But he was too focused to notice the Busch-Earnhardt collision ahead of him.

"I can't see what was happening up there," said Martin, who earned his 24th top-10 finish at RIR. "But I was having to drive my own race car, so I can't tell you exactly what happened.

"It's a privilege to drive this stuff. The car was real competitive in that last run."

Martin had been competitive all week. He qualified second behind pole-winner Denny Hamlin, the former Chesterfield County resident who led 381 laps before a flat tire and a two-lap penalty left him 24th.

Martin, racing for only the third time in six weeks, kept himself in contention by avoiding a number of accidents - including a 12-car wreck 230 laps into the race. At that point, Martin said he became cautious.

"I just felt like the some of the lapped cars were disrespectful," Martin said.

He and crew chief Tony Gibson talked incessantly about watching overzealous drivers, particularly Travis Kvapil.

"You need to warn these lap cars," Martin requested to Gibson. "If they don't play nice, it's going to get ugly. I'm talking about the 28 and the rest of those goofy [drivers]. You don't have to worry about [Elliott] Sadler, he's smart."

Martin was right. Only it wasn't Kvapil. It was Busch and Earnhardt who collided, giving him a last chance to steal a victory.