LOUDON, N.H. (AP) – The only thing Mark Martin knows for sure about his racing future is that he will be part of NASCAR’s 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup championship that begins with Sunday’s race at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Next year remains a big question mark for the longtime driving star.

But Martin, whose announced plan is to retire from full-time Cup racing to concentrate on a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride, revealed he has not yet signed a contract with the Roush team to drive the No. 6 truck in 2007, and he has no other deals done, either.

“It is my intention to drive the 6 truck,” he said. “We just don’t have it done, yet.

“I would imagine if they would present me with a contract, I would sign it and that would be it, but they haven’t yet. There are some details that still aren’t worked out yet on it and, in the meantime, there are some very interesting opportunities.”

Martin was set to retire from Cup in 2006, but responded to a plea from friend and team owner Jack Roush to stay in the No. 6 for another year. Then, after saying this year would be it for Cup, Martin waffled, saying he could wind up with a part-time ride, or even a full-time ride with another team next season.

“I don’t like the idea of getting to the point where I can’t do something anymore,” he said. “I know everyone else doesn’t feel that way, but I feel I’m nearing the point where pretty soon I can’t do Nextel Cup anymore on the level that I want to. My standards are incredibly high.

“For a lot of people, they would think that it would be OK if I just let my standards slip a little bit. It’s not really all right with me. There is where my conflict is and has been. I’ve been struggling with that conflict for about three years now.”

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WINNING WAYS: Kasey Kahne has won five races this season – more than anyone else in Cup – and barely made it into the 10-man Chase for the championship.

That again has people buzzing about an apparent inequity in the current points system. But Kahne doesn’t see it as a controversy.

“The way I look at it, I don’t care what they do with the points,” said Kahne, who made the Chase for the first time in the three years the system has been in existence. “Right now, (the championship battle) is so much more exciting than it was four years ago.

“You can have five wins and still battle if you’re not consistent enough. The championships that Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt won, you have to be consistent. I think that still should be some of what wins the championship.”

Asked if he agrees with critics who say that NASCAR should reward race winners with more points, Kahne shrugged, saying, “I would say you could lose a lot more by falling out of a race by having an engine failure or a flat right front (tire). All types of different things can hurt you, and a win doesn’t help you as much as you can get hurt by other situations.”

He said that “maybe a few more points for a win” would be good.

“Maybe that makes that guy get in comfortably or, if you have the most wins and you’re within so many points (of the leader), you’re in,” Kahne said. “Winning should mean a lot. It means a lot to the fans, the drivers, the teams, but it’s not a huge benefit in the points.”

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PAYING TRIBUTE: Truck racer Marcos Ambrose has dedicated Saturday’s race to two of his Australian countrymen who lost their lives in the past two weeks.

“Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin was killed Sept. 4 when he was pierced in the chest by a stingray’s barb while filming a new TV show off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, while Aussie rally driver Peter Brock died Sept. 8 when his car crashed into a tree during a road rally in Australia.

“We have two Australian icons and we’re going to have stickers on the side of our truck honoring them,” Ambrose said. “A lot of people here in America knew Steve Irwin and what he was all about, but it’s hard to explain to people here just how big Peter Brock was. He was the Richard Petty of Australian racing.”

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SPARK PLUGS: Jeff Gordon has won three races at New Hampshire and has led a series-high 1,070 laps on the 1.058-mile oval. But the four-time Cup champion has not win since 1998 and has led just three laps in the last three races here. … Team owners Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush each has won six Cup races at NHIS. … Twelve of 23 Cup races here have been won from starting positions outside the top 10. Jeff Burton has won from the worst starting position, charging from 38th in July 1999.