Martin will wait until after the Nov. 15 season-ending Grand National race at Homestead, Fla., before having the surgery. Martin has suffered from some back pain for more than two years but it got progressively worse this season. He visited a neurosurgeon in June and had a magnetic resonance imaging test, which showed the herniated disk. The only traditional therapy for Martin's discomfort is surgery to repair the disk, but Martin wanted to complete the season. So instead, he turned to several alternative therapies and eventually found relief from acupuncture.
Acupuncture is a Chinese technique of puncturing the body with very fine needles to relieve pain.
The pain is 90 percent gone right now and all I have to do is be very careful with it, but I'm lifting weights just as hard and heavy as ever. Dr. Jerry Punch, a former emergency room physician who now works as a pit road reporter and TV analyst for Winston Cup races, said Martin doesn't talk much publicly about his discomfort. He won't complain. The driver seats in Winston Cup cars actually help a driver with a condition like Martin's, Punch said. His four wins and 17 top-10 finishes this season attest to that.