Injured Stewart hands keys to Martin

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Out for the season with a broken leg, Tony Stewart turned to one of NASCAR's most respected drivers to take over the No. 14.

At 54, Mark Martin is up for the challenge of taking the wheel for his good friend.

"Hopefully, we can turn the 14 car back over to Tony an even stronger organization than what it was when he stepped away and got injured," Martin said. "That's the thing that I really want to work hard to do, is when it's all said and done with, I hope that they can look back and say they were glad that they had me as a part of the organization."

Martin was released from his part-time schedule at Michael Waltrip Racing on Monday and will drive the No. 14 Chevrolet in 12 of the final 13 Sprint Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart, a three-time Cup champion, will miss the rest of the season while he recovers from the broken right leg suffered in a sprint car crash Aug. 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway.

Nationwide Series driver Austin Dillon will drive the No. 14 on Oct. 20 at Talladega. Dillon filled in for Stewart on Sunday at Michigan and finished 14th.

Martin entered 16 of 23 races as part of a shared ride in the No. 55 with Michael Waltrip and Brian Vickers at MWR. Vickers will now drive the No. 55 Toyota for MWR in 12 of the final 13 races.