A lot of folks will agree that Mark Martin is probably the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a Cup championship. And when the diminutive pilot from Batesville, Ark., decided he was going to become a big league part-timer to spend more time racing pickups, it appeared his “close, but not quite” legacy was secure.

Maybe not.

Several news outlets are reporting that Martin will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season and move over to Hendrick Motorsports, where he’ll take over for Casey Mears.

Mears, of course, is on his way out at Hendrick, and the consensus is that Martin could jump into the No. 5 Chevy and fit in just fine with the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The deal — if it materializes — would likely mean Martin would compete in all 36 Cup events and thus become eligible to win an elusive series championship.

Frankly, I’m a little surprised that Martin would jump back into a full-time Cup situation. It was obvious as his semi-retirement drew closer he was tired of the grind, and there are some tracks — such as Talladega Superspeeday — that he absolutely despises.

He has said time and again that the Craftsman Truck Series is more akin to what Cup competition used to be like, and that’s where he wanted to put his energy.

But maybe he believes with Hendrick equipment and a team with limitless money he could legitimately contend for a crown.

By leaving DEI, Martin hands the keys completely to Aric Almirola, who he has been teaching for the past two years while they shared the No. 8 Chevy. DEI vice president of motorpsorts operations John Story wouldn’t speculate on Martin’s departure, but did say Almirola will have a car all to himself in 2009.

“Aric is ready for a full-time ride,” Story said. “We’re talking to Mark about what his objectives for the future are, and trying to marry that with our own, with Aric Almirola, to make sure Aric has the opportunity to run full-time next year.

“We’re going through the process right now of trying to make sure that we get something for Aric that provides a 36-race schedule, and at the same time that Mark is in a good situation.”

Mears has one year left on his contract with Hendrick, but as we all know contracts can be broken — oftentimes with relative ease. And Mears has been a weak link in the organization, so it makes sense that both driver and team need to get jumpstarts on fresh starts.

So if all the dominoes fall into place, Martin could very well be part of what was dubbed a “superteam” prior to the 2008 season but has registered only one victory this year.

If he decides to make a full 36-race commitment, Martin will have one last shot at the brass ring known as the Sprint Cup championship. Still, having listened to him say over and over he had no desire to be part of the grind again, I’ll only believe it when I see it.

But of course, I’ve been wrong before — more times than I’ve been right.

It just proves that “silly season” in NASCAR never ends.