It’s no secret that Mark Martin was one of the best NASCAR drivers of his time. He made 882 race starts in the Cup Series alone, finishing 271 in the top five and bagging 40 wins. Martin never won a championship, but on five occasions ended a season being runner-up. Also, Martin won the Coca-Cola 600 once and the Southern 500 twice, and for all this, he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017.
The point of mentioning Martin’s career stats is that even without the championship, he would always be one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers. However, not many know the hardships he faced to get here. Also, being a race car driver was tough during his time. That’s probably why the veteran thinks his struggles are not valued in modern NASCAR.
Mark Martin Opens Up About the Current State of NASCAR
Well, there is often a debate on which is the “golden era of NASCAR.” To the older guys, like Kyle Petty, it’s probably the ’60s and the ’70s when his father, Richard Petty, and David Pearson were dominating the sport. For someone like Dale Earnhardt Jr, it’s the 70s and 80s, when Dale Sr came into the NASCAR scene and ruled it. Even 90s, the Jeff Gordon era is considered to be golden. He was someone who made NASCAR a household name.
While the debate over which decade was the golden era can’t be settled, almost everyone would agree it’s not current. The sport has diminished in its popularity, and we have seen veteran sponsors pulling out over time. Also, the current playoff format has been highly criticized. With the sport being dominated by sponsorship money, it’s kind of become easier to bag a seat. Something that was a struggle during Martin’s time.
That’s probably the reason he’s upset. In a recent interview with Kenny Wallace, Martin said, “I don’t want everything to go back like that, but I’m just saying I think the integrity of our sports is important to me. I feel like what I accomplished in my career is being diminished by gimmicks.”
Martin did not have the easiest start to his Cup Series career. He debuted in 1981, raced five races that year, followed by his first full season in ’82. However, Martin was only able to get two top fives that year.
Then it all crumbled in ’83 when the company sponsoring him backed out. After running for several different teams that year, he called it quits. On which he had previously said, “I had no intention of doing anything but making a living short-track racing the rest of my career.”
The Arkansas native went back to racing in the American Speed Association, never thinking of making a return to NASCAR again. But then he came to the Xfinity Series (then called the Busch series). It was only in 1987 when he bagged a full-time Cup ride with Roush Racing, from where his career took off. However, nowadays, if a driver has the money to back him, he’d probably have a ride.
Also, it’s not just that. Even the current playoff system has made things easier, which was not the case in Martin’s time. Where drivers needed to stay consistent and get wins all across the season. Even after that, Martin failed on five occasions to bag a title.
But now, with the ‘win and you are in’ rule, even a fluke win can get a driver into the playoffs. In this system, consistency isn’t valued. Last season, Joey Logano was crowned champion with the worst average finish for a champion ever.
Well, let’s hope that over time, NASCAR gets back to the standards of the olden times.