Mark Martin
| Mark Martin | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards | 1977 American Speed Association (ASA) Rookie of the Year
4-Time American Speed Association (ASA) Champion (1978, 1979, 1980, 1986) 5-Time IROC Champion (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| Car no., team |
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| 2006 position | 9th | ||||||
| First race | 1981 Northwestern Bank 400 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
| First win | 1989 AC Delco 500 (Rockingham) | ||||||
| Last win | 2005 Banquet 400 (Kansas) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| Car no., team | |||||||
| 2006 position | 44th | ||||||
| Best finish | 8th - 1987 | ||||||
| First race | 1982 Kroger 200 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
| First win | 1987 Budweiser 200 (Dover) | ||||||
| Last win | 2005 Sam's Town 300(Las Vegas) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
| Truck no., team | 21 - Wood Brothers/JTG Racing | ||||||
| 2006 position | 19th | ||||||
| Best finish | 19th - 2006 | ||||||
| First race | 1996 Fas Mart Shootout (Richmond) | ||||||
| First win | 1996 Lowe's 250 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
| Last win | 2006 Ford 200 (Homestead) | ||||||
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Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959 in Batesville, Arkansas) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver for Ginn Racing, driving the #01 U.S. Army Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS/Impala, and is also a part-time driver in the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series for Hendrick Motorsports, and Wood Brothers/JTG Racing. Martin is often nicknamed Mr. Consistency because he frequently places in the top 10 in races. He has also qualified for the Chase for the Cup all 3 years of its existence.
Career
Early career
Martin is known as a "racer's racer". This basically means that he is willing to race any kind of vehicle in any kind of conditions anywhere in the world.
After racing in the short dirt tracks in the state of Arkansas for several years, Martin debuted in the American Speed Association (ASA) in 1977. He won the circuit's Rookie of the Year title in 1977 and then 3 consecutive championships from 1978 to 1980.
Martin began his Cup career in 1981. After bouncing about with different sponsors and teams from 1981 to 1983, he returned to ASA in 1984. In his only full year in Cup during this period, he ran his own team and even had 5 top 10s, but ran out of money. In 1986, he won yet another ASA championship.
Roush Racing
In 1987, he gave NASCAR racing another shot by running in the NASCAR Busch Series. After a win in Dover, Delaware, he was spotted by car owner Jack Roush. In 1988, Martin began a long relationship with Roush that continued for 19 years.
Overall, Martin has 35 career NASCAR Cup wins and has finished second in the Nextel Cup Series point standings four times (1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002). However, after 19 years of racing for Jack Roush, he has never been able to capture the championship, though this is not from a lack of effort. He has also achieved a record 48 victories in the NASCAR Busch Series. In 1990, a 46-point penalty at Richmond for using an illegal (but non-performance enhancing) carburetor spacer caused him to lose to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points in the final standings.
Martin has also won 5 IROC titles (1994, 1996, 1997 1998 and 2005) in addition to 13 races, both records for that series.
His sponsors have included Stroh Beer, Folgers coffee, Kraft, Valvoline motor oil, Viagra/Pfizer and the American Automobile Association. Martin announced he would retire after the 2005 season, dubbing the season the "Salute to You" tour as a thank you to his fans. After series champion Kurt Busch suddenly opted to leave the Roush Racing organization, Roush didn't have another driver lined up for 2006. Martin ultimately opted to run one more season at the request of Roush.
In June 2005, it was announced that Jamie McMurray would replace Mark Martin in the #6 car in 2007. This left Roush without a driver for that car in 2006. Martin later agreed to drive for the 2006 season. Ultimately, it was announced that McMurray would be released from his contract and would take over for Kurt Busch instead in car #26 (formerly #97), and David Ragan would replace Mark Martin in the #6 AAA Ford Fusion in 2007.
In 2007, Mark Martin was planning to run a full schedule in the Craftsman Truck Series and help out his son, Matt Martin, with his racing career.
Ginn Racing
However, on October 6, 2006, it was announced that Mark Martin will instead split time with current Busch Series driver Regan Smith in the Ginn Racing #01 U.S. Army Chevy in 2007. Roush Racing announced that due to team limits imposed by NASCAR, they could not field a team for Martin for all 20 races he wanted to run in 2007, forcing Martin to move on, at least in the NEXTEL Cup Series. However, Martin drove two races for Roush-Fenway Racing in the Busch Series, and will drive in three races for Hendrick Motorsports, sharing that ride with Kyle Busch.
On February 18, 2007, Martin finished second in the Daytona 500, only .02 seconds behind Kevin Harvick. Martin had led going into the final lap before Harvick stormed from eighth to win on the outside. There has been much controversy over whether or not the yellow caution flag should have came out, which could have affected the outcome of the race. Normally, the caution flag is shown as soon as a car or more make contact with the wall.
This is Martin's first season to start with three consecutive top-five finishes. It is also the first time he has had three consecutive top-five finishes since 2002. Martin is also the oldest driver in the modern era to lead the Nextel Cup points for more than one week. Martin led the Nextel Cup points from the second race of the season, the Auto Club 500, through the fourth race of the season, the Kobalt Tools 500. Martin sat out the Food City 500, becoming the first driver since Cale Yarborough to sit out a race as the points leader.
In May 2007, it was reported that Martin could race for Hendrick Motorsports as a substitute for expectant father Jeff Gordon.
Trivia
- Martin was named Mr. Consistency in the late 90's.
- Martin loves to listen to rap music. [1]
- During an interview with Chris Myers, Martin stated his road racing experience was a result of his days driving on the winding roads of Batesville, Arkansas.
- Martin was listed as the official owner of Matt Kenseth's 17 car until leaving Roush Racing upon which Jack Roush bought out his ownership share.
- Martin currently resides in Port Orange, Florida.
- Has five children, four of whom are from wife Arlene's first marriage.
- Martin is the current all time Busch series race winner
- Mark is one of only three drivers to have made the Chase for the Cup all three years since its introduction in 2004. The other drivers are Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth.
References
External links
