Mark is one of the most popular and successful drivers
in NASCAR history. He has more than 30 Winston Cup wins and
has finished in the Top 6 in the points standings 11 times.
Mark, who is also the all-time leader in Busch Series wins,
finished a disappointing eighth in Cup points this year.Following is a transcript of that interview.
RacingOne:
Describe your relationship with your car owner Jack Roush. Jack says you’ve been very loyal to him, and he appreciates that more than anything.
Mark:
If you’ve been somewhere a long time and you’ve had a good marriage, you don’t have to communicate nearly as much as you do if you’ve been somewhere only a short time and you don’t have as good a fit with people. We don’t have to work on our relationship very hard because we’ve been together for such a long time, and we do respect each other very much. It works, and it works well. We don’t have to put a lot of effort into it. We usually know what the other is thinking.
RacingOne:
Along the same lines, Atlanta was your last race with Valvoline as your sponsor, and you’ve been together with them for a long time. Is it tough to sever that relationship, or was this just another difficult business decision?
Mark:
I feel like they left us. I was under the assumption that we’d continue to be together for some time, but they decided to do something else. So, we have to align ourselves with sponsors that will give us every opportunity that we have to win races and a championship. Because of the way this sport has gone, it’s gotten a little bit out of the comfort zone for some of the sponsors, so I guess that’s why that happened.
RacingOne:
Was this the toughest year of your career, or have you weathered worse storms than this?
Mark:
It would depend on what category you’re talking about. But in reality, it’s not even close. I don’t really keep score, but I’ve had a lot of them that have been a lot tougher than this one… by far.
RacingOne:
You’ve always stressed the importance of winning races. With everything that has evolved in the sport and the powerhouse teams that have come along through the years, is it harder to win now than ever before?
Mark:
It’s always been really tough. It just depends on what kind of cycle you’re in. For, say, a Tony Stewart or a Jeff Burton during the first half of the year, it was extremely tough. The second half of the year it wasn’t. It depends on where your program is at in relationship to the competition. We didn’t have a very good year this year as far as winning races, and that’s something that was tough for me to take. But hopefully we’ll bounce back next year and do the things we need to do to win a few races.
RacingOne:
Do you ever get tired of all the attention that your celebrity brings to you?
Mark:
It would certainly be a whole lot more fun, and a lot easier, if driving the car was the only thing I had to do. I’ve raced for 26 years, and for 26 years the demand in that area (his time) has grown every year. That’s just to be expected of you if you’re successful.
RacingOne:
The Busch Series has been a huge part of your life and your career. Deep down inside, just how much are you going to miss it?
Mark:
Well, I’m not missing it very much right now. I’m not a fortuneteller, so I don’t know what I’m going to think later. Right now I’m thrilled and excited to be finished with it. It has been a big part of my career and I’m done with it for the time being. I may get the itch some Saturday next year when we’re running with the Busch Series, but right now, I’m just glad to be done with it and to concentrate fully on the Winston Cup program.
RacingOne:
What are the biggest differences from when you came into Winston Cup and how the sport is now?
Mark:
Everything is different. The amount of fans we have is markedly different. The amount of money it costs to run a program is much bigger. The number of big-name sponsors in the sport has increased tremendously. The level of competition has gotten so much tougher. It’s all big. There’s nothing small change about it anymore. It was like that when I first came in, but it’s certainly not like that now.
RacingOne:
You’ve accomplished so much during your racing career, but will Mark Martin’s career be complete without a Winston Cup championship?
Mark:
Absolutely. If I was guaranteed at 15-years-old that I was going to be a Winston Cup champion and didn’t do it, I wouldn’t be fulfilled during my career at all. But there were no guarantees when I started that I’d even be good enough to compete on this level. So you’ve got to look at it from that point of view. I’m very blessed to have done what I’ve done so far.
RacingOne:
Just how much are you involved in your son Matt’s racing endeavors, and how big a kick do you get out of watching him compete and win?
Mark:
It’s a lot of fun. It’s where my heart is today. I don’t go to the races much, I only get to see him race about twice a year. We have a race shop for him, though, and I go to the race shop every day that I’m in town. We’re working on trying to make his stuff better to give him a better opportunity to do the things he wants to do. We’ve just really been playing with it up until recently, but now we’re starting to get serious.
RacingOne:
In your opinion, what is wrong and what is right with NASCAR racing right now?
Mark:
Right now, the aerodynamic rules are wrong and need to be addressed. That’s been apparent for quite some time and something needs to be done about it very soon. What is definitely right with the sport is the marketing end of it. NASCAR has done a tremendous job with that, and they continue to keep making our sport bigger and more popular.
