Mark Martin: The Legend That May Never Be Remembered

A generation from now, when people are watching the 2035 Daytona 500, announcers will talk about legends like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and quite possibly Kyle Busch. Drivers who won numerous championships and were always in competition year in and year out.

But for those purists, who lived during the 1980's, 90's and 00's, they'll surely remember the soft spoken, courteous little man from Arkansas, Mark Martin. A driver who never won the most races and most likely will have never won a NASCAR championship. 

No, Martin never did win the championship that so eluded him but he will also go down as a person who best exemplified what it meant to be a NASCAR driver.

Someone who loved the sport as much as his many fans loved him. 

Someone, who at an age when many of his former rivals left the cockpit for the broadcast booth, worked his tail off to keep himself in better shape than competitors half his age.

Last Saturday's race was just further proof we are continuing to witness the greatness of perhaps the most under appreciated legend in NASCAR history. 

Mark Martin, most known for driving the No. 6 Valvoline made his NASCAR debut in 1981, winning his first face in 1987. It would not take long for him to go from his first win to title contender as he finished 2nd overall in 1990. 

The runner-up spot would sadly become a place Martin would become familiar with finishing 2nd in the points standings not once, twice but four times, most recently in 2002 when Martin lost to Tony Stewart by just 38 points.

Perhaps his biggest disappointment though was the 2007 Daytona 500, when Martin lost to Kevin Harvick in one of the closest finishes in the race's history, losing by mere hundredths of a second. 

While, these agonizingly close defeats would frustrate most drivers—Martin has seldom appeared flustered, keeping himself composed on and off the race track his entire career. He has established a well earned reputation for being one of the cleanest most respectful drivers in the sport. If Martin is the cause of a wreck, his competitors will know it was not intentional.

Martin appeared to retire on several occasions, first leaving Roucsh Racing in 2006 before resuming a part time schedule with Ginn Racing and later DEI. When it appeared he'd ride into the sunset again last year, Hendrick Motorsports offered him a full time ride in the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet...And he hasn't looked back.

Despite being 11th in the current standings, Martin is well on his way to enjoying one of his more successful seasons. In just a half season with Hendrick, Martin has as many wins this year as he had the previous decade.

His current spot in the standings can be attributed to horrible luck of blown engines and wrecks; being at the wrong place at the wrong time on the track. 

Still, at age 50, Mark Martin could very well be considered a top contender to win the 2009 NASCAR championship. While this will most likely go to Stewart, Johnson, or Gordon the fact that Martin is even considered to be in that class of drivers says a lot to him, and his team.

If Martin does not win this year, we will surely appreciate the amazing performance he gave the fans. And he's done so well, he'll almost surely be back next year.

But what of 30 years from now? What will we say about Mark Martin then?

The fact his, he ranks just 19th in career wins with 39, and is only one of three drivers in the top 20 of all time wins who have not won a championship. To put that into comparison, Jimmie Johnson already has 40 wins and three titles.

However, one statistic that people should look up, and will show you just how incredibly consistent this man has been is the number of top 10s he has accumulated. In 741 races, Martin has 405 top 10s, not to mention 208 top-5's. 

Think about that. Mark Martin has finished in the top 10 in more than half the races he has entered.

I for one hope I am wrong about my predictions of the future.

Mark Martin has always been one of my favorite drivers, choosing to keep his mouth shut and do his talking on the race track. He doesn't go looking for trouble, and respects his fellow competitor, as well as his sport. 

He's everything an aspiring NASCAR driver should want to be. And though we can never fully know what people in the future will think of Mark Martin, we can enjoy and appreciate the legend we see on the race track today.