“The Switch Went Off!” Mark Martin Reveals the Real Reason Why He Would Never Race Again

Mark Martin is hands down one of the best racers the sport has ever seen and is the second-best driver never to win a championship, behind Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. His legacy is defined by his unmatched longevity, as he raced more than three decades in the premier division making 882 starts, that earned him 40 wins.

Despite him being 67 years old, no-one would be surprised if the Hall of Famer makes a return to racing and if there is anyone that fans believes is capable of breaking Hershal McGriff’s record of being the oldest NASCAR racer ever (90 years and 4 months) it’s the ex-HMS driver. But it would never happen as the veteran has confirmed that he has no plans to ever return to racing.

Lorin Ranier is on my really hard to come and test a late model stock. I look at what (Dale Earnhardt) Jr.’s doing, and I think it would be pretty incredible to try and do that but Jr. is a whole lot younger than I am, and I don’t have it anymore. I’m sorry, I don’t. I know. You may not know, but I know. When I had it, I (knew) I had it. Anywhere, anytime. Drop the hammer, no practice, no getting used to it — that was me.

Mark Martin said.

On his recent interview with Motorsport.com, Mark Martin admitted that at this age he has lost the edge that made him a solid racer and regardless of how much he practices, he can’t get it back. He admitted that there is driver like Bill Elliott, who are older than him, capable of racing again, but his time behind the wheels is over. The veteran also asserted that he doesn’t want to race when he is no-longer capable of giving his 100%.  

Now, I don’t care how much I practice. I can’t see as good, I can’t hear as good, my old processor is slower than a turn. I’m sorry, I don’t have it. Some of these guys do. Bill Elliott still has it, and he’s two years older than me. But he stays in race cars and he’s still got it. But when I quit racing, the switch went off. If I did, it would just show me that I’m right…To go out there and be half-ass and be half-a-second off, I’m not into that.

Mark Martin added via motorsport.com.

Mark Martin reveals why he fought NASCAR to eliminate playoffs

In the same conversation, Martin talked about his fight off the track to make Cup racing better. He played a key role in forcing the sport to end the playoff system and re-adopt the chase system. His risked his reputation by standing against the sport and though he fought for full-season points, bringing back the chase was the positive alternative.

It wasn’t me. The fans, the majority of the fans, wanted full-season points. I just decided that I had heard enough and that I was going to take a chance, risking my reputation to stand up and tell NASCAR what I saw.

Mark Martin said.

While talking about it, he also slammed the narrative that often highlights the sport as the demon owing to some poor decisions. Later he reiterated that, his fight was for the fans that stopped watching racing because of the playoffs and he is looking forward to have all of them back.

Not every single decision is NASCAR being the demon here. They have made some bad decisions and poor decisions, don’t get me wrong…I just decided to advocate for those, and hopefully, some of the ones that said, ‘I don’t watch anymore,’ would come back.

Mark Martin added.

The comments from the racing legend are on point and shows how passionate he is about the sport. It would be interesting to how the community is going to regard his role in the elimination of playoffs in the long-run and how it is going to change NASCAR.

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