Mark Martin Warns NASCAR Against Giving Rockingham a Cup Date Too Early

NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin has the perfect response to the calls from fans to include Rockingham back in the Cup schedule.

Mark Martin Warns NASCAR Against Giving Rockingham a Cup Date Too Early

Mark Martin (Via IMAGO)

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Rockingham last Sunday was an impressive event and the fans are calling for the track to be added in the Cup schedule. It was a regular fixture in the elite division from 1965-2004, before the sport decided to move on to new market over disappointing attendance.

“The Rock” made its return after a full-repave of the 0.94-mile oval last year and might be ready to host premier series races again. On the latest episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, ex-team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. shared his thoughts on the topic and highlighted NASCAR first have to experiment with an All-Star race before making the significant call.

I think to see an All-Star Race there, maybe to see what we got going on. I think the Cup cars would be running the wall in [Turns] 1 and 2, maybe 3 and 4, too. You can do some grip work up there, obviously, and bring a soft enough tire for it to wear out, and you won’t have an issue. There’s a lot of heat built up in those tires, so you gotta be careful there because of the speeds and everything there. I’d like to see the All-Star race there to start.

Tommy Baldwin Jr. said recently.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, who was the guest in the podcast, responded to Baldwin Jr.’s comment. He pointed out that the sport should not rush back to return as there is possibility of having a dud race. The veteran asserted that there is a possibility having insane races at the track, if the cars are played right.

Definitely a problem for finding a way to put a points race there. You don’t want to go there too soon and before it’s completely ready and have a dud of a race. But Tommy’s right, once they can get to where they can run up high and run the bottom, that place will be insane. The racing would be insane once they got running top and bottom and middle.

Mark Martin asserted via Door Bumper Clear podcast.

Bubba Wallace’s spotter shares similar thoughts as Mark Martin

In the same podcast, Bubba Wallace’s Cup spotter Freddie Kraft shared his thoughts on the discussion. He pointed out that the sport needs to let the repaved surface wear out more as he highlighted the additional challenges the NOAPS driver had to pass on the track.

Mark Martin
Mark Martin (Via @markmartin/X)

I think we need to let the surface wear out more. For me, I think the Cup cars now — we saw how hard it was to pass this weekend — you would pass a guy, the next guy would be a straightaway ahead of you, you’d run that guy down in five laps, but then you’d be stuck there trying to pass for 10 or 15 laps when you’re clearly three to four tenths better than him.

Freddie Kraft said.

Further talking about the point, he highlighted that the sport has to wait a bit long for the track to naturally become good and produce the solid races thy were known for. It’s the same feeling that was later shared by Mark Martin on the same podcast.

So, before we take the Cup cars there, I think we need to give the track some time to wear out, get us back to closer to what Mark [Martin] used to race on because the racing at Rockingham used to be maybe the best on the schedule. If it’s hard to pass in O’Reilly and Truck, it’s gonna be really hard to pass in the Cup car. So, we would need to find the right package, but I think the surface needs to wear out a little bit more before we go back.

Freddie Kraft added.

The comments from the veteran are on point, as for the betterment of the sport in the long-run, the best decision will be to wait and see how the replacement going to evolve. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for iconic venue in the coming years.

Also Read: “A Kick in the Nu*s!” NASCAR Denies Cleetus McFarland Talladega Approval