Blast From the Past

Mark Martin came to NASCAR’s Cup Series after building an impressive résumé on the paved short tracks of the Midwest. We won 40 races and recorded 453 top-10 finishes during a 31-year Cup Series career.

BY BEN WHITE

tracks in the area around his Batesville, Arkansas, home at the age of 14. Having been a bit short for his age, he would place phone books in the seat of his race car in order to comfortably see through the car’s windshield.

That small detail didn’t stop him from quickly becoming one of the most successful drivers to continually collect checkered flags week after week.

A move to the American Speed Association was a natural progression and soon Martin was racing against such stars as Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace, Dick Trickle and Jim Sauter, all icons he would face later in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Martin earned the 1977 ASA National Tour rookieof-the-year title. Before leaving the ultra-competitive division, Martin won 22 ASA races with championships coming in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1986.

Funding the venture he co-owned with Bud Reeder, Martin moved to NASCAR’s Cup Series in 1981, earning two pole positions and a top-five finish in five series starts. He struggled to find success in NASCAR and eventually returned to the ASA circuit.

At the end of 1987, a call from team owner Jack Roush changed his destiny. Roush offered Martin the Cup Series ride of a lifetime with the new team he was forming. Together, they collected 35 of Martin’s 40 victories and finished second in Cup Series points on five occasions.

–MARK MARTIN

BEST SEASON

Series points to Jeff Gordon during the 1998 season, Martin scored seven victories for team owner Jack Roush and was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers that year. He set career highs for top-five finishes with 22 and laps led with 1,730.

RECORD SETTER

NASCAR Xfinity Series, holding the record for series wins for 14 years. He retired from driving in 2013 with 96 wins across NASCAR’s three national series, seventh on the all-time list. He was recognized for winning in all types of cars.

KNOWN FOR

on and off the track. Whether doing interviews or inside the race car, he was incredibly focused on the job at hand, often admitting he had difficulty relaxing between races. When behind the wheel of his cars, he was totally consumed with winning.

BY BEN WHITE

Ned Jarrett and Rex White used talent on the short tracks to become the championship contenders during the 1961 NASCAR Cup Series season, collecting a combined eight victories throughout the 52-race premier series schedule.

peted in NASCAR’s premier series for eight seasons before making a championship bid in 1961. Team owner B.G. Holloway fielded the No. 11 Chevrolet with Bud Allman serving as chief mechanic, a position known today as crew chief, for 46 of 52 races on the schedule.

Jarrett visited Victory Lane only once, topping Jim Paschal in a 100-mile event on June 4 at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in Birmingham. His championship season was sealed by consistency through 29 top-five finishes and 34 top-10 results.

White, driving his own No. 4 Chevrolet, won seven races in 47 starts that season, logging 29 top-five results and 38 top-10 finishes. The Taylorsville, North Carolina, native employed Louis Clements, grandfather of current Xfinity Series competitor Jeremy Clements, as his chief mechanic. Even though their number of wins was far greater that Jarrett’s, the team came up 840 points short under the system NASCAR used that year.

Races of 249 miles or less were awarded 50 points to the winner. Races of 250 to 399 miles awarded 100 points to the winner. Races lasting 400 miles or longer awarded 150 points to the winner. White failed to finish seven times during the season as the number of laps completed was also a factor in determining the championship.

White’s wins came at Bowman Gray Stadium (3) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway (2); Asheville-Weaverville (N.C.) Speedway; and Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

BEST DRIVER

driving a Ford owned by Doc White and a Pontiac owned by Bud Moore, won nine NASCAR Cup Series races during the 1961 season. The Norfolk, Virginia, native opened the season with a victory in the final event at the Charlotte Fairgrounds. He also won at Daytona, twice at Charlotte Motor Speedway and on short tracks in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Hillsboro, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Martinsville, Virginia; and Bristol, Tennessee.

BEST RACE

young Fred Lorenzen, driving a Holman Moody Ford, and veteran Curtis Turner, in the Wood Brothers Racing Ford, battled for the win in the Rebel 300, bumping an estimated 50 times in the final 20 laps. Turner blocked Lorenzen numerous times while shaking fists at one another until Lorenzen faked high and went low. Lorenzen held a six-car length lead with two laps remaining and maintained it until crossing under the checkered flag.

TOP CARS

Ned Jarrett’s No. 11 blue-and-white Chevrolet Impala owned by B.G. Holloway – a onerace winner.

Rex White’s No. 4 goldand-white Chevrolet Impala – winner of seven races.

November 6 Charlotte Fairgrounds

Joe Weatherly November 20 Speedway Park Lee Petty February 24 Daytona International Speedway Fireball Roberts February 24 Daytona International Speedway Joe Weatherly February 26 Daytona International Speedway Marvin Panch March 4 Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Cotton Owens March 5 Asheville-Weaverville Speedway Rex White March 12 Marchbanks Speedway Fireball Roberts March 26 Atlanta Motor Speedway Bob Burdick April 1 Greenville-Pickens Speedway Emanuel Zervakis April 2 Orange Speedway Cotton Owens April 3 Bowman Gray Stadium Rex White April 9 Martinsville Speedway Fred Lorenzen April 16 North Wilkesboro Speedway Rex White April 20 Columbia Speedway Cotton Owens April 22 Hickory Motor Speedway Junior Johnson April 23 Richmond Raceway Richard Petty April 30 Martinsville Speedway Junior Johnson May 6 Darlington Raceway Fred Lorenzen May 21 Charlotte Motor Speedway Richard Petty May 21 Charlotte Motor Speedway Joe Weatherly May 21 Riverside International Raceway Lloyd Dane May 27 Ascot Speedway Eddie Gray May 28 Charlotte Motor Speedway David Pearson June 2 Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Jim Paschal June 4 Alabama State Fairgrounds Ned Jarrett June 8 Greenville-Pickens Speedway Jack Smith June 10 Bowman Gray Stadium Rex White June 17 Norwood Arena Emanuel Zervakis June 23 Hartsville Speedway Buck Baker June 24 Starkey Speedway Junior Johnson July 4 Daytona International Speedway David Pearson July 9 Atlanta Motor Speedway Fred Lorenzen July 20 Columbia Speedway Cotton Owens July 22 Rambi Raceway Joe Weatherly July 29 Bristol Motor Speedway Jack Smith August 6 Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Jim Paschal August 9 Bowman Grady Stadium Rex White August 13 Asheville-Weaverville Speedway Junior Johnson August 18 Southside Speedway Junior Johnson August 27 South Boston Speedway Junior Johnson September 4 Darlington Raceway Nelson Stacy September 8 Hickory Motor Speedway Rex White September 10 Richmond Raceway Joe Weatherly September 10 Sacramento Fairgrounds Eddie Gray September 17 Atlanta Motor Speedway David Pearson September 24 Martinsville Speedway Joe Weatherly October 1 North Wilkesboro Speedway Rex White October 15 Charlotte Motor Speedway Joe Weatherly October 22 Bristol Motor Speedway Joe Weatherly October 28 Greenville-Pickens Speedway Junior Johnson October 29 Orange Speedway Joe Weatherly

NO. 1 AT THE BOX OFFICE West Side Story