“I Was So Full of Myself”: Mark Martin Discloses His Mountainous Pride Behind Rejecting NASCAR Legend’s Offer

Sometimes, NASCAR drivers can have fragile egos and think that they know best. On a few occasions, their decisions pay off handsomely, while on other occasions, they fail spectacularly. Mark Martin could be considered as far away from egotistical as possible, but in a recent conversation, he made some confessions, and to everyone’s surprise, even he was freaked out.

Martin is a total legend, with 49 wins in the Xfinity Series, making him the second-best ever. He bagged 40 wins in the Cup Series, too. Despite being a beast on the track, he finished second in the Cup Series standings five times and third four times. ESPN even called him “the best driver to never win a championship.” However, he never snagged a win at the Daytona 500, but he’s got five IROC championships, more than anyone else. And according to him, there could be a reason for that.

While speaking on the Dale Jr Download, Mark Martin admitted that in his younger days, he was fairly proud. The former driver revealed that he once received a very tempting offer from a bona fide NASCAR legend. However, he turned him down and elected to stick to his guns. Whether that benefitted in the long run, is anyone’s guess, but there was no more time for regrets. The 65-year-old recounted his early days in the Cup Series.

All the way back in 1981, Martin was just a rookie but felt like he had everything under control. The fact that he qualified well, helped plead his case for him, but the rest of the weekend played out differently. Martin told Dale Earnhardt Jr, “There’s a lot of things that could have happened that didn’t. I was so full of myself! In the third Cup race I ever – first one I ended up qualifying 5th, burned up a gear cause I started it under caution and I was freaked out.”

“It was wet and I was afraid that we were going to wreck. I never had – I’d never been around NASCAR racing. My pit crew had never been to a NASCAR race, for crying out loud. They were ASA guys, and so I burned up a gear. After the race, I’m at the pay shack cause you got to have your money before you head back to Indiana,” he added.

At that point, Mark Martin had an encounter with legendary crew chief J.C. ‘Jake’ Elder. who observed that Martin had not used any tachs to help with gear changes. The driver’s justification was that he didn’t need one and that he was running on instinct. The only gauges in the car were for water, temperatures, and oil pressure. At one point, he even lied to the crew chief about the car’s weight, and he did it in a panic.

The rookie had no idea of Elder’s status and thought himself invincible. His form was improving, with a pole in his third race and a seventh in his fourth. By race 5, he had improved to a season-best 3rd, so he felt that he could be a contender.

The former Roush Racing driver had another legendary encounter

Jake Elder was hardly the first legendary NASCAR figure to rub shoulders with him. Back in his shop in Indiana, he got a call from none other than former crew chief and engine builder Waddell Wilson. Apparently, he wanted Mark Martin to pilot his #28 Ranier-Lundy Racing Pontiac. Without even needing time to think about the offer, Martin had made up his mind and rejected it.

In hindsight, Mark Martin also admitted to Dale Jr that he should have negotiated with his own car and asked to do the chassis setups. Sadly, the opportunity passed, and he was left to wonder what could have been.

When the season-opening Daytona 500 arrived, Martin was shown what he missed out on when the #28 ca nabbed the pole. At the time, Benny Parsons was behind the wheel and did a solid job in the car for a while. Mark Martin acknowledged that he was unsure of his own prowess, had he been in Parsons’ shoes. According to him, he could have been at risk of underperforming and getting fired. Since then, Martin’s NASCAR Cup career has taken off, and the rest is history.