Mark Martin is the last driver from the ’50s to win a Cup Series race. So when Mr. Consistency speaks, everybody listens. After all, with 882 premier-tier appearances in over three decades, with 40 wins to show for it, the man deserves his due respect. And now, this NASCAR legend has come forward to speak out about Austin Dillon and his infamous Richmond finish. But even though Martin made some solid statements, his stance on the issue could certainly stir up some divided sentiments.

On the August 15 episode of DJD: Reloaded, he laid bare the stark contrast between the NASCAR he grew up in and the one we see today. However, the question remains: has the high-stakes, winner-takes-all mentality replaced the image of honor on the track, thanks to a championship format that unfortunately rewards aggression over finesse?

Is NASCAR sacrificing respect for ratings? Mark Martin says yes!

For those who are not familiar with Mark Martin, people consider him the “best driver to never win a championship.” He finished second in the Cup Series standings five times in his glorious career spanning three decades, coming all too close to that coveted Bill France Cup. Regardless, 5 IROC championships and a NASCAR Hall of Fame induction in 2017 are proof of his genuine talent. And as a true veteran of the sport, Mark Martin has seen it all.

He is no stranger to NASCAR’s conflicting penalties and decisions either. In 1990, the governing body penalized him by deducting 46 points. The reason behind this penalty was his utilization of a carburetor spacer that exceeded the standardized size by only half an inch. And although competition director Dick Beaty did not think the action was too detrimental back then, they revoked Martin’s win and imposed an additional $40,000 fine after a team owner pointed out that the spacer could’ve played an advantage for the #6 Roush car.

This resulted in Martin losing out on his first championship to the driver, who made the Richard Childress Racing’s #3 famous, Dale Earnhardt. In those days, every little edge mattered. These days, with the Next-Gen car changing the game in terms of parity, the racing product has certainly turned a little too combative. One could consider the Richmond finish a livid example.

But in the background of all the dirty air surrounding Austin Dillon’s reversed win at Richmond, Andrew Kurland, host of DJD: Reloaded raised a commendable question to know what Mark Martin’s opinion on the issue was. In Kurland’s own words: “Is this a case of don’t hate the player, hate the game in terms of the move that Austin Dillon made at Richmond?” To this, his guest replied, “At some degree, yes. I would agree with that. It takes b*lls to do what Austin Dillon did. I don’t necessarily agree with it. It is largely due to the format.”

Martin explains, “I’m a racer, I’m a purist. I grew up in an era where respect, and honor, and dignity were everything and that was paramount. And the racers taught me to race with that and raced me back with that. And it served me well. I terribly disagree with the double-file restart. They did that to take the advantage away from the guy who was gonna win the race. They did that to appease the fans and the television and you know, the green-white-checkered as well, you know, I was not a fan of that.”

“And there’s some that don’t like it. And there’s some that do… Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. I’m kind of riding the fence,” observed the Batesville, Arkansas native. “I am a fan. I still love NASCAR, and I still watch it. But it’s dang sure different than it was when I was growing up. And I’m not gonna bash it because it’s what we have now.”

A heartfelt admission by Mark Martin. However, it’s ironic considering Richard Childress was the one who once complained about his illegal spacer at that opportune Richmond race almost thirty-four years ago.

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Earlier in the year, Martin had revealed on the NASCAR YouTube channel, “You could’ve run the carburetor if it was welded on. However, an old technicality in the rule book set a two-inch maximum carburetor space […] After we won the race, they say that Richard Childress come you know dragging them over there and pointed and said ‘it’s right there.’ Bill France Jr didn’t happen to be there which is very rare. He wasn’t able to see it with his own eyes and be able to bring us to in the trailer and Jack be able to plead his case… but we weren’t able to have that conversation.”

While Dale Earnhardt & Rusty Wallace battled, a careful pit call had shot Martin up front at Richmond with just 17 laps to go. He had finished almost a second ahead of the Intimidator, but after Childress’s opinion, Martin’s win got stripped from his record with a severe penalty, partly similar to Dillon.

That said, NASCAR’s $40K penalty for an illegal carburetor spacer was seemingly as detrimental as the Richmond incident. Once the penalty reports came out this week, Joey Logano received a $50K fine for his retaliation towards Austin Dillon’s family on the pit road. Dillon, however, won’t make it to the playoffs despite his controversial win.

All these decisions leave a lot of unanswered questions. But with NASCAR taking a stand against reckless behavior, it’s safe to say the sport is inching toward an admirable future.