NASCAR recently concluded its awards for the 2024 season, where they celebrated the drivers and racing personalities. The red carpet event, DJ Diesel spinning his magic on the dance floor, and the ceremony itself made the event a tremendous success. But it seems like the award season isn’t over just yet, as former Tampa Bay player Antonio Brown has scheduled a mega year-end award show that will air on X.

The event is labeled as the “Cracker of the Year Award” and is expected to be attended by special guests such as Elon Musk and Dave Portnoy. But the big surprise was that Brown was able to rope in legendary NASCAR driver Mark Martin to be a part of his extravagant event. The link-up between the two started from a casual FaceTime back in November, and this is where they discussed this crossover.

“Thankful to add @markmartin to the Cracker of the Year Awards lineup: Mark Martin x AB collab Who would have ever thought it?” Brown shared this message on X, appreciating Martin for accepting his invitation. The special award ceremony is scheduled for 27 December and will only be aired exclusively on X. And going by the latest updates, Mark Martin himself is excited about the event, as he took to X and helped spread the word about this unique award night.

The poster shared by the veteran driver resembled it as if he was on the front cover of a fashion magazine. He posed with his Viagra firesuit and the graphic listed out the names of the special guests who will join him at the Cracker of the Year. And, adding more star power to the already star-studded lineup was the inclusion of Donald Trump Jr. While most of the ardent Mark Martin supporters were aware of his feature on the special award show, for some this was news. Soon the comments section of the post started buzzing, and fans shared their takes on what they made of this collaboration with Antonio Brown.

Fans react to Mark Martin’s appearance on the Cracker of the Year Award

AB is known to ruffle some feathers with his uncanny and unapologetic takes on X. Which is why his collaboration with the NASCAR star is seen as a huge surprise. But, despite the odd link-up, this race fan is thrilled to see what this partnership will deliver. He even jokingly stated that he would’ve changed his allegiance with his favorite NASCAR driver. “If you would’ve told me in 1993 that this would be happening right now I probably would’ve been a life long Martin fan instead of Gordon 😂😂😂”

Now when it comes to awards or accolades, NASCAR fans are always rooting for their favorite stars. Martin is the only NASCAR-related personality on the list, and this fan despises the rest of the entries mentioned in the award list. Shane Gills, Matt Gaetz, Davey Portnoy, LeVeon Bell, Scott Presler, and more are in the running for the honors at the awards. “Mark Martin better win it because a majority of the people on that list are pieces of s–t. Lmao.”

Martin is indeed a man full of surprises, as earlier in the year he opened up about his preferences when it came to music. And it turns out the 65-year-old listens to rap and is a big Gucci Mane fan. “For many people, Hip-Hop is a competitive sport just like racing. Rap fans have their favorite rapper, and mine is Gucci Mane. I consider him the original OG. Gucci Mane forever,” said Martin earlier this year. Seeing Mane and Martin share the award ceremony together would be a sight to behold. This is why another user on X inquired, “Will @gucci1017 be joining the festivities?”

There was a time when NASCAR was a big part of the popular culture. Fortune 500 companies, Hollywood stars, and even the U.S. President were in deep with NASCAR. In 1984, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a NASCAR race at Daytona Beach in July. The race marked Richard Petty’s 200th Cup Series win, in what was an iconic night for the sport.

However, as the years have gone by, the sport has lost its appeal. And the lack of superstar drivers and unique personalities has only made it tough for NASCAR to reclaim its former glory. Therefore, seeing Mark Martin be a part of a unique event that’s not directly related to NASCAR is huge. “Mark Martin boosting the rep of NASCAR and not even in NASCAR. Beast mode!”

Although Mark Martin hasn’t won a championship in his racing career, he is still regarded as one of the best drivers ever to grace NASCAR circuits. He’s part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and has 40 race Cup wins to his name. The one regret Mark Martin fans have is his runner-up finishes when he was close to winning championships not once but on five different occasions. But despite that, he’s always been one of the drivers who’s been loved and adored, “🙌🏼 been on my top cracker list since 1990.”

It will be interesting to see if Martin can clinch yet another award to his name.