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Back in 2008, Mark Martin signed up to race for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dale Earnhardt, Inc. after DEI absorbed Ginn Racing. Martin, who was a full-time Cup Series driver, then was driving for Ginn Racing until the sudden change in trajectory. Ahead of his move to DEI, Martin touched upon his competitive, yet respectful relationship with Dale Jr.
On July 27, 2007, DEI announced that they acquired Ginn Racing, which resulted in Martin joining Dale Jr., Martin Truex Jr., and Paul Menard in the Teresa Earnhardt-owned team. While the switch wasn't a smooth one, Martin barely had a choice, but to race against Dale Jr.
"Dale and I were not good friends," Martin said in 2008 during the media day at the Daytona International Speedway. "We were great competitors and we got along well. We had tremendous respect for one another. We didn't go out to dinner together, but we had great respect, and I feel that I give that respect back to the company that he built."
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However, Mark Martin did not have to race Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the latter moved away from DEI to join Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. Dale Jr. had a bitter exit from the team after a difficult negotiation with Teresa Earnhardt, his stepmother.
As a result, DEI handed over the #8 entry to Mark Martin alongside Aric Almirola. That year, the Batesville-born driver participated in 24 races for DEI where he racked up four Top 5s, and 11 Top 10s and finished the season in 28th place.
Interestingly, in 2009, Martin decided to follow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports after just one and a half years at DEI. He participated in a total of 32 races for the Teresa Earnhardt-owned team.
What did Dale Earnhardt Jr. say about Mark Martin replacing him at DEI?
Following Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s departure from Dale Earnhardt, Inc, DEI handed over the charge of the #8 entry to Mark Martin. However, Dale Jr. was far from unhappy, as he admitted to being a Mark Martin fan, and was content that the Batesville-born driver would be in charge of his former ride.
"I'm a Mark Martin fan from when he was racing the No. 2 back in Nashville," Earnhardt said. "I remember when he came over to my dad's house with a couple of tapes from his races in Nashville and played them on a Beta VCR. We watched those races and he was trying his hardest to show my dad how good a race car driver he was. He was trying hard to get a good ride."
After Martin moved to Hendrick Motorsports, he raced there for three years before moving to Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Michael Waltrip Racing under part-time obligations, all in 2013. He raced his last in the 2013 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami and has 882 races under his belt in over 31 years in NASCAR Cup Series.
