NASCAR Hall of Famer, Mark Martin took over the No. 11 car at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2013 after Denny Hamlin suffered a back injury.
Hamlin fractured a vertebra in a crash with Joey Logano during a race in Fontana and was expected to be out for at least six weeks. The team announced the change in March and owner Joe Gibbs' spoke about his confidence in Martin's experience to keep the team competitive.
"Obviously we're not exactly sure how long that is going to take, but Mark Martin's career speaks for itself and our team knows it will have the opportunity to compete for a win every week," Gibbs said (via USA Today).
Trending
Martin gave up full-time driving in 2011 after winning 40 Cup Series races. He drove Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 car part-time the following year, but stepped in at JGR for multiple races.
"Hopefully I can keep those guys up front and compete for wins while Denny heals up," Martin said.
However, the plan for Martin to replace Hamlin for several races fell apart when Michael Waltrip Racing said Martin would return to his original commitment with the team. Brian Vickers, who replaced Martin in the 2014 season at Michael Waltrip Racing, later filled in for Hamlin.
"I'm incredibly honoured" - Mark Martin on replacing Tony Stewart after a leg injury
Mark Martin holds the second-highest wins ever in the Xfinity Series races at 49. He finished second in the Cup standings five times but never won a Cup championship or the Daytona 500 in his 31-year career.
The Arkansas native also replaced Tony Stewart, who was recovering from a broken leg, at Stewart-Haas Racing during the 2013 season.
"Mark is someone I've looked up to my entire career and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him," Stewart said in a statement.
Martin competed in 12 of the last 13 races starting in August and responded to Stewart's comments.
"I'm incredibly honored. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding how Tony could possibly feel that way towards me when the guy is so amazing; the modern-day AJ Foyt. When I was growing up, AJ drove anything and everything and was fast and won in everything he drove. And Tony is the guy today, and is successful at it. I'm really sorry that it comes at the expense of Tony getting hurt," Mark Martin said (via AutoSport).
The 66-year-old took on a driver development coach position at Roush Fenway Racing in 2014 and left the following year to run a dirt racing team in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Martin now runs automobile dealerships and a power sports store.
