“I'd rather see that than the blatant disregard”: When Mark Martin was blunt about the consequences of ‘disrespecting’ his crew

NASCAR legend Mark Martin once reflected on how much he values his crew members and their efforts. The Hall of Famer revealed how he "intentionally wrecked" some drivers in his career over to avenge his crew.

Mark Martin remains one of the most revered figures in NASCAR history. The 65-year-old finished as the Cup Series runner-up five times but never won the championship throughout his career.

Famous for his no-nonsense attitude, Martin also held his crew members in high regard. The 65-year-old, in an interview with USA Today back in 2013, admitted to intentionally wrecking a few drivers during his nearly four-decade-long career—a decision he said was driven by his deep respect for his crew. He revealed:

"I've only wrecked a few people intentionally in my career of almost 40 years. That's not something I'm proud of. I don't condone wrecking people or tearing up race cars during or after races. I'd much rather have a whipping than see that total disrespect for the people who build these cars and what they put into them. It's total disrespect -- not to mention there are certain dangerous situations as well that can come into play."

The Arkansas native further emphasized that conflicts could often be resolved without physical confrontations. He added:

"I've always settled my business man-to-man, and there's not really any real need to fight. You can settle it without fighting. But if it came to that, I'd rather see that than the blatant disregard for the people who do all the work on the cars."

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What was Mark Martin's advice to an aspiring NASCAR driver?

In the very same interview with USA Today, Martin was also presented with the question asked by the previous week's interviewee, Brad Keselowski. Keselowski, who was the reigning Cup Series champion at the time, asked:

"What path would you recommend a young, aspiring driver should take to make it in Sprint Cup?"

Answering that, Mark Martin stressed the importance of starting with Late Model stock cars. He said:

"If you want to be a NASCAR driver, you need to drive Late Model stock cars first. Then, after you get where you're winning a good bit with your Late Model, the K&N Series (now ARCA Menards Series) is a great springboard because of the visibility it has to the NASCAR guys. It helps open the doors more than some other kind of racing that is not as affiliated with NASCAR. Most of the NASCAR people kind of keep an eye on the real standouts who are coming up through the K&N Series now."

Mark Martin parted ways with the sport at the end of the 2013 season. He was inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Famer in 2017, and was named one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers in 2023. Martin also remains the winningest driver in the Xfinity Series, having won 49 races in the series.