Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares personal anecdote about Mark Martin’s love for rap music

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shared an incident from a Daytona 500 event about two decades ago which shows how fond legendary NASCAR driver Mark Martin is of rap music. Junior said his jaw dropped when he saw a 50-year-old Martin entering the parking lot at the Daytona International Speedway, vibing to the 50 Cent rap.

In a recent conversation with "Rubbin' is Racing" crew members Spider and Large, Junior went back in time and recalled:

"I remember like (in) 2004 or 2005, he had pulled his Mustang into the bus slot in the Daytona 500. It's like on a Sunday...like seven days before the race is gonna start. All of us are getting there, arriving and he comes rolling in his blaring 50 cent or something. He gets out; 50-year-old man, and I'm like this guy's (Mark) Martin?"

In a career that spanned 30 years, Martin garnered 96 wins across the three national racing series in NASCAR. Besides that, he won the pole award 56 times. With 40 race wins in the Cup Series, Martin sits 19th on the all-time wins list.

Martin's first Cup Series win came in 1989 at Rockingham with Roush Fenway Racing. He grabbed his last victory as Jack Roush's driver in 2005 before moving to Hendrick Motorsports, where he won five more races in the Cup Series. One of Martin's most remarkable achievements during this period was a triumph in the 2005 NASCAR All-Star race.

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Mark Martin sheds light on his favorite rapper

In an interview last month, Mark Martin revealed his favorite rapper. It is not Eminem or Snoop Dog, but an Atlanta-based rapper, Gucci Mane. Martin, now 65, went candid on his journey from Dr. Dre to Eminem and then to Mane. Martin was introduced to the 'TakeDat' rap star by his kids.

"I got on Dr. Dre in about 2002. I evolved from that to Eminem," Martin said (via Fox News). "And then, I had one of my son's friends, you know they were kids, ask me if I listen to Gucci Mane. I didn't know who it was. As soon as I found him, it was like crazy."

If Martin ever decided to rap and possibly stepped up on stage, he would never battle against Gucci Mane because he feels Mane destroys every rap artist in front of him.

"I'ma tell you right now, in my opinion, there is no one in the same zip code with Gucci Mane. If I rapped, I would never do a duo with him. Every time he does one with anybody, he just crushes them. I mean, this guy is unbelievable. I do like the old Gucci much better than the new Gucci. I liked his old music. I like him when he was fat and scary," he added.

Mark Martin was inducted into NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers of All Time list in 1988. His array of accolades earned him the prestigious title of the Motorsports Hall of Famer in 2015. In 2017, Mark Martin was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He retired from racing in 2013 and currently manages several businesses around his hometown: Batesville, Arkansas.