Martin Enjoyed Up And Down Affair With ‘Big ol’ Track
Apr 25, 2008
Mooresville, N.C. – This weekend the NASCAR circuit rolls into Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for one of the fastest races on the Sprint Cup schedule. Not surprisingly, veteran driver Mark Martin will not be making the trip.
Most believe that despite strong credentials acquired during his 25 years of racing at the track, Martin dislikes the high-banked oval of Talladega—an assumption that is not necessarily the case.
Martin made his first start at Talladega on Aug. 1, 1981 in the ARCA 200. The young Martin qualified second, and turned laps of over 200 mph en route to a four-second victory in his ‘Dega debut, but it would be far from his final success at the track.
He swept the poles there in 1989 (in ARCA, Busch?) and he set track records in both the Busch and Cup races there in the spring of 1997. Martin has two Cup wins, two poles, 10 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes at Talladega. For his efforts, he was named to the Talladega Hall of Fame in 2002. Martin has won in all three of NASCAR’s premier series at Talladega—Cup, Busch and Truck; the last one coming in a dominating performance in the 2006 Craftsman Truck race, where he won from the pole in his first and only Truck Series start there.
“Actually, I always liked Talladega early on,” said Martin. “In the beginning it was easier to get around than Daytona and I just didn’t find it nearly as intimidating. Back then we didn’t have restrictor plates and handling mattered. I can remember people spinning out there – I mean all on their own. It was just a ‘big ol’ race track that really tested your skills. You had to know when to go and when to let off.
“In fact, I always had a good relationship with the track,” added Martin with a pause. “Before the restrictor plates were added.”
In an effort to limit the speed of the cars for safety purposes, restrictor plates were added to the cars in 1988 at both Daytona and Talladega, forever changing the dynamics of both places.
After that, Martin experienced more than his share of success at Talladega but it never quite suited his style of racing.
“Eventually it got to where the wrecking was just ridiculous,” added Martin. “You would be so bunched up that you just hoped that you could avoid all the trouble. Most of the time it seemed like we were not able to do that.”
