Mark Martin: Nascar Hall of Famer Retirements—Who Hung On Too Long?

Unlike other sports, Nascar can see drivers compete well into their 50’s.  While this allows for some pretty cool stories and added fan memories, it also can lend itself to some drivers staying active well past their prime.

With Jimmie Johnson being just the latest driver to announce his retirement from Nascar (effective the end of the 2020 season), I wanted to take a look at drivers who voluntarily retired from the sport to see if they hung on too long or left at just the right time (or maybe even a little too soon).  By “voluntary retirement” that means I’m not including anyone who was killed or seriously injured while driving.

Instead of looking at EVERY driver (even though interest in an analysis of Steve Grissom’s latter years could be quite high) I’m limiting it to Hall of Fame inductees—for now.

(Drivers listed in order of their Hall of Fame induction)

NOTE: Those inducted primarily or exclusively for achievements outside of driving (team ownership, crew chiefing, etc.) will not be considered.  Cup performance is all that’s considered for this piece.  Also, the more modern term “Cup Series” will be used instead of Grand National, Winston Cup, etc.

Mark Martin

DRIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: “The greatest driver to never win a championship”.  40 Cup Series wins.  Two-time Southern 500 winner.

LAST HURRAH: After three years of steadily declining results at Hendrick Motorsports, Martin returned to a part-time schedule with Michael Waltrip Racing, splitting the 55 car between himself, Micahel Waltrip, and Brian Vickers.  Martin would post four top-five finishes in 2012, followed by a third-place finish in the 2013 Daytona 500.

FINAL YEAR(S): Martin wound up driving for three teams in 2013—MWR, a one-off substitution for Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing, and finishing out the season with Stewart-Haas Racing filling-in for an injured Tony Stewart.  Despite missing eight races he still managed to finish 25th in the final season standings.  Martin has since remained retired.

DID HE HANG ON TOO LONG?: No.  Martin showed that with a renewed focus on a smaller number of races he was able to contend for wins and put up consistent results.

Nascar Coronavirus/COVID-19—What Now? Questions and Answers

Usually by this time in the year we’re complaining about Fox’s Nascar coverage, whining about the season being too long, and wondering what JGR driver is going to run away with the regular season.  Instead, Nascar—and most of the world—has been stopped cold by the spread of the COVID-19 virus, aka the Coronavirus.  Nascar joined the sports world by indefinitely postponing all races through May 3rd.

But where does that leave Nascar going forward?

Let’s see what we can figure out:

DID NASCAR ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO CANCEL THE RACES—HOW ABOUT HOLDING THEM WITH NO FANS?  First of all, the races have not been “cancelled”—they’ve been postponed (at least for now).  And yes, there was virtually no way Nascar could have raced under the conditions we all now live with.  Even if they had TRIED to hold races without fans, there’s a small army needed to put on a race.  Think of all the pit crews, road crews (mechanics and support staff), Nascar officials, safety workers, TV and radio production staff, and the drivers themselves.  If one person gets sick they could possibly infect the entire garage—and that could very well lead to the actual cancellation of the entire season.

HOW CAN NASCAR WORK THE POSTPONED RACES INTO THE REMAINING SCHEDULE?  The way I see it, there’s three viable options for Nascar to approach—here they are in order of practicality:

Least Practical—Extend the season into the winter.  PROS—allows all races to have their own weekends.  Least impact on Xfinity and Truck Series races.  Best tv time windows.  CONS—weather issues for northern tracks.  Makes the season even longer than it already was.  Puts Nascar head-to-head with football.  Limits offseason time to work on the 2021 “Gen 7” car.

Ironically Nascar already had a
Doubleheader Cup Series race
weekend scheduled for Pocono
this year.

Moderately Practical—Make certain race weekends Doubleheaders.  PROS—would likely allow season to end in early-November as scheduled.  Would lower travel costs for teams by only going to tracks once this season.  Plenty of marketing opportunities with the “double or nothing” aspect.  CONS—extremely weather-sensitive—a rainy weekend could obliterate two Cup races.  Leaves little room for Xfinity and Truck Series races.  Could be limited TV windows with delayed NBA and NHL Playoffs and a condensed baseball season.  How would tracks like Homestead and Atlanta that only have one weekend a year be worked in?

Most Practical—Run mid-week races.  PROS—would likely allow season to end in early-November as scheduled.  Could allow Xfinity and Truck Series races to be run if “shuffled” right.  Easier to obtain TV windows in the mid-week.  Mid-week racing has been a rumored goal of Nascar for years.  CONS—limited TV audience away from weekends.  Travel schedules would have to be considered.  Harder to run mid-week (night) races as it gets colder.  Lower attendance likely on Wednesdays as approached to Sundays.  Logistics could prove to be impractical for big teams and impossible for small ones.

WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE DETERMINED BY NASCAR?  Well, will Nascar follow in Formula 1’s footsteps and delay the implementation of the “Gen 7” car regulations for 2021?  Also, what shape will a shortened season’s Playoff field take—more drivers, fewer races, or both?  Furthermore, how will teams adjust their budgets with, in theory, less sponsorship money coming in due to delayed or, possibly, cancelled races?  All this will have to be figured out.

IS NASCAR DOING ALL IT CAN?  At the moment, it appears so.  From closing the race shops to the public to putting on laid-back iRacing virtual races, Nascar is protecting its family while maintaining its spot in the public eye.  While NFL free agency has dominated the sports world for the past few weeks, one could argue that Nascar is a small, albeit not forgotten, part of the sports fabric during this unprecedented time.

2020 Donruss Panini Nascar Cards Unboxing PACK 1

Continuing a tradition of limited esteem, Spade Racing bought, unboxed, and unpacked a sealed box of 2020 Donruss (Panini) Nascar trading cards.  Join us as we go through each eight-card pack to find the good, the bad, and the downright weird.

PACK 1—First Place with Chase and a King of the Race

The first pack is very Chase Elliott-heavy—understandable for the sport’s most-popular driver this side of Quin Houff.  Also included in this pic is one of the occasionally-inserted contest cards, with codes that can be entered to win prizes.  Last year I won a t-shirt, this year I have yet to win anything, but fingers crossed!  No, wait, that makes it too hard to type.

FIRST THING’S FIRST: Martin Truex Jr. gets the “fancy oil painting” treatment as part of the “Race Kings” series.  Its quite an honor for Truex, as most New Jerseyans only get their portraits done when the police are looking for them.

SECOND LOOK: Brad Keselowski’s awesome throwback looks, well, awesome in this limited-edition variant card.  Only downside is that there are many, many, MANY variants, limned-editions, parallels, and extra series.  Too much of a good thing, much like the Nascar schedule for the past 15 years.

TO THE BACK: Danica apparently didn’t care about green being an unlucky color in Nascar.  Then again she didn’t seem to care about succeeding in Nascar either.

FINAL SCORE: 5 Most Popular Driver Awards out of 10.