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Mark Martin on what NASCAR got wrong and building better cars
By RACER Staff - Jan 1, 2026, 12:39 PM ET

Mark Martin on what NASCAR got wrong and building better cars

NASCAR icon Mark Martin joins Paul Tracy on Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging, brutally honest conversation about racing, confidence, aging, and the evolution of the sport.

With 40 Cup Series wins, 49 Busch/Xfinity Series wins, five IROC championships and inductions into both the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Motorsports Hall of Fame, Mark reflects on what truly made him competitive – not raw aggression, but building a better race car.

Mark opens up about:

  • Why he knew it was time to walk away from driving
  • Getting back behind the wheel at Laguna Seca years after retirement
  • How processing speed and confidence define elite drivers
  • His deep involvement in car setup during his years at Roush Racing
  • The shift from “eyeball engineering” to simulation-driven racing
  • What he believes NASCAR got wrong with the Next Gen car
  • Why closer fields don’t always mean better racing
  • The importance of cars looking right to fans

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