Texas joined the Union as the 28thstate on Dec. 29, 1845. Its name originated from the word “tejas,” the title bestowed upon the vast territory by its earliest settlers – the Native Americans of East Texas. It’s a word they used to describe a friend or ally, as opposed to a foe.
In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, there’s a fine line between friend and foe. Outside of the racecar, most competitors are friends. But when they put that helmet on and wheel their racecars as fast as a track’s confines will allow, the line between friend and foe gets blurred. This was apparent last Sunday at the rough-and-tumble Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and it will again be the case this Sunday in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Mark Martin, considered a friend by many, is one of the 42 Sprint Cup drivers competing this weekend at Texas. He’s in the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS typically piloted by Tony Stewart as Stewart continues to recover from a broken right leg suffered in a sprint car crash Aug. 5.
Martin is a NASCAR veteran and one of only four drivers who have competed in every Sprint Cup race held at Texas since its inaugural race on April 6, 1997. In his 26th Sprint Cup Sunday start at Texas, Martin will look to add to his stat line of a win, six top-threes, eight top-fives and 13 top-10s with a total of 208 laps led.
Martin’s tenure at Texas dates back even further than the three other drivers who have made all 25 Sprint Cup races at Texas. While Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton join Martin in this elite group, only Martin can lay claim to having lapped Texas at speed well in advance of the track’s first Sprint Cup race.
Prior to NASCAR’s return to Texas in 1997 after a 16-year hiatus since last racing in the Lone Star State at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Martin was the driver selected by Goodyear to help develop the tire that would be used for the first Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Martin took advantage of that valuable track time and put it to good use when he and the rest of the NASCAR circus arrived for the Interstate Batteries 500.
Martin qualified sixth for the Sprint Cup race and the next day won the first NASCAR national series race at Texas Motor Speedway when he beat Jimmy Spencer to win the undercard NASCAR Nationwide Series race on April 5, 1997. In the Sprint Cup race on Sunday, Martin drove from sixth to take the lead on lap 135 and paced the next nine circuits around the 1.5-mile oval before his engine detonated, leaving him with an undeserved 38th-place finish. Martin only had to wait a year to complete what he originally set out to do at Texas, as he won the track’s second Sprint Cup race in convincing fashion by leading a total of 37 laps and crossing the finish line .573 of a second ahead of second-place Chad Little. It was one of seven races Martin won in 1998 en route to a runner-up finish in the championship standings.
Despite the treacherous nature of Texas Motor Speedway in those early years, Martin embraced the challenging racetrack. The two became fast tejas.
Augmenting the speed Martin displayed at Texas was the track’s proximity to his native Arkansas. It’s as close of a hometown race as one can have when they’re from Batesville, Ark., and Martin has relished his opportunities at Texas. His 13 top-10s are second only to Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson, who have 15 top-10s apiece. And when Martin had the opportunity to race at Texas outside of the elite Sprint Cup Series, he made the most of them, winning three Nationwide Series races in nine starts and finishing second and fourth in two IROC Series races.
With 42 other drivers set to compete on Sunday, and two in particular – Kenseth and Johnson – engaged in a championship prize fight, everyone is seeking an ally as they race along at 200 mph. Just like Martin was a step ahead of everyone at Texas in 1997 because of his Goodyear tire test, he remains so today with Texas being his tejas for his 880th career Sprint Cup start.
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