Roush Racing Mark Martin

1 roush racing

1.1 1988–1991
1.2 1992–1996
1.3 salute

roush racing
1988–1991

1989 winston cup car on pit road @ phoenix

martin came aboard newly formed roush racing, crew chief steve hmiel, first of 19 seasons in 1988 driving no. 6 ford thunderbird. martin showed both signs of struggle , potential in inaugural nascar sprint cup series season, recording 3 top fives , ten top tens along winning pole @ dover. finished season-high second-place @ bristol in season. consistency proved crucial in ten dnf s prevented martin cracking top ten in points entire season. finished comeback season fifteenth in standings. martin competed in busch series on limited basis bill davis racing 1988 1991.

martin s 1989 season began lot 1988 season dnf in daytona 500. 3 races go, won first sprint cup race @ rockingham, beating eventual series champion rusty wallace 3 seconds. engine failure in season finale @ atlanta relegated him third-place finish in standings. martin led series 5.3 average starting position, posting 6 poles , twenty-six top ten starting positions in twenty-nine races. posted fourteen top fives, eighteen top tens, , cut down dnf total ten four.

martin entered 1990 season favorite winning sprint cup championship. started season 21st-place finish in daytona 500, first finish in big race in 6 attempts. team met controversy following second career win @ richmond. during post-race inspection determined had raced illegal carburetor spacer. ironically, had spacer been welded instead of bolted on, not have been considered illegal. consensus among mark s fellow competitors not performance advantage, not strictly within letter of law regards nascar rulebook. result, martin penalized 46 championship points , crew chief robin pemberton fined $40,000.

following dnf next race, martin finished no worse fourteenth on final twenty-six races. gained championship points lead one-third season , held onto sixteen races before dropping dale earnhardt 2 races go. despite having 3 wins, sixteen top fives, twenty-three top tens, , 3 poles, martin lost earnhardt twenty-six points in final standings. had 46-point penalty never occurred, theoretically have won championship on earnhardt twenty points instead.

martin s 1991 season disappointing compared previous season, entered expectations win series championship. though ran well, never achieved points lead through course of season , winless entering season finale in atlanta, race in won. came close winning @ charlotte 3 races prior, leading 198 of first 212 laps before engine failure ended race. along win @ atlanta, martin finished season 14 top 5 s, 17 top 10 s, 5 poles, , sixth-place finish in standings.

1992–1996


martin s paint scheme 1996–1997.



martin prior qualifying @ pocono 1998

mark entered 1992 season s final race, hooters 500 in atlanta, 1 of 6 drivers in contention winning championship; engine failure on lap 160 ended championship hopes. finished season wins @ martinsville , charlotte, along ten top fives, seventeen top tens, 1 pole, , second consecutive sixth-place finish in standings.

martin began 1993 sixth-place finish in 1993 daytona 500, first top twenty finish in big race. in second half of season, became sixth driver in nascar s modern era win 4 consecutive races, winning @ watkins glen, michigan, bristol, , darlington. along win @ phoenix, martin finished 5 wins, twelve top fives, nineteen top tens, , 5 poles en route third-place finish in standings, 376 points behind dale earnhardt, , 296 points behind points runner-up rusty wallace. first top 5 in standings since near championship win 3 years earlier.

despite having 8 dnfs, martin finished second dale earnhardt in 1994 standings, 444 points behind. posted 2 wins, including winning pole @ watkins glen second consecutive year , season finale in atlanta. martin scored fifteen top fives , twenty top tens during season, since 1990. other season opener in daytona, martin never outside top 5 in standings. among highlights of martin s 1994 season spectacular , frightening crash @ spring talladega race: on lap 103, todd bodine, greg sacks , jeff gordon got in tri-oval, collecting additional 8 cars, including martin. martin s car lost brakes, ran through infield grass, smashed inside wall, , plowed through guardrail, chain-link fence, , lastly guardrail protecting infield road course, coming rest feet spectator area.

in 1994 martin raced in busch series. year became known mistake made @ bristol. martin lead field white , caution flag win. when coming by, martin went down pit road thinking on did not take checkered flag. david green took win, , in victory circle green feel bad him. tough way me win, take it. martin finished in 11th; afterwards stated mistake stupidest thing ve ever done .

martin won 4 races in 1995, including third consecutive win pole @ watkins glen , @ talladega, first restrictor plate win. finished 13 top fives , 22 top tens. though had 1 dnf, had 5 finishes of 28th or worse, earned him fourth place in standings. martin 1 of 3 drivers, others being dale earnhardt , sterling marlin, ranked in top 5 31 races; none of them won championship.

in 1996, martin winless first time in 8 seasons. other lack of wins, season similar 1995 14 top fives, 22 top tens, , 4 poles. finished season-high second 4 times, including @ michigan when passed winner dale jarrett 8 laps go. finished season fifth in standings.

salute

martin s no. 6 viagra ford taurus



martin @ infineon raceway in 2005



martin in final season roush in 2006.

overall roush racing, martin won 35 career nascar cup series races , finished second in cup series point standings 4 times (1990, 1994, 1998, , 2002). while racing roush in 1990, martin came closest winning championship. 46-point penalty @ richmond, using illegal (but non-performance enhancing) carburetor spacer, caused him lose dale earnhardt 26 points in final standings. during time, martin won 5 iroc titles (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, , 2005) , 13 races, both records series.

martin announced cut full-time cup series racing after 2005 season, dubbing season salute tour thank fans. martin won nextel challenge in retro 93 paint scheme, picked final win roush @ kansas , again made chase cup ninth-place in standings @ end of year. in tribute martin s career @ roush, team ran 4 throwback retro schemes in 2005, celebrated paint schemes 1981, 1988–89, 1990–91, , 1993.

in june 2005, announced jamie mcmurray replace martin in no. 6 car in 2006. however, after departure of kurt busch in 2005, roush left without driver no. 6 car in 2006. martin later agreed come , drive 2006 season. ultimately, announced mcmurray released contract @ chip ganassi racing 1 year , take on busch, dismissed roush organization prior end of 2005 season. david ragan announced martin s replacement in no. 6 2007.