Mark Martin played an important role in the return of the Chase format to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026. The 67-year-old veteran has made it his mission to be the voice of the fans and create an impact on the sport. But he is far from finished. He said in a recent interview that he wants to be directly involved in improving the Next Gen car.
The seventh generation, or widely known as the Next Gen car, has been widely criticized for underperformance since its introduction in 2022. NASCAR has taken numerous steps to refine the platform and make it perform attractively, especially on short tracks and superspeedways. While it has had decent success in this mission, not to mention the car’s superb performance on intermediate-style ovals, there is still a way to go. Martin wants to be part of this final stretch.
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He said, “I wish they would let me do a test and dictate what was done to the car. Let me do it once. You know, let me have a car, a team, and let them do the things that I want to do. And if the things that I want to do show something, then let’s have a group of cars come in and make it work. Because I have my own beliefs.”
Martin realizes that his beliefs date back 40 years. Nonetheless, he believes they can still be useful if applied to the car, something drivers have touted as a departure from traditional stock car machinery. The veteran also seems to have brought this idea to the top brass at NASCAR. Naturally, he hasn’t gotten a response from them so far.
That said, he also admitted that he would be a little afraid to touch things now since the car has been handling well lately. So where does all this confidence come from? Martin wasn’t just a driver. He is someone who has been heavily involved in car engineering and aerodynamics during his career, often recognized for his dedication to studying the sport during his time off the track.
He understood things about his machine that today’s drivers don’t understand with their cars. This is the heart of his proposal. He also emphasized that he was an “auto guy” even before joining the ranks of NASCAR.
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The fandom owes a lot to Martin for bringing his voice to the big table and impacting change. Following Steve Phelps’ resignation as NASCAR commissioner, some have even nominated him to run the sport from that position. It remains to be seen in what exact capacity he will lend a helping hand in the future.
The position Mark Martin offers to participate directly in the refinement of new generation cars to improve racing appeared first on The rush to sport.
