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Martin Thrilled With Election To NASCAR Hall of Fame

Mark Martin, with Pippa Mann, stopped by Indianapolis to check out the 100th running of the Indy 500. [Russ Lake Photo]

Mark Martin, with Pippa Mann, stopped by Indianapolis to check out the 100th running of the Indy 500. [Russ Lake Photo]

by Joe Jennings

INDIANAPOLIS – Until Mark Martin was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017, he had planned on spending the weekend in Indianapolis for the 100th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, an event he has never witnessed in person. Instead the retired NASCAR star will commute back and forth to Charlotte, to be recognized with the other four Hall of Fame classmates.

While Martin has never raced in the Indianapolis 500, he will be doing the famed double this weekend, witnessing the 500 here and jetting to Charlotte for the 600.

The Indianapolis 500 has always been on Martin’s bucket list and he was caught off-guard with his Hall of Fame selection, believing it would happen someday but not this soon. “I was caught completely off-guard and I am greatly humbled by it.”

Seeing the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday will be the first time Martin has been to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event since he retired from competition. “I didn’t’ think there was a place for me. I didn’t think I belonged as I had no business there,” Martin said while attending Media Day in Indianapolis. “I missed the competitors and the media as they were like family for a long time, but I didn’t feel like I had any business being there. Now, I am excited to be there.

“For me, the roll of being a Hall of Famer is perfect for me, as I don’t want to be at the race track every day.”

He does watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup races on television every weekend, doing so from the comforts of his home in Batesville, Arkansas.

Even though Martin has watched the Indianapolis 500 many times, he never had any interest in racing an open-wheel car. “The racing scared me a little bit. I am a sloppy driver. A big tank (stock car) suits me better.”
Martin exudes class and will make a worthy NASCAR Hall of Fame member.

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