| Mark Martin has often been called Mr. Consistency | | | | relationship between the two of them. During this |
| due to his frequent top-ten finishes. Hailing from the | | | | time he's been runner-up to the championship four |
| state of Arkansas, he spent his early years driving on | | | | times but hasn't been able to grasp it. |
| short dirt tracks. From there he moved to the AMA | | | | In 1990 he lost the title to Dale Earnhardt by only 26 |
| and won the Rookie of the Year title in 1977. He | | | | points and in 2002 by just 38 points to Tony |
| then won three consecutive championships from | | | | Stewart. Martin parted ways with Roush racing after |
| 1978 to 1980 and then another in 1986. | | | | the organization announced that they could no longer |
| But Mark Martin was made for bigger and better | | | | field a team for him in 2007 for all 20 races that he |
| things and headed for NASCAR racing in 1981. By | | | | wanted to run. After the '06 campaign, Martin joined |
| 1982 he was running a full schedule with a family | | | | Ginn Racing to run a part time schedule in 2007. |
| owned team. After running only 22 events from '83 | | | | Martin is the leader for wins in the Nationwide Series |
| to '87, he took on a full schedule in the Nationwide | | | | with 47 even though he doesn't run a full schedule. |
| (then Busch) Series for owner Bruce Lawmaster. | | | | He also made 14 starts in the Craftsman Truck |
| Martin won at Dover, becoming the first Ford driver | | | | Series in 2006. That single year brought an |
| to win there. That win caught the eye of another | | | | astonishing record of 6 wins, 11 top-5s, 12 top-10s, |
| owner who was setting up his Cup team for | | | | and 3 pole positions. |
| 1988-Jack Roush. That was the start of a 19-year | | | | |