While Mark Martin retired and unretired a few times during his career, he finally called time on his career in 2013. But as far as a question of a sensational comeback, another un-retirement, for one last race in NASCAR is concerned, he recently made it clear with good reason.
Mark Martin addresses the idea of racing alongside Dale Jr.
In a recent interaction on X, Mark Martin addressed the idea of a sensational Legends race with the likes of some of NASCAR’s biggest superstars, like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart. Mark Martin enjoyed one of the longest and most fruitful careers in NASCAR history. He raced between 1981 and 2013 for a total of 31 seasons.
A fan asked Martin, “Mark, what do you think about an annual Legends race? It would be cool to see you, Gordon, Dale Jr, Stewart and others back out on the track.”
The NASCAR legend replied, “Bad idea. Most of us have retired. I certainly have. Don’t forget what happened to Larry Pearson at Bristol.”
Bad idea. Most of us have retired. I certainly have. Don’t forget what happened to Larry Pearson at Bristol. https://t.co/AAjC1SkZLG
— Mark Martin (@markmartin) April 9, 2026
The incident Mark Martin is referring to in his response about Larry Pearson happened in 2010. Larry Pearson, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, took part in a non-sanctioned old-timers exhibition race organized by Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the race, with five laps to go, Pearson spun into the outside wall. As he came down the side banking, an oncoming Charlie Glotzbach made contact with Pearson’s side door, leading to a serious wreck. This left the son of NASCAR legend David Pearson with a broken left ankle, a broken pelvis, and a broken right hand.
So while the idea of a Legends race sounded exciting for fans, Martin’s response clearly highlights the risks involved in it. For a veteran like him who has given so much to the sport, a danger like this can definitely overpower the nostalgia associated with a comeback. But despite Martin ruling out racing in an exhibition race, given the Pearson incident, he revealed the condition under which he’d be open to driving in a Next Gen car.
Martin is open to jumping in the Next Gen car under one condition
In an interview earlier this year, Martin expressed his wish to drive the Next Gen car ‘just one time’ to determine what can be done to improve it.
“Let me have one car, one team, and let’s have 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 and run that, because I have my own beliefs, and yes, it’s based on 40-year-old information,” he claimed.
Having said that, he admitted that at present, racing is good in NASCAR which makes him ‘scared to mess with anything.’ But he still wished to have his finger in that because he views himself as more than just a racecar driver. Mark Martin claimed he was more of ‘a car guy.’
With that said, it’ll be interesting to see if Mark Martin gets the chance to test the Next Gen car, share his insights, and fulfill his wish. This would also mean that fans get to see one of NASCAR’s most iconic drivers drive the current-gen car on the track, even though it may not be in a competitive racing scenario.
