Roush Leaves Martin Out to Dry... Again

By: Tom Luttermoser   Above Photo Credit: Patrick Valley 10/15/22  Las Vegas Motor Speedway

"I was hoping to see some folks from @RFKracing today but never did" 

Mark Martin raced in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1981-2013 either part or Full-time and with the biggest names in the sport; Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Inc, Michael Waltrip Racing, Stewart-Haas becoming over the years one of the most beloved drivers in recent history. But none of these opportunities made him more famous than his 18-year run in the famous Roush Racing #6 Ford. Those infamous red, white & blue Valvoline colors and Martin are glued into the heads of us fans from the 1990s. He won 35 times in Cup coming runner up in the Cup title hunt 4 times. He also won 41 times in the then Busch Series and 7 times for the Cat in the Hat Jack Roush in the Truck Series as well for a win total of 83 of his 96 career National Series victories. In 2006, he announced he would retire at the end of the season from full-time racing. In the same season a rift formed between the one inseparable Jack Roush and Mark Martin yet no one seems to know exactly why to this day. 

So in honor of his inaugural win at Vegas in 1998 Martin was invited to pace the field in his legendary #6 Ford Taurus in front of the cheering Las Vegas fans. The car Chassis number JR-51 was the actual car that won that inaugural spring Las Vegas event, it was found by a fan under a lean-to shed in Rockingham and restored. The car was They had the car, they had the fans, but one thing/ person was missing... Roush. Mark Martin made his disappointment fairly clear on Twitter, and it was heartbreaking to say the least. 

Mark Martin helped put Roush on the map in NASCAR and cemented them there for 18 years. Martin's tweet seen above was heartbreaking and followed up by the Tweet bellow. Unless I missed it, there never seemed to be a response from RFK, Roush himself or new team Co-Owner Brad Keselowski. 

Mark thanked the fans of course and even Toyota in a Tweet Monday as Toyota was the Official Pace Car of the race. Running the 6 in those pace laps took the TRD Camry off the camera for that time period. 

"Shoutout to @ToyotaRacing @Toyota for allowing us to show off our 24 year old race car yesterday. I appreciate all you do for motorsports. You could have said no but were happy to let our fans enjoy a little nostalgia." 

Now to the positive... Fans have taken up this cause.... BIG TIME. We may not all agree on drivers, tracks, schemes or rules... But when NASCAR fans come together, it's a beautiful thing. All across NASCAR Twitter (usually a vile place) fans have shown support for Mark. Some fans have even re-tweeting a tweet from Keselowski using images of the 6 car that he now drives. @AliciaLalone Re-tweeted "Ummmmm serious misstep by your organization on the person who MADE the #6. Where were you and Jack Brad?"

Overall, just a heartbreaking situation for a guy who had such a legendary career alongside legends of the sport such as Gordon, Earnhardt, and Waltrip.