Unassuming Martin deserves a championship
When the bright lights of New York City shine on NASCAR at the Waldorf-Astoria on Friday night, it will be new star Matt Kenseth who is honored as the final Winston Cup champion.
His team owner, Jack Roush, will also be recognized after finally winning NASCAR's biggest prize, capping a long, hard, often tumultuous rise to the top. Rookie of the year Jamie McMurray will be honored, as will the other drivers who cracked NASCAR's top 10.
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| Rusty Wallace says it's a shame Mark Martin has yet to win a Winston Cup championship.(Getty Images) |
He is a driver who deserves as much praise and recognition as the champion and his championship team.
Mark Martin generally shies away from the spotlight. Even when he wins, he deflects the praise and attention away from himself, redirecting it toward his team. Always his team.
But Martin had as much to do with Kenseth being crowned champion as anyone at Roush Racing. He will deny it, and he won't accept any credit tossed his way.
Still, Mark Martin deserves to share the head table and the stage with Kenseth and Roush.
It was Martin who helped discover Kenseth, Martin who recommended the former ASA star try his hand at NASCAR. Then, it was Martin who recommended Roush try to sign Kenseth, because he saw in him the same talent and desire that had propelled him to NASCAR's top series.
When Roush saw the same potential in Kenseth, he immediately signed him to a contract that would take him to Winston Cup. When he did, he designated Martin as the owner of Kenseth's team, the No. 17 team that will be honored as champions.
Along the way, Martin has tutored and helped Kenseth, teaching him what it takes to win in Winston Cup. Kenseth learned those lessons well, rising to the top in just his fourth season.
Thanks in part to Martin, Kenseth won a championship that, in 16 seasons with Roush, has eluded his mentor.
Eight times in those 16 years, Martin has finished either second or third in points, making a strong challenge for the title. Each time, he came up short.
In 1990, he lost the title by just 26 points to Dale Earnhardt. But he lost it on a technicality, getting penalized 46 points because of an illegal carburetor, a charge Martin and Roush vehemently denied and fought.
In 1994, he finished second again as Earnhardt won a record seventh title.
In 1998, Martin had his greatest season, winning seven races, only to watch Jeff Gordon win 13 and run away with the championship.
Then, last year, he lost by just 38 points to Tony Stewart. Again, a late-season penalty was a factor in the final margin, though it didn't cost him the title.
If life were fair, it would be Mark Martin, and not Matt Kenseth, standing on the stage Friday night, accepting the trophy and all the accolades of a Winston Cup champion.
Even many of his peers acknowledge Martin deserves to win a Winston Cup title.
"I wish it had been Mark Martin," 1989 champion Rusty Wallace said. "I like all those guys, but I hate to see Mark getting to the end of his career still having not won a championship. He's been so close so many times.
"Matt's got a ton of time left, but Mark's probably only going to do it one or two more years, so I wish it had been him."
Martin, though, is not bitter about his near misses. And he is certainly not jealous or resentful toward Kenseth, the driver he groomed for stardom.
He is uncomfortable sharing any of the glory with Kenseth. Martin is a class act, as graceful off the track as on.
"Matt Kenseth and (crew chief) Robbie Reiser have earned this," Martin said. "And even though I cared an awful lot, and even though I tried to help as much as I could, my contribution to this doesn't add up to anything in my opinion.
"So, I don't know how I feel (about being listed as the owner). I feel a little uncomfortable with it. I'm really happy for Jack Roush. I'm really happy for Matt and Robbie, and I'm real proud of them, and I'm real proud to say I was right about Matt Kenseth."
No, Martin is not bitter. Always grateful, he is simply proud of what he has done -- 33 career victories -- and does not fret about the rest.
"I'm not bitter about the things I haven't accomplished in my life or in my career," he says. "I'm very proud of the things that I have. There's no bittersweet here. What I've done and what I've accomplished, I'm proud of.
"What Matt has done and what he's accomplished, I'm very proud of as well, but I'm not more proud of Matt today than I was a year ago, because the actions make the man, the trophy doesn't."
It certainly doesn't in Martin's case. He's a champion and a class act anyway.
But maybe one day he will get to stand alone on the stage in New York, celebrating the championship he so richly deserves.
