LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mark Martin: Jack Roush
built 623 days ago
Mark Martin first entered Winston Cup racing in 1981 and won two poles. In 1988, he returned to Winston Cup racing with car owner Jack Roush and has been with the leaders since. Mark is a four time American Speed Association champion, has won the most races by any driver in the Nascar Bush Series, and with the Valvoline No. 6, is inches away from a Winston Cup championship. Mark was born in Batesville, Arkansas on January 9, 1959. Picture taken before the Pepsi 400 in 1997.
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The Roush/Martin pair debuted in 1988 when Martin drove Roush’s number six car in the Daytona 500 in 1988. Engine problems in the nineteenth lap caused Martin to finish in 41st place. The ominous start to the season didn’t concern martin or shake Roush’s confidence in the young driver. Later that same season, Martin earned a pole position once, and had an impressive ten top ten finishes. The Roush car with Martin at the wheel went on to conclude the season with a third place overall standing.
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Rebounding from his discouraging early NASCAR forays, Martin met with new team owner Jack Roush in 1988. Roush was in the process of assembling his first NASCAR team after a string of successful ventures in other racing venues. The pair clicked, and Roush hired Martin over several prospective drivers. Their relationship would prove to be one of the longest-running and most successful driver/owner pairings in NASCAR history.
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Despite his success in the ASA, Martin was still drawn to NASCAR. In 1987 he made a returned to drive in the NASCAR Bush Series. Later that year, in Dover Delaware, Martin enjoyed his first NASCAR win, a win that caught the eye of car owner Jack Roush.
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Today's race was won by Roush Racing driver Mark Martin, who took on the Viagra sponsorship a few years back after driving the Valvoline car for awhile. Martin hadn't won a Cup race since May of 2002, a streak of over 70 races. As he emerged from his Ford Taurus, he spoke about how the Gatorade he was drinking all race long was very helpful. He complemented the Taurus, said the Viagra team was great all day, and tossed a few cookies to his other sponsors. It's not that he said these things - it's how he said them that was effective and memorable.
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Overall, Martin has 35 career NASCAR Cup wins and has finished second in the Sprint Cup Series point standings four times (1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002). However, after 19 years of racing for Jack Roush, he has never been able to capture the championship, though this is not from a lack of effort. In 1990, a 46-point penalty at Richmond for using an illegal (but non-performance enhancing) carburetor spacer caused him to lose to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points in the final standings.
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