DARLINGTON, S.C. – Mark Martin will be a major presence this weekend at Darlington Raceway, just like he usually was during his stellar career as a NASCAR driver.
Martin will have not one, not two, but three commemorative throwback paint schemes in his honor as the “Lady In Black” celebrates NASCAR history with its races this weekend.
“It means so much, I can’t even tell you,” Martin said in a phone interview with AP this week.
Darlington was set to host all three of NASCAR’s national circuits, with the third-tier Truck Series racing Friday night, the second-tier Xfinity Series racing Saturday and the main event Sunday with the Cup Series’ Goodyear 400. The 63-year-old Martin, who finished second in the Cup Series standings five times in 31 years and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017, will be remembered much of the weekend.
Two of the Martin tributes will be via Cup Series cars. Brad Keselowski – in his first season driving the No. 6 for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, which he co-owns – will be at the wheel of a Ford with the blue-and-white look that Martin ran for team owner Jack Roush in 2004. Alex Bowman, in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet, will pilot a red-white-and-blue car that looks like the one Martin used in 1993 to earn the first of his two Southern 500 victories at Darlington.