"It was magic": Mark Martin names 'the best teammate' of his illustrious NASCAR career
Mark Martin opened up about the dynamic between him and his teammates over his lengthy Cup Series career. The NASCAR Hall of Famer said Jeff Burton was undoubtedly the best teammate he ever had.
In a recent episode of Martin's podcast, On The Mark, the 65-year-old was asked what it was like having teammates and whether or not they would help each other by sharing information. The 40-time Cup Series winner said Burton would often offer a helping hand, which made him a quality teammate. The two were teammates at Roush Racing from 1996-2004. Martin added:
"We would all share information at varying degrees. In other words, your best buddy, you would share everything, and that would be Jeff Burton. Why? Because Jeff shared everything with me."
The Arkansas native went on to say that when asking other teammates for information, he had doubts on whether they were telling him everything he needed. That wasn't the case with Burton, making him the best teammate he got to share a garage with.
"When Burton and I got together, it was magic," Mark Martin said. "The guy was just the best teammate you could ever have. He would run up and volunteer anything to try to help. That's how he tried to build respect. He believed if he gave, he might get, so he was always trying to give. He had my best interest in my program all the time. Jeff watched out for me and my program, which really helped."
Burton left Roush Racing midway through the 2004 season and joined Richard Childress Racing to drive the #31 car. The Virginia native spent the remainder of his Cup Series career there and retired with 21 career victories.
Martin, meanwhile, continued driving for car owner Jack Roush until 2006. He then raced for Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. across 2007 and 2008 before joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2009. Martin won five races in his first season at HMS and finished runner-up in the point standings. After three seasons, he then moved to Michael Waltrip Racing to drive part-time in 2012 and 2013 and ultimately retired from racing at the end of 2013.
Mark Martin was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017
Mark Martin joined Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, and the late Benny Parsons and Raymond Parks in the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017. During his induction speech in January of that year, Martin expressed his gratitude for everyone that helped him reach the Hall of Fame.
“For every person that ever worked on any of our teams, I salute you," Mark Martin said. "This is your moment, our moment. The road was long, and sometimes the mountains seemed insurmountable. But in the end, here we stand in the grandest victory lane of all. We made it to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
Martin had an impressive NASCAR career despite never winning a championship or a Daytona 500. He registered 40 Cup wins in his career and finished runner-up in the season standings five times.
Mark Martin was one of the best drivers to come through the Xfinity Series as well, winning 49 races, which is the second-most all-time behind Kyle Busch. He also posted seven victories in the Craftsman Truck Series.