Mark Martin evolved into a torchbearer of the fans through his efforts to revamp the NASCAR Cup Series championship format last year. His success added to an already impressive resume that he built through decades of being a stellar race car driver. The one loyal friend who has stayed with him throughout this long journey, from the first day he stepped into a stock car to date, is music.
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An avid listener of rap, Martin spoke about this particular passion during an interview on Kenny Wallace’s YouTube channel. He listens to ’70s music apart from rap and often has it playing in his shop. This is mainly because the rap he listens to is pretty hardcore, and he can’t have it playing when the phone rings or when people come in. That said, his music taste is broad.
“Artists like Rick James really had an influence on me,” he added. “I really liked his style of funk. Prince was one of the greatest artists of all time. I hated love songs, but Al Green made me love a love song. I listened to Al Green when I was 16 years old, along with ZZ Top and Aerosmith.”
“I’m kind of all over the place. I’m sure I have some brain damage from the volume of AC/DC that I played, all those years in the late 70s and early 80s.” He added that he also listens to country music when on the road. Above all, hip hop and rap are what hold the key to his heart. He listens to the genre whenever possible, including when he works out.
His son, Matt, was also a part of the interview, and he intervened to talk about how his father was such a huge fan of AC/DC. Martin had introduced the Australian rock band to his son with the Highway to Hell album and created a fan as strong as him. Surely, Angus Young would be pleased to see what his guitar strings have influenced out in the world of NASCAR.
Inside rap, Martin has a clear favorite artist: Gucci Mane. He admitted to this in an episode of the Rubbin is Racing podcast in 2024 and gushed, “In my opinion, there is no one in the same zipcode with Gucci Mane. If I rap, I would never do a duo with him. Every time he does one with anybody, he just crushes them. This guy is unbelievable!”
It is hard not to catch the infectious energy that Martin exudes whenever the topic of music comes up. It would also be hard to find another person in NASCAR to have such a deep passion for it.
