The Cup Series championship trophy has been in the hands of several capable drivers. But the one whose touch it yearned for and never got was the iconic Mark Martin. A recent stat came to light on social media and displayed his racing caliber. It gave a reason why he is regarded as the greatest driver to never win a championship.
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From 1990 to 1999, Martin secured 43,791 points in the NASCAR Cup Series. No driver has more points than he has in this time frame.
Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Cup Series champion, secured 43,054 points and stands second to him. Rusty Wallace, with 39,678 points, stands third. Despite such dominance, Martin never won the title, while most of the others on the list did.
He finished as the runner-up five excruciating times. One fan wrote on X, “It’s crazy to see this stat and know that Mark Martin didn’t win a championship.”
Bad luck is the only factor to be blamed for this. To arguably be the best driver in a generation and retire without the most crucial piece of silverware is just heartbreaking.
Most NASCAR Cup Series points accumulated from 1990 to 1999.
1- Mark Martin 43,791
2- Dale Earnhardt 43,054
3- Rusty Wallace 39,678
4- Dale Jarrett 38,960
5- Terry Labonte 37,686
6- Ricky Rudd 36,084
7- Ken Schrader 35,932
8- Bill Elliott 35,753
9- Sterling Marlin 35,551
10-… pic.twitter.com/xEhdtkqR6V— NASCAR Classics (@NASCARClassics) March 11, 2025
Another fan credited Martin with high praise by writing, “Nice, @markmartin. You’re the Cup Champion of the decade.” Only if NASCAR gave out such an award. One more comment lamented, “The fact that @markmartin never won a championship is the most haunting thing in the world.”
Dale Jr. explains Martin’s legacy in NASCAR
How can a driver who never became a champion command such respect and love in the racing community? Dale Jr. answered this question in an old conversation with former driver Kenny Wallace. He said, “Mark Martin changed the entire culture on the racetrack. One guy taught the entire field how to race.”
What Martin had taught them was the art of patience and clean racing. When a competitor races to their back and they are unable to match his speed at the time, they let him go.
Holding him back slows both the cars down and makes for bad racing. Junior explained that Martin wanted them to let the competitor pass the first time around and then race back to him.
If he doesn’t return the favor and let them pass, they could bump into him and take the place by force. “So, Mark taught us all how to race, and I cleaned up my act a little bit and certainly wasn’t quite as rough as I might have been earlier in my career,” he added. These words prove that it is the Cup Series trophy’s misfortune that it never got held by Martin and not the other way around.
