“Nothing you said pisses me off”: Mark Martin’s Passionate Plea Finds Support From NASCAR Faithful

Mark Martin has had enough of certain aspects of the Next Gen Cup Series machine and he made his thoughts clear in a recent media interaction. The former NASCAR Cup Series driver was asked what were the changes he wished to see if the governance announced changes to the car after the end of the current season.

All of his suggestions were about the looks of the vehicle as he does not believe that the one running in the Cup Series looks like a race car. The biggest reason for that could be the sponsors.

Motorsports are not possible without sponsors, which is well-established, but Martin does not like how it has come at the expense of a race car’s aesthetics. Firstly, he wants the number to be in the center of the door and not anywhere else.

These days, sponsors take up the center of the door, and the driver’s number is usually pushed to the front of the side of the car. He also wants a longer rear shock, no underbody, and a wider back bumper, all for aesthetic purposes.

“It looks stupid. It doesn’t look like a race car. ARCA cars look like race cars. Xfinity cars look like race cars,” he said. Martin also explained that a wider back bumper would improve the driving experience as well.

“It’s too narrow, it sucks in behind the tires, and by the way that’d make the cars drive a little bit better if they widen that out…then when they took the downforce out, maybe they wouldn’t cry about it as much,” he added.

Fans stand behind Martin’s opinions surrounding the Next Gen car

It was a passionate rant by the racing veteran who is not a fan of the Next Gen era as of yet. And he’s not the only one. Many do not like how the car looks and races and they came out in support of Martin on X (formerly Twitter). However, it’s unlikely that NASCAR will make the proposed changes. “Absolutely nothing you said pisses me off. In fact, as a fan, I agree with everything you say,” one user commented.

“Thank god somebody finally said it,” chimed in another user. Turns out the whole dissatisfaction about the Next Gen’s look is a lot more than what some might expect. “100% agree on this! Saying what needs to be said,” another fan quipped. Some users wanted to put the former Cup Series driver in charge of the entire sport so that these changes could be implemented as soon as possible.

“Put Mark Martin in charge of the whole damn sport,” one user wrote. NASCAR does take everyone’s opinion into account but changes to the bodywork and sponsor placement might not be the way they are most inclined to go at the moment. But that’s not going to stop Martin or anyone else from speaking their mind.