“That Was Like a Championship”: Mark Martin Reveals How His Affinity for Gucci Mane Transformed His Year in 2024

Mark Martin, distinguished in the NASCAR realm for numerous titles such as the IROC Championships in the mid-90s and early 2000s and prestigious races like the Southern 500 and Coca-Cola 600, recently shared the story of a personal milestone unrelated to racing.

He was featured in one of Gucci Mane’s album songs. In his guest appearance on the Rubbin Is Racing podcast in April 2024, Martin delved into his musical preferences alongside discussing the racing industry and his enduring legacy.

During the podcast, he expressed his unequivocal admiration for rapper Gucci Mane, stating:

“I’ma tell you right now, in my opinion, there is no one in the same zip code as Gucci Mane… Every time he does one [a duo] with anybody, he just crushes them. I mean, this guy is unbelievable. I do like the old Gucci much better than the new Gucci. I liked his old music. I liked him when he was fat and scary.”

That confession led Martin to be featured on Mane’s album, Greatest Of All Trappers (Gangsta Grillz Edition). The collaboration featured that particular snippet from this interview where Martin lauded the rapper on the podcast on the album’s introductory track, titled GOAT.

Reflecting on the series of events that led to this unique crossover, Martin shared in an interview with Chase Holden, “I had a pretty good little rant going on on that thing [podcast] and that video went everywhere went crazy. And so months later I get a text message from Barstool: ‘I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not but you may be featured on one of Gucci’s tracks.'”

He added, “So little time passed, and then Gucci actually direct messaged me asking what my email was and so I sent them my email and I got contacted by his recording group or somebody that handles the business and asked if it was okay to use a piece of that on his track, the goat, GOAT track and oh it’s just really cool…”

“That was a pretty big highlight and that made some noise around the world… That was a big win it was like a that was like a championship for sure.”

Although Martin did not lend his voice to the track by singing or rapping, his involvement in the project marks a big moment for the retired racer. He expressed his excitement on social media platform X, stating, “I may not have ever won a Cup Championship BUT I made on GOAT @gucci1017 song,” in August 2024.

Martin boasts 40 career victories, yet a championship title has eluded him. Nevertheless, he appears to be at peace with this fact, as he has achieved something unprecedented among NASCAR drivers: a feature on a Gucci Mane track.