Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares a nostalgic memory of Mark Martin's iconic #60 Winn-Dixie ride at Charlotte

Former NASCAR Cup Series star driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently took to his X account and reshared a nostalgic post of Mark Martin's iconic #60 Winn-Dixie ride. Earnhardt Jr. recalled Martin's bold and skilled driving during the Charlotte Motor Speedway practice session.

The 66-year-old had a successful career in the Cup Series. He secured 40 wins, 271 top-five finishes, 453 top-ten finishes, and 56 pole positions in 882 starts. Additionally, Martin led 12,877 laps in his 31-year career and had an average start of 12.1. Following his achievements, he was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.

In the caption, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalled a memory of Mark Martin during an early morning Busch Grand National practice session at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was amazed by Martin's bold driving style on turn one. Although Dale Jr. didn't beat the NASCAR legend during the weekend, he learned a valuable lesson that week.

"It was early in the morning. Maybe 8am early. A Busch Grand National practice session on a Friday morning. There was still dew on the grass in the tri oval of the front stretch. Mark was sitting on pit road and I maneuvered to get behind him and follow him onto the racetrack. The official motioned us to proceed. He quickly accelerated toward top speed. I hustled to keep up. We rounded turn 3 and 4 and onto the front stretch. I was still close enough to learn, to study this master at work."

"As I prepared to turn into the first corner at full speed, I watched this car arc into turn 1 at Charlotte and I've never since seen a more impressive, awe inspiring, confident entry. He had zero doubt the car could handle it. It was wide, and it was full send. I knew then, none of us were ready for what he was gonna do on race day. I didn't beat him that weekend. But I learned that day what it took to be great in our series. Mark was a teacher for many of us back then," Dale Earnhardt Jr. concluded.

Winn-Dixie is an American-based supermarket chain with its headquarters located in Jacksonville, Florida. The supermarket chain, founded in 1925, sells groceries and liquor in five southeastern states.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets candid about Mark Martin replacing him at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

After wrapping up the 2007 season, the former Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. departed from Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI). Following his departure, Mark Martin replaced Dale Jr. and took command of the #8 Chevy for the 2008 season.

Being a Mark Martin fan, Dale Jr. was far from unhappy with the decision and stated:

"I'm a Mark Martin fan from when he was racing the No. 2 back in Nashville. I remember when he came over to my dad's house with a couple of tapes from his races in Nashville and played them on a Beta VCR. We watched those races and he was trying his hardest to show my dad how good a race car driver he was. He was trying hard to get a good ride."

After spending a year with DEI, Martin moved to Hendrick Motorsports in 2009 and competed as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s teammate for three seasons, driving the #5 Chevy. He then moved to Michael Waltrip Racing and retired in 2013 while competing for Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing.