“Here is the explanation”: Mark Martin on what triggers his motion sickness in sim racing

NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin has opened up about why he stayed away from sim racing. His 31-year NASCAR career saw him rack up 96 wins across NASCAR’s top three series, including 40 in the Cup Series. While a championship narrowly escaped him, his five runner-up finishes solidified his reputation as one of the greatest drivers to never hoist the title.

Martin reshared a tweet by insider Bozi Tatarevic, who explained from his personal experience as to why sim racing can cause motion sickness:

"I got motion sickness the first time that I drove an OEM full motion sim and according to research it's likely based on the fact that we've trained our brains on physical cars over time and introducing new motions that don't exactly match that is what causes issues."

Martin reshared the post and wrote:

"Here is the explanation."

The post further mentioned that simulator-induced motion sickness can often be linked to age-related changes in sensory function. Many drivers practice sim racing in prepartion for certain races to try out new strategies, so as to maximize their chances for a win.

Now 66, Mark Martin retired from full-time racing at the end of the 2013 NASCAR season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. Unlike many veteran drivers, he has never returned to racing.

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Mark Martin responds to a fan’s message about the Rockingham race

Yesterday, Mark Martin responded to a fan’s message celebrating the return of racing at Rockingham Speedway. After nearly 12 years of silence, the iconic North Carolina track came back to life as NASCAR hosted both the Truck and Xfinity Series races there on April 18 and 19.

Rockingham Speedway was a standout venue in Martin’s storied career, where he earned two Cup Series wins and 11 Xfinity Series victories. The 1.017-mile North Carolina track has also seen legendary drivers like David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, Harry Gant, and Jamie McMurray leave their mark on its rich racing history.

Following the Xfinity race at The Rock, a fan shared a picture on X, tagging the veteran driver in the caption:

"Hey @markmartin ...this is from the turn 4 grandstands seats @Rockingham1965 ..i was there Saturday.. section 40 row 22. It was awesome..@NASCAR @XfinityRacing .👏👏👏👏👍👊"

Mark Martin replied:

"Awesome photo"

NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway brought packed stands and plenty of drama. In the Truck Series race, chaos struck late as both Tyler Ankrum and Chandler Smith ran out of fuel. While Smith dropped over 10 positions, Ankrum managed to coast to victory.

The Xfinity Series race was just as wild, with 15 cautions slowing the action. Jesse Love initially crossed the line first, but a post-race disqualification handed the win to JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith.

The Cup Series did not compete at Rockingham and will continue with its action at Talladega Superspeedway on April 27 at 3:00 PM Eastern.