"I was afraid they’d freak out": Mark Martin’s son opens up on hiding his identity during NASCAR’s cultural peak

Matthew Martin, son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, recently took to social media to voice his opinion on the popularity of NASCAR's culture back in the day. Matthew explained how he had to hide his identity during the prime of his father's racing days in fear that those who found out who he was would "freak out" about his relation to the driver.

When Matthew mingled among other kids back in the day, he was hesistant to tell them his name as they'd figure out he's Mark Martin's son. Matthew believes that's a testament to the popularity of NASCAR during his time as a youngster. For anyone trying to question NASCAR's cultural peak, Matthew experienced it firsthand.

Here's what Matthew wrote via X:

"When I was young and met other kids for the first time, I’d actually try to avoid telling them my name because I was afraid they’d freak out. That’s how huge NASCAR was in popular culture. You can try to pretend that it’s all nostalgia, but I KNOW how it was. I lived it."

Mark Martin was a 40-time Cup Series winner and five-time runner-up in the series. The Arkansas native made 882 Cup starts across 31 years. He drove for some of the most prominent NASCAR teams, including Roush Fenway and Hendrick Motorsports. Martin retired from NASCAR competition following the 2013 season.

Mark Martin was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017 and was recognized as one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers in honor of the sport's 75th season in 2023. In the Xfinity Series, Martin acculumated 49 victories, which ranks as the second most all-time behind Kyle Busch (102).

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Mark Martin felt nostalgic after reading social media post about Bristol: "Gives me chills"

Mark Martin took a trip down memory lane on social media recently after reading a post about what it was like being at the Bristol Motor Speedway for a race back in the 1990s/early 2000s. The 66-year-old said reading the post practically gave him chills as he thought back to those days.

Greg Wallace, Vice President/Brand Management and Communications for Rusty Wallace Inc., took to X to reflect on what it was like seeing 150,000 fans pack the Bristol Motor Speedway for a NASCAR race back in the 1990s/2000s. Wallace compared the experience to accompanying the head gladiator of the Roman Coliseum.

Mark Martin quote posted Wallace and acknowledged the feeling of what it was like being there for a race. Here's what Martin wrote via X:

"Very cool post from @GregWallace66 It practically gives me chills to think back about the feeling you got."

Mark Martin was a two-time Bristol winner, the first coming in August of 1993 and the second coming in August 1998.