NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin hasn't controlled a Cup Series car since the 2013 season, but he has a desire to get his hands on a Gen 7 car. This could sound odd at first, but he has his reasons.
Videos by FanBuzz
He's a car guy, and he wants to put this thing through its paces while trying to see how he can help the sport to which he dedicated his life.
"I wish that they would let me do a test and dictate what was done on the car," Martin told a select group of media members on Tuesday. "Let me do it one time. Let me have one car, one team, and let's have them do the things that I want to do.
"And if the things that I want to do show something, then let's have a group of cars come and run that."
As Martin added, the Gen 7 car is producing some good racing, but he still would like to have "his finger in that" because he's a car guy. He always has been, which he points to as the reason for him winning the pole in his third-ever Cup Series start.
What is something that Martin would test if given the opportunity? The aerodynamic package is certainly high on the list, which could help drivers make more passes.
. @markmartin is meeting with media to talk about a number of topics. One of those is how he loves watching @dennyhamlin win.
"I see something there with Denny that we saw with Darrell Waltrip back many years ago where he went from being a villain to being -- I'm not going to… pic.twitter.com/SjrvVEnm6b— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) March 17, 2026
He did not love the aero package back when he was rattling off multiple wins per season, and he hasn't necessarily seen any improvements as the years progressed.
"Once downforce started really coming into the sport in the '90s, kept adding more front downforce, we kept having more and more aero push," Martin added. "And I said, 'You need to take the downforce off.'
"Dale Earnhardt said, 'You need more,' so we got more. Then we just kept on it more. Now, cars went from making 250 pounds of downforce in 1990 to 2,000 pounds. What do you think's gonna happen?"
Not that Martin wants to sound disgruntled. He reiterated that he is a very big fan of NASCAR now. He doesn't miss a race, even if he has to record it and avoid social media until he can catch up to the live broadcast.
The Hall of Famer also took a tour of the NASCAR R&D Center with EVP and Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst. Martin learned numerous things about the Next Gen car, such as why the tires are a specific width and why the car has single-lug aluminum wheels.
This didn't completely change his perspective of the car, but it certainly helped him have a better understanding.
"(Probst) took a lot of time with me, and took me all through the center, and that deep dive into the car," Martin said. "And we had discussions, deep discussions, about 'Why this? Why that?'
"And I got answers that the fans haven't gotten, and I left there not as disgruntled with the car as I was going in."
Martin is certainly happier with the Gen 7 car after getting a peek behind the curtain, but that doesn't mean it quelled his desire to tinker with it. If given the chance to host a test, he believes he could help NASCAR learn something new.
