Driver Profile:

It didn't take Mark Martin long to feel what it's like to win a stock car race.

At the age of 15, in just his third attempt, Martin won a feature race at a local Arkansas dirt track. He capped off his first season of racing with the 1974 Arkansas state championship.

After the early success, he moved up to V-8 racing in 1976 and moved up again, to asphalt racing, later that season.

By 1977, Martin had ascended to the ASA series, where he battled men like Rusty Wallace, Bobby Allison and Dick Trickle. Martin was named ASA Rookie of the Year in '77 and followed that up with three consecutive ASA titles from 1978-1980.

Martin began funding his Cup career out of his own pocket, running five races in 1981 before running a full schedule in 1982. Martin finished 14th in the standings that season with six top-10 finishes.

Unable to keep his team afloat much longer, Martin auctioned off everything in his shop in April 1983 and ran a limited schedule with several owners, including J.D. Stacy, D.K. Ulrich and Morgan-McClure. He tallied a pair of top-10 finishes in 16 starts that season.

In 1984, Martin returned to the ASA. He would be teamed with crew chief Jimmy Fennig in 1985 and would win another title in 1986.

Martin's fortunes began to look up in 1987, when he ran a full Busch Series schedule for Bruce Lawmaster. His win at Dover that year grabbed the attention of another car owner, Jack Roush. Roush was starting his own Cup team and pegged Martin as his driver.

The relationship has proved fruitful: Martin had a string of 10 consecutive top-10 points finishes that ended in 2001, when he finished 12th.

Off the track, Martin owns Mark Martin Performance, a company that sells quarter-midget racing chassis like the one his son, Matt, races in. He also helped build a quarter-midget track in New Smyrna, Fla.