Mark Martin shared a legendary story from his racing career this week. On his podcast, the NASCAR veteran recalled a qualifying battle with Alan Kulwicki that still leaves him in disbelief.

On February 24, 2026, Mark Martin took a trip down memory lane as he discussed one of his most iconic qualifying battles with Alan Kulwicki on the Mark Martin Archive podcast.

“I like to tell this because this is how I remember Alan,” Martin recalled, “I'm not saying it's historically perfectly accurate, but it is in my mind and that's all that matters.”

Mark outlined the qualifying session at Dover Motor Speedway, where Kulwicki’s team had to use the backup car after his crash during a practice session on Friday. “They pull out their backup car and are getting it ready, you know, while I go out and sit on the pole and nobody's going to be able to touch it.”

Alan went out last as his team was getting his (backup) car ready. Mark also mentioned that there were “zero laps” on that car, no warm-up laps or adjustments. Backup cars during that time were not the same as the primary car. Switching out to one would mean a sacrifice in performance.

“He goes out and he beats me,” Mark said. “That's how fierce of a qualifier Alan Kulwicki was,” he added. “That to me is just unconscionable how you could do that, how you could have that kind of confidence.”

The Path to Alan Kulwicki’s 1992 Championship

The Dover qualifier showcased more than just his confident mindset. Kulwicki, instead of running for wins, focused on maximizing his points across the weekends.

The defining point of the season finale in Atlanta was when he secured five bonus points by leading a lap. Even though he came in second, he won the championship by 10 points.

Kulwicki passed away the following year in a plane crash, yet laps like Dover are what people still remember.

Yet, moments like the one Mark Martin described defined the precision and resolve that made him the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Pulkit Prabhav

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi