The future of the automotive industry is expected to be driven by smarter and more advanced vehicles. However, as innovation continues, several concerns over privacy and data collection have also begun to surface. Now NASCAR legend Mark Martin has also weighed in on this. 

Replying to a post made by Our Country Our Choice on X, NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin expressed his concern about the new technology. He wrote, 

"This really concerns me. I just don’t know if there is any turning back at this point."

According to reports put out by news outlets, cars produced from next year will have a federal mandate requiring surveillance technology that will monitor your every blink, glance, and head nod. The cars will be equipped with infrared cameras that will monitor a person's eye movement, pupil dilation, and drowsiness patterns. 

This is to not only prevent drivers from drunk driving but also to stop them from driving when they are drowsy. If the system detects something off about the person driving, the car will shut down. 

Furthermore, concerns have been raised about whether the cameras will store the person’s biometric data, as they could potentially be uploaded to the corporate server. 

As of now, this new mandate has been met with a lot of backlash from not just the citizens but also from the automotive makers. 

When Mark Martin opened up about being vocal against NASCAR post-retirement

The NASCAR Hall of Famer retired from the sport in 2013; this gave him the freedom to do something that he always wanted to do when he was a driver. 

During a 2025 interview, Martin revealed that after his retirement, he got the freedom to call out the sport's sanctioning body as he was no longer associated with them. 

“When I raced NASCAR, there were things I couldn’t say, or there were things I shouldn’t say. Tony Stewart, I love him to death. And he said all the things that I thought, and so a lot of people didn’t like him. And I never felt like I was a good enough driver to get away with saying some of the things he said, like about Goodyear or this or that, you know.” 

“Now I can say I’m beholden to zero,” he continued. “I have no job. I have no endorsements. I have no business. I can say what I want to say.”  (via Chris Weaver on YouTube)

The legendary NASCAR driver over the years has played an important role in making various decisions for the sport. He has voiced his opinions against certain things that he does not like, such as the old playoff format. 

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason