By 1977, Mark had moved up yet again to the ASA series, where he battled Rusty Wallace, Bobby Allison and Dick Trickle. Mark was named ASA Rookie of the Year in '77 following that up with three consecutive ASA titles from 1978-1980.
Mark added the hat of team owner in 1981 when he began funding his Cup career out of his own pocket, running five races before running a full schedule in 1982. Martin ended up finishing 14th in the standings that season with six top-10’s. However, Mark was unable to keep his team afloat much longer, auctioning off everything in his shop in April 1983 and running 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, Mark went back to the ASA. Teaming with crew chief Jimmy Fennig in 1985 Mark would gain another title in 1986. With the new title, Mark'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 wanted Martin as his driver.
The relationship has proved fruitful for each: Mark had a string of 10 consecutive top-10 points finishes that ended in 2001. For the 2004 Race to the Nextel Cup, Mark is currently in 4th, 81 points behind leader Kurt Busch with 3 races left. With one win this season, Mark has announced that 2006 will be his last full season in Cup racing.
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.
