In July 2025, Mark Martin had a spat with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He did not see eye-to-eye with Danielle Trotta and Larry McReynolds about the playoff format. What followed was a wild battle of words on social media. As it turns out, this beef was not the only one Martin had with NASCAR’s radio, as he recently lamented a tradition that’s been discontinued. For fans, it was the ultimate insider access. For drivers like him, it was the end of an era.

Mark Martin hails the privacy that drivers had back in the day

“It really started in the early 2000s or early to mid 2000s when they started selling scanners and renting scanners,” Mark Martin told Kenny Wallace Media. “You could go to the race and just rent a scanner for the day and pick who you wanted to listen to, or multiple people, drivers that you wanted to listen to, or teams. And so we started really having to work on cleaning our stuff up. And we still didn’t get it cleaned up, but we got a lot of it cleaned up.”

The 40-time Cup Series race winner shed light on a bygone era. In the early 1970s, two-way radios were first introduced in the NASCAR garage. They replaced hand signals and pit boards as means to communicate with the driver. It reduced the risk of crashes caused by drivers trying to read signals and also provided them a way to vent. NASCAR is a sport of flaring tempers and bent fenders. But Martin said that opening up the radio channels to the fans shut that vent.

“It was a double-edged sword,” Mark Martin continued. “It was good for the fans, but it was horrible for a driver who had been around and using radio since the 70s. Because that was your vent. That’s how you vented. And you know, you could vent, and you could talk trash about other drivers, and you could do all this stuff. And you just started having to tailor that.”

During the 2018 Coca-Cola 600, a rowdy fan hacked into Alex Bowman‘s car radio. It befuddled Bowman’s communication with his crew chief, Greg Ives, and both had to switch to another channel. During the 2025 F1 Saudi Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz said that his race engineer, Gaëtan Jego, was the “hardest worker.” Fans heard it on the radio and sparked widespread discussion on social media; however, Martin defended Sainz, echoing his opinion on free radio.

While Martin’s critiques of modern NASCAR might not lead to immediate rule changes, he’s now amplifying his influential voice even further, giving fans direct access to his decades of experience.

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Mark Martin launches personal venture

Mark Martin’s achievements in NASCAR are impressive. Besides his Cup Series wins, he has 49 Busch Series wins, five IROC championships and inductions into both the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Motorsports Hall of Fame. He remains one of only four drivers to have won Cup races at age 50 or older. But what resonates with most is his treasure trove of experience spanning three decades in NASCAR. Nuggets from that trove will be available in his brand-new podcast.

On Tuesday, the Mark Martin Archive Podcast launched on the Kenny Wallace YouTube Channel. The first episode featured Martin and his son, Matt, a former driver himself, discussing topics like sponsorship, his time at Roush Racing, and even questions from fans. With Martin heavily involved as an outspoken NASCAR alumnus rolling out his opinions about the Next-Gen car or the playoffs, fans can expect exciting episodes of this podcast.

With Martin accelerating his voice in the sport, it is sure to make an impact on NASCAR.