Why Martin Roots for Hamlin
NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin is rooting hard for Denny Hamlin. Martin knows better than almost anyone how difficult it is to keep winning deep into your 40s. He spoke with reporters during a media availability at NASCAR Productions on Tuesday. His admiration for Hamlin came through clearly.
Martin first noticed Hamlin because of a shift in public perception. Fans who once viewed Hamlin as a villain now celebrate him as a legend. Martin lived through the same transition when he watched Darrell Waltrip undergo it in the late 1980s and early 1990s. That kind of public redemption arc always resonates with him.
Furthermore, Martin himself won Cup races through his 50th birthday in 2009. He therefore appreciates exactly what Hamlin is doing at 45. “So many people have changed the way they feel about him,” Martin said. “He’s one of the greatest drivers ever. I don’t care what car he drove — you look at his numbers and it’s some of the greatest ever.”
Martin added that winning at 45 is a remarkable achievement. Most elite drivers simply cannot do it. “It’s pretty damn cool,” he said plainly.
The Aging Driver’s Greatest Challenge
So what does Martin believe Hamlin must guard against most carefully as he gets older? According to Martin, raw speed is rarely the first thing to go. Instead, it is race craft that gradually fades.
Martin offered a personal example to illustrate the point. At age 54, he qualified on the pole at Phoenix. His car was fast. His speed had not vanished. However, his racecraft had already been slipping for years before that moment. Speed and decision-making do not decline at the same rate. That gap, Martin suggests, is where veteran drivers lose races they should win.
The Processor Metaphor Explained
Martin used a vivid metaphor to describe the mental slowdown that comes with age. He compared the racing mind to an aging iPad. “I’ve got a 15-year-old iPad,” he said. “It was fast when I got it, but now it’s so slow it’s unusable. That same thing happens to your processor.”
Martin emphasized that this decline happens differently for different drivers. Nevertheless, he felt it himself. He noticed a clear difference between his reflexes in 2009 versus 1989. By 2013, the change was obvious — even if no one else could see it from the outside. “I drove a race car off of what I felt, not what I saw,” he explained. “When you process all of that stuff, it just slows down.”
That honest self-awareness, Martin believes, is itself a competitive skill. Drivers who recognize the shift can adapt. Those who don’t often fade without understanding why.
Staying Fit and Hungry: The Common Thread
Martin also identified the qualities that helped him extend his career — and that he sees in Hamlin today. Fitness and desire, he says, are the two non-negotiables.
Martin stayed incredibly fit throughout his later career. He also kept his hunger to win burning. That hunger, in fact, drove him to accept Rick Hendrick’s third offer to drive the No. 5 car. He came agonizingly close to winning in the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 8 car twice. Consequently, he needed one more shot at it. “I wanted to feel that one more time because it’s euphoric,” Martin said. “I can’t describe what it feels like to win.”
Hamlin clearly carries that same fire. After his recent win at Las Vegas, Hamlin said publicly that he works hard. Martin believes him completely. “I think it’s harder now to win at 50 than it was when I did it,” Martin said, “and it was hard then.”
Is Hamlin a Rare Exception?
Martin did not hesitate when asked whether Hamlin’s late-career performance is unusual. He pointed to Kevin Harvick as another example of how difficult it becomes to compete in your mid-40s. Even elite drivers face steep odds. Yet Hamlin continues to defy them.
“The way Denny looks, he could go another five years,” Martin said. He quickly added that Hamlin probably won’t keep racing that long — but the physical and mental tools are clearly still there. Moreover, Martin called Hamlin one of the greatest to ever compete in the sport. That is high praise from someone who lived the same journey.
In summary, Hamlin is not just winning races. He is rewriting the book on aging in NASCAR. Martin, who co-authored that book, knows exactly how rare that is.
