Mark Martin is currently enjoying a heroic status among the fans. NASCAR has made it clear that he was the pioneer behind the newest championship format. Martin has dedicated himself to the cause of the fan community and is ready to voice their opinions and give them what they like. Owing to his current standing, it is clear that Martin is not making any alarming statements that contradict the fans. Even if that means giving a verdict on Steve Phelps.

Surprisingly, while the entire NASCAR community is siding with Phelps, Martin has ignored their comments and sided with the fans. The likes of Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon have hardly been shy about their opinion in support of Steve Phelps. Mark Martin, on the other hand, has been accepting of the fact that Steve Phelps was no longer required in NASCAR. Here’s what he had to say in this regard.

Mark Martin’s 4-word verdict on Steve Phelps

During the latest episode of Mark Martin Archive, Martin was discussing the impact of the latest lawsuit. He also decided to openly discuss the fate of Steve Phelps and the reasoning behind his exit. While others of his stature believe that Steve Phelps was needed, Martin simply ended these speculations with his own verdict.

His co-host, Charlie Marlow, asked him if he thinks that it was fair to let go of Steve Phelps, in spite of what he had done for NASCAR. Without any hesitation, Martin agreed that Phelps’ behavior was unacceptable.

“I think it’s fair to say. I think that was the death blow. Steve did a lot of good things. He was a great communicator and did a lot of good work. There were quite a few decisions in the past several years that didn’t pan out to be the best decisions. As a whole, anybody who’s in power is always going to have, you’re not going to do everything right. I think Steve did a lot of good for NASCAR. I think with this lawsuit and with the remarks that came out, I don’t see any way around it.”

But his reasoning was not merely fixated on Phelps’ actions. He went forward and explained the bigger picture to the fans. For NASCAR, it was important to turn over a new leaf. The lawsuit created a chink in their armor, and they had to fix it before it became a bigger crack.

As such, the recent efforts that the sport has put forth to win over the fans needed a boost. And Steve Phelps’ exit became the necessary catalyst for NASCAR’s renewal.

“He’s got to go. I mean, that’s the way I would feel if I were France. Not because of any other performance other than, ‘Hey, we need to turn a corner here.’

“That’s part of turning the corner, and he made himself look real bad with these comments. That overshadows all the good work that he’s done here. Sometimes you have to make those changes.”

Comparing it to the changes made in the sport, Martin continued. He set forth the example of a team changing its crew chief in order to find out what works best. He also brought forth the fact that companies change their CEOs in order to bring a fresh perspective forward for the profit of the company.

His conclusion was that no matter how good Steve Phelps was professionally, his presence was no longer needed in NASCAR. The sport has to start a new chapter. Phelps ended up writing himself out of that chapter by creating the massive backlash with his controversial remarks.

Amidst all the agitation and silent war that is going on between the executives of the sport and the fans, Mark Martin has taken a neutral stance that leans heavily towards solving the misunderstandings among these factions. His intervention was necessary and timely. After his statements, a lot of fans will understand that NASCAR is no longer trying to oppose them but actually works for them.

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How Mark Martin rallied the Playoffs committee to the Chase format

As soon as NASCAR announced the new championship format, they made Mark Martin the face of the sport. But why did this change happen? As it turns out, Mark Martin has been vocal about the format change. His ideas were more in line with the full 36-race championship system.

In fact, he didn’t hesitate during the meetings to warn NASCAR about the potential ramifications of going against the fans.

“I’m gonna tell you that just wasn’t gonna cut it for the race fans that I know.”

In the end, the Playoffs committee decided to scrap their idea of an elimination-based format and adopted the 10-race Chase once again. Surprisingly, even Mark Martin had no idea that this was going to happen.

For him and the fans of the sport, this came out as a decision where everyone wins. Mark Martin’s recent involvement in NASCAR’s decisions also puts him forward as a potential leader. Do you think NASCAR is going to offer Mark Martin a role in the management of the sport?