In California, the ground doesn’t need much of a warning to remind people who’s really in control. The state carries the highest seismic risk in the United States, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the nation’s total earthquake threat. With massive fault systems like the 800-mile-long San Andreas and a web of active faults stretching across both Northern and Southern California, tremors are simply part of everyday life. From the Hayward and Calaveras faults near the Bay Area to the San Jacinto and Elsinore faults down south, movement beneath the surface is constant. On January 20, 2026, that ever-present risk turned personal for a familiar NASCAR name.

Mark Martin shares eerie moment as earthquake rocks California

Mark Martin, as a NASCAR driver, is no stranger to unexpected jolts, but this one had nothing to do with horsepower or high-speed turns. The NASCAR Hall of Famer took to social media to share his immediate reaction after feeling an earthquake while traveling through California in his motor home.

“Just had a 4.2 earthquake here. Pretty wild feeling,” Martin posted shortly after the tremor. Moments later, he followed up with a more detailed update: “Actually it was a 4.6. Felt like the ground was moving back and forth. Too mild for damage but crazy feeling. California.”

Martin, who frequently drives across the country in his motor home, happened to be in Southern California when the ground began to shift beneath him. For someone used to feeling vibrations through a steering wheel at 200 mph, this was a very different kind of sensation – one that even decades of racing couldn’t quite prepare him for.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck near the Indio region on Monday. The epicenter was located approximately 19 kilometers from Indio, with a shallow depth of just 3 kilometers below the surface. That shallow depth helped intensify the shaking felt across the area, even though no major damage was reported.

The initial quake was followed by a series of aftershocks, registering magnitudes of 3.3, 3.4, and 2.9, adding to the unease for residents and travelers alike. An automated warning system was triggered, sending alerts to mobile phones and across social media shortly before the tremor hit. Still, for many (including Martin), the experience arrived as a sudden and unsettling surprise.

The earthquake was part of an ongoing seismic swarm in the region, with more than 47 tremors recorded since January 19. While typical for California’s fault-heavy landscape, moments like these serve as a sharp reminder that even NASCAR legends can be caught off guard when nature takes the wheel.

The rolling companion that keeps Mark Martin going

For someone like Mark Martin, slowing down was never really part of the plan. At 66, the NASCAR Hall of Famer has found that retirement, if left unchecked, can get dull in a hurry. So instead of sitting still, Martin has embraced a companion that moves with him wherever the road leads. It’s none other than a meticulously crafted motor coach that doubles as both a passion project and a rolling home.

Building and designing motor coaches has become one of Martin’s biggest post-racing pursuits. Each coach he builds gets about a year and a half of real-world use before ideas start forming. After two years, he’s already thinking about the next build, tweaking designs, improving layouts, and refining details. It’s a cycle that feels familiar, almost instinctive, to someone who spent decades chasing perfection on the racetrack.

Speaking recently with Kenny Wallace, Martin explained that the process reminds him of an earlier era in racing, when drivers built their own cars year after year. That hands-on creativity, the constant push to make something better than before, is what pulled him back into a sense of purpose.

“After I retired, I didn’t really have any passion, and it took me a while to find some passion like I had about race cars. I don’t know. There’s something about these coaches with the big wheels,” Martin said, summing up the connection in his own simple way.

That passion is now on full display in his latest project, Newell Coach #1860. Built nearly from scratch, Newell produces just 26 coaches a year, and Martin plays a crucial role in shaping his. The coach features a chrome-plated Performance Diesel engine with his iconic No. 6 engraved on it, a subtle nod to the career that defined him. Before this build, Martin took delivery of Newell Coach #1783 in June 2023.

For Martin, the motor coach isn’t just transportation. It’s a creative outlet, a moving workshop, and a trusted road companion that keeps his legendary drive very much alive.