Giving Back to the Sport He Loves.

I'm not a huge Mark Martin fan, but I've got to recognize what I consider to be a class act.  Mark Martin, through his website, Markmartin.com, will be the sponsor on the car owned by Tommy Baldwin, and will be driven by Scott Riggs.  Riggs will attempt to qualify the car at Bristol.

In this time of economic insecurity, I applaud Mark Martin for making this very nice offer of sponsorship for a team that's trying to get itself off the ground.

"I just wanted to help a fellow driver," Martin said.  "I think this is a great opportunity to get involved, and encourage others to follow my lead, including other drivers."

In order to keep NASCAR solvent, this is a huge thing.  Mark Martin is sponsoring a competitor.  Is that a great gesture or what?

Regardless of what you think of Mark Martin, I think you have to call him a gentleman, if nothing else.

I hope this trend will take off, and maybe one day we'll see JeffGordon.com on the hood of some other car, or JimmieJohnson.com on the hood of some car.  Some of these drivers have earned a lot of money, and in order to keep the sport accessible for smaller teams, some of them might have to give back to the sport that supports them.  Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, etc.  I think you should all give this some thought.

I don't know about you, but my hat's off to Mark Martin for what he's doing for Tommy Baldwin and Scott Riggs.