On the Mark (with Mark Martin)

The first time I tried to talk to Mark Martin, he didn't want to talk. I'd walk around the car one way, and he'd go the other. Then he hurried across the garage area into his trailer.

MARK MARTIN WITH THE 55 CAR

The second time I tried to talk to Martin was Daytona in the summer of 1990. I approached him in the garage area, and he sat on a stack of tires and we talked at least 20 minutes. It was obvious Ford had held a media seminar for its drivers, because Mark was a different person. I noticed a similar change in other drivers.

I have many good memories talking to Mark, but one of my favorites came at Charlotte. He told me to come to his trailer at 2:30. At 2, I was walking past his trailer, and I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. "Come on in," he said. And we talked until he had to go out on the track.

After that first misfire, Mark was one of the easiest drivers for me to talk to, at the track and by phone.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK.

More entries from TARJ

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

EDITOR@WORK blog entries 

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• What I do when I'm editing

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2015)

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!