The Auto Racing Journal: Jimmy Spencer

MARK MARTIN

I once asked 145-pound Mark Martin how much of a weight advantage he had over 230-some-pound Jimmy Spencer during a Winston Cup race. His answer: "About 15 horsepower."

Which doesn't sound like much of an advantage for a 1990s NASCAR race.

There once was an all-star-race confrontation between Spencer and fellow driver Ken Schrader, and Spencer said, "You mess with the bull, you get the horn."

A big deal was made of the "rivalry," but the next week I was passing through the Cup garage and the two were chummily drinking Cokes in a hauler.

A lot of reporters didn't like dealing with Martin, but Mark and I got along well. Once, he told me to come back around 2:30, so I went into Charlotte's Winston Cup garage to talk to someone else.

About 2 p.m., I was walking past the No. 6 hauler back to the media center, and I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. Mark said, "Come on in. I got time."

We had a great interview, maybe 40 minutes long.

It was a pleasure to work with him.

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