Mark Martin wins 2005 All-Star race with retro paint scheme

Before the race even began I looked at my dad and said, “I want that car.” In 2005, what was then Mark Martin’s final year in NASCAR Cup Series racing—fans may remember the “Salute to You” tour—Mark Martin ran four retro paint schemes. One of them, a throwback to the early 1990s at Roush Racing, would put Mark in victory lane.

Fact is, I don’t remember much about the 2005 All-Star race. Only that Mark Martin ran a paint scheme that harkened back to the old-time Valvoline days. I had numerous diecast cars that looked exactly like the scheme the Viagra Ford wore that evening. I just knew something special was afoot, even before the race began.

When I began watching racing back in the early 1990s, Mark Martin was running the same paint scheme he had the evening of the 2005 Nextel All-Star race. Needless to say, the car looked awesome, and reminded me of the time when NASCAR was just plain fun to watch.

With all of the ups and downs I’ve witnessed in fifteen or so years of watching NASCAR, this was definitely an “up” moment for Mr. Martin and fans of the Roush Racing star. In 1998 Mark Martin won the race named “The Winston” after Jeff Gordon ran out of fuel. Oddly enough that season was a battle between Martin and Gordon. Martin won seven races that season—a career best—and those seven races would have been enough to capture his first Winston Cup title, had Gordon not won 13 events that season.

In 2005, the All-Star race was one to remember, if for nothing else than that amazing paint scheme the No. 6 car showed off that evening. Mark Martin has had some pretty sweet paint schemes over the past decade, but that car took the proverbial cake.

Mark pulled away from the field late in the race and won

Mark took the final green flag and ran away from Elliott Sadler and others, cruising to victory. He came on the radio, overcome with emotions and asked if he could come back the next year and run the All-Star event again. Crew Chief Pat Tryson said yes.

Mark Martin captured his second All-Star race win in 2005 with an awesome paint scheme (BleacherReport.com photo)

When I got to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that year the first stop my dad and I made was the Mark Martin merchandise trailer. The 1:64 diecast of that All-Star race car sits in my “Mark Martin shrine” right next to the 1998 IROC at Indy car I own. The 2005 “Salute to You” All-Star race win t-shirt I also bought is in my closet. It’s probably too small for me to wear any more, but I got a lot of use of it back then.

In fact, during that race weekend I met a Mark Martin fan who asked me where I got the shirt. She said she loved the car and would have to go get herself the shirt I was wearing from the Mark Martin merchandise hauler.

That weekend, Mark Martin ran an even older retro scheme, harkening back to the Folgers scheme he ran before I even began watching NASCAR. He finished seventh, and even though I considered it a bad day back then, looking back on it now, it was amazing to see Mark run those retro schemes.

Mark Martin ran another retro paint scheme at Indianapolis in 2005

It made each and every Mark Martin fan appreciate the history behind our favorite driver, and gave us yet another reason to keep watching our guy drive.
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Mark Martin loves rap music. So what was so special about the 2006 All-Star race weekend that tied Mark Martin and rap music together forever? Check back tomorrow to find out.