Mark Martin Museum

FOLLOW THE CAREER 

OF A RACING STAR

By Linda Master, Bulletin Staff Writer 

Reprinted from The Baxter Bulletin, Mountain Home, AR

June 2006 

     For racing enthusiasts, a look into NASCAR is just two hours away (from Mountain Home).  The Mark Martin Museum in Batesville provides a glimpse into the world of racing with displays of race cars, trophies and other memorabilia from Martin's 32-year racing career.

     The museum, which opened in late February, is attached to Martin's car dealership on State Highway 167 on the south edge of Batesville, just past the Batesville Airport.

     To get to the museum, drive south on State Highway 5 to Mountain View and turn left on State Highway 14 which takes you into Batesville.  Just before getting to Batesville, a large billboard instructs drivers looking for the museum to turn right in seven miles, a calculation right on the money according to our odometer.

     When we arrived after a pleasant drive along the White River, through the Sylamore National Forest and down out of the Ozark Mountains, the staff was very friendly and courteous as we pulled in and asked where to park.

     The state-of-the-art museum is a racing fan's delight and even has appeal to people like me who aren't racing aficionados.  The museum entry area has enclosed niches which contain some of Martin's past racing helmets.  Also on display in this area are a number of firesuits worn by Martin.

     Entering the museum, visitors find several vignettes where past race cars are displayed.  These cars include Martin's No. 6 Viagra Coca-Cola 600 winner, '90 Folgers Thunderbird, No. 60 Winn-Dixie Busch car, '89 Stroh's Thunderbird and the 2005 IROC car Martin used to win a record fifth championship. 

     In addition to the car and large photographic mural backgrounds, each vignette includes a hi-tech electronics complete with a high-definition TV monitor and touch screen enabling visitors to view actual television footage of the history of each car.

     Although the cars are protected from the probing hands of visitors, each car is placed so the inside is readily visible.  I was most interested in seeing the tiny compact space where drivers are strapped in to drive up to 500 miles.  One also can readily see how restraint and safety systems for drivers have improved over the years.

     While my husband enjoyed seeing the scuffs, scrapes and an obvious crack in the back of the IROC car where a fellow racer bumped Martin, I was drawn to the display of Martin's first race car, a '55 Chevy he debuted on dirt tracks throughout Arkansas in 1974.

     The museum also includes walls of trophies won by Martin and a store which offers many articles relating to Martin and NASCAR.

     A special treat displayed in the lobby is the truck in which Martin won the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in Daytona Beach, Fla., along with his trophy.

     I think our favorite part of the museum was the personal scrapbooks detailing Martin's rise from a local dirt track sensation at age 15 to current NASCAR legend.  In addition to personal photographs and newspaper articles, the books contain pages from Martin's personal journals where he made meticulous notes about each race, starting with his first.

     Martin, who was born in Batesville and began his racing career there, chose to bring his memorabilia home.

     "We really wanted to do something we could share with the fans and the people of Batesville," said Martin in a brochure.  "It's been a long road, and it's been a lot of fun, and we really wanted to put all of that on display."  Martin, who planned to retire from racing in 2005 but agreed to race another year, also is building a retirement home in Batesville.

     As a testament to the staff's desire to please, they were grilling hot dogs on the parking lot as we left, so in addition to seeing all the great NASCAR memorabilia, we got a free lunch.

If you go ... 

     The Mark Martin Museum is at 1601 Batesville Blvd. (State Highway167), in Batesville.

     Hours are 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday.

     Admission is free.

     Round trip was 176 miles (from Mountain Home). 

For Reservations:

Call Toll Free

877-253-7690

Write

Howard Creek Resort

887 Howard Creek Road

Midway, AR 72651

 or email

resort@howardcreek.com

Accepted