Joe Gibbs Racing announced Friday that Mark Martin will drive a NASCAR Nationwide Series race for the organization.
Martin will drive the Interstate Batteries Camry in the Nationwide race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
“We’ve always hoped to have the opportunity for Mark to drive for us and to have him behind the wheel of our Interstate Batteries Toyota for the Nationwide race in Vegas is exciting,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He is a great example to all drivers of the dedication it takes to be successful and certainly we’re honored to have him part of our efforts in 2012.”
The team said it is working on additional opportunities to have Martin in the car.
He has 49 career victories in 235 Nationwide Series starts, with 111 top-five and 151 top-10 finishes while leading 8,093 laps. His most recent victory came last season at Las Vegas. He is second on the all-time series wins list to Kyle Busch, who passed Martin in 2011 and now has 51 career Nationwide wins.
“This is exciting,” said Martin. “No organization has been better in the Nationwide Series over the past three or four seasons and to have the chance to get behind the wheel of a Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide car will be a thrill. Maybe I can pick up a few more races and try to catch Kyle to get my record back again.”
