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Northwest Arkansas's go-to show for real estate agents, brokers, and investors looking to zoom in on the local market. Join us as we sit down with the leading voices in the area to hear how they're investing in NWA.
Hosted by (in order from left to right) Brian Wagers, Zach Stanley, and Brandon Still.
Zach Stanley: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Northwest Arkansas Investing Podcast. Today, geographically, we're here in Rogers, Arkansas at the Marquee Collection Studios. There's still some available, kind of upper 300s to mid 400s, so if you're looking for a really cool spot cars, coffee, a cool clubhouse, come here. Get in contact with Brandon or I, and we'll we'll represent you on helping to buy one of these things
Today, we have Mark Martin, legendary NASCAR driver with us. Over 800, um, career races, correct? And then 40 wins. Is that right?
Mark Martin: Uh, NASCAR starts, yeah, 860 or so- Yeah ... and, and, uh, 40 wins, uh, in, in the Cup Series and-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: 96 in the top three divisions.
Zach Stanley: That's incredible. Let's go. Uh, your, your history and background's incredible.
Um, but where we're really gonna dive in today is the level of discipline, consistency, and performance that translate into business and [00:01:00] investing. Um, I wanna jump in real quick and just go deep below the surface. Um, when you look at high-level performers, whether it's racing, business, or investing, what do you think separates the ones who are miserable from the ones that actually enjoy life?
Mark Martin: Uh, I think it's a mindset.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: Um, and y- y- I think it's how you're driven- Mm ... and how you're wired.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Um, I was not wired, um, I was, had no interest in, um, enjoying the journey.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Um, I only had interest in winning, and I regret that. Yeah. Because I think I could have had more fun and still got the result, but I was afraid-
Zach Stanley: Yeah
Mark Martin: that, you know, I had to be a taskmaster. Yeah. And so I really think it's a mindset. I- I've got some friends that are very successful-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: in the, you know, d- d- doing the same thing in racing and had a blast doing it. Yeah. Now I look back and it was the best of [00:02:00] times, but- Yeah ... I sure didn't realize it at the time.
Zach Stanley: What age do you think you got it? You feel like you- It's always a progression, but do you feel like there was a time where you were like, "You know what? I'm actually present in the moment now"?
Mark Martin: Uh, 2007 when I stepped back from full time-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: on chasing a NASCAR championship-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: uh, was such a grind and I finished second five times- Mm-hmm
and never won it. And I, I allowed that quest to, you know, pretty much consume me and, and suck all the joy out of it. Yeah. So when I went back to part-time-
Zach Stanley: Uh-huh ...
Mark Martin: I found the joy in, in, in racing again-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: in, in my love, and I really had a good time-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: uh, you know, those last, uh, six or eight years I raced.
Zach Stanley: Incredible. Do you see, from all the success you've had, J- yes, in NASCAR, but business as well, do you see miserable people all the time with, a, lot of success?
Mark Martin: Uh, no. No. No, not really. Not as
Zach Stanley: much.
Mark Martin: Yeah. I, I wouldn't say [00:03:00] I was miserable, but I, I would certainly say that I didn't enjoy it-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: um, as much as I should have.
Like when I would win a race and we'd be doing the, the photo shoots and everything in victory lane, I wasn't soaking that in. Yeah. I was worrying about, "How are we gonna do this next Sunday?"
Zach Stanley: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And then I was hurrying through the press, you know, and all that stuff afterwards so that I could get home- Yeah
see my family and, and get, you know, grinding again. Go, go onto the
Zach Stanley: next
Mark Martin: thing. Training and testing and appearances and all that stuff is very consuming. Most people that are successful, uh, think about what they're doing probably all the time. I know athletes.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: You know, it, it... You know, if you're, if you make it to the very top level-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm
Mark Martin: in any kind of athletic, you pretty much think about what you're doing all the time. Yeah. Mm-hmm. You think about the game- Yes ... and you, you, you, you train and you grind and you do the promotions and all the things that makes the, the money machine-
Zach Stanley: [00:04:00] Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: you know, work and-
Zach Stanley: Every fiber of your being- Mm. Yes
towards it. I know Brandon and I, I know Brian as well in business, uh, but Brandon and I played college athletics, so, uh, four years each, and we, we understand what it takes. I mean- Yeah ... of course not the highest, highest level, but it was a grind.
Brandon Still: Yeah. Mark, do you think... I mean, being around some of the other greats in your industry and, and maybe some others, do you feel like those are common traits of just kind of a almost that's, that's all they think about, that they're consumed in it, that's all...
You know, is that kind of a common trait you think of people that are great in their industry?
Mark Martin: I, the ones I've been around, the greats were all in.
Brandon Still: Yeah. Yeah.
Mark Martin: I- all in.
Zach Stanley: Plan A.
Mark Martin: I- i- you know, and I assume from the studying and, and, and watching of other, you know, professional athletes that really excel in their field, you know, they're pretty much all in.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm. Yeah. You, you mentioned you had some regret about that. You're happy where you are today, but do you think if you would've s- let's say you did [00:05:00] have no regrets and enjoyed it a little bit more, do you think you still would've had 80 wins and 96 top three finishes? Or what's your thoughts on would I have m- maybe one or two less, would it be significantly different?
Uh, I'm interested in that.
Mark Martin: Great question. Yeah. During the time, I was afraid not.
Brian Wagers: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Yeah. But looking back, I think I surely could have, you know, could have done both.
Brian Wagers: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Yeah. I could have enjoyed it more. I, you know, I, I was, uh, uh... I had other drivers that teased me about, you know, being grouchy and, and-
whatever. I was only happy when we won.
Brian Wagers: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Yeah. And, and, uh, and as soon as we won, that one was over. Instead of enjoying it till the next race, no, I mean, we had to start grinding on- Yeah ... the next race right then.
Brian Wagers: Hyper-focus. R- right before we started the podcast, Mark was coming in here with a me- you know, he was getting to work on one of these, these car collections.
And you can tell you have that, like, you know, very, like- Laser
Zach Stanley: focused ...
Brian Wagers: laser focused. Yeah. Uh, I think that's, uh, speaking of traits, [00:06:00] Brandon- Honorable trait ... uh, for
Mark Martin: sure. It's a curse, too. I mean- Yeah ... you know, it, it served me well.
Brian Wagers: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Yeah. It really did. Mm-hmm. But, you know, it is, uh, uh, irritating, you know-
to my family and- For sure ... my close friends.
Brandon Still: I know, yeah. I, I think you can, y- like you said, your family, and even probably people working around high performers and guys that, that think like that, you know, it's... I mean, not everybody can understand the, the, the way that you are and the way that you think and, and, uh...
So yeah, like you said, there's good and bad to it. Yeah. But I mean, to be at an, at an, at a great level, I think it requires some level of that at least. I think it takes-
Brian Wagers: Wouldn't you agree? You have to go through that grind to look back, though- ... and realize, "Okay, I, maybe I was grinding too hard." You know, I think some people try to have this balance too early.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like they don't get ever really good at one thing because they're trying to be balanced. So I, I think there is-
Zach Stanley: There's a gray area,
Brian Wagers: yeah ... a- and it's a, and it's a, I don't know if it's an art or a science, you know? But like f- you know, the earlier you find that out, I think the better probably
Brandon Still: to your- [00:07:00] Yeah.
Yeah ...
Brian Wagers: enjoyment.
Brandon Still: Mark, what, what, uh, what disciplines do you feel like, you know, you learned early in your NASCAR career that you think kind of carried over to business for you and, and, uh, future life?
Mark Martin: Work ethic, but that started at, at the home.
Brandon Still: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Mm-hmm. You know, my parents were both grinders. Yeah. I mean, they, they, uh, work ethic and, and, uh, they always told me that I could do anything that I set my mind to.
Brandon Still: Yeah. Yeah.
Mark Martin: You know, I didn't set my mind to a whole lot, but what I did, you know, I definitely would, would grind on it. Yeah. And I think that that was the biggest thing. Um, you know, when I... One of the things that's not really in this story is, is that I had a really sharp rise from 15 years old-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: to 23 years old.
I made it from the dirt tracks here in Arkansas-
Zach Stanley: That was my next question, was
Mark Martin: how you started ... to NASCAR.
Zach Stanley: Yeah,
Mark Martin: yeah. [00:08:00] And just rocket ship, and then I fell fat- flat on my face and lost everything, my entire career, and had to start all over again from ground zero.
Zach Stanley: Mm.
Mark Martin: And so, and, and, you know, it, it took about six or eight years to get back, you know, to NASCAR, and that changed me-
Brian Wagers: Mm
Mark Martin: in a lot of ways, and probably, um, made me certainly want to make hay while the sun was shining.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm,
Mark Martin: mm-hmm. Like, when I was starting, first I was grinding to get back- Yeah ... and then I, then once I got in NASCAR, I wanted to show everyone that, you know, I was here and I was here to stay.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And, um, and so I think that the, the setback was really an asset to me.
Yeah. Even though it was the worst time and period in my life. Mm-hmm. Um, I think that it was, it was good for it humbled me-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: which I needed. [00:09:00] Um, and it made me appreciate the opportunities that I got later in my career.
Zach Stanley: Yeah. Mm. And we can cover this real quick, but give us, give us a quick maybe timeline of, like, how did, how did you get started in NASCAR?
Like, what, what was that even like? And then walk us through up to that base flat and then beyond.
Mark Martin: Well, uh, you know, my career started in the dirt tracks in Arkansas. Mm-hmm. The first three years I raced were dirt tracks in Arkansas. And then I started racing on pavement out of Batesville.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And I was traveling all over the Midwest to make the big races because we ran good enough- Mm
that we wanted to be challenged by the very best-
Zach Stanley: Right ...
Mark Martin: in the nation. And, like, at that first year, I won the National Short Track Championship-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: for example. And, and the American Speed Association- Is that at 16? ... ASA Rookie of the Year.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And so the next year, in '78, was my goal to chase that championship, and we won that championship.
I was 19 years old, national championship. Wow, 19. Okay. It, it, uh... We won it three years in [00:10:00] a row.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And so- Wow ... it was time to go NASCAR racing. Mm-hmm. So we built, you know, a NASCAR car, and I took my same little guys. I had, at that time in 1981, I had three full-time employees.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: But I had all free stuff.
I got free engines and free cars and free parts and everything. I didn't have a money sponsor, but I didn't have to... I didn't have much overhead, so the purse would, would fuel me.
Zach Stanley: Right.
Mark Martin: And I went and did five NASCAR races, and I sat on the pole twice and led two races and finished third at Martinsville and seventh- Mm-hmm
at Richmond and thought, "This is gonna be just as easy as all the rest of it." Yeah. You know, I'm racing against Richard Petty- Mm-hmm ... Cale Yarborough, you know, David Pearson-
Zach Stanley: Yep ...
Mark Martin: um, and all these guys and, and Bobby Allison. And so it looked like it was gonna be as easy, and so I just went in full time without, without being, you know, really prepared.
And, and so in 1982, I ran for [00:11:00] Rookie of the Year and-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: I went broke by the- You know, by the end of the Daytona 500, the first race of the year, I was already broke and-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: I wouldn't give up.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And we just, I ground it all the way out to the end of the year, and I was in massive debt, and I had to have an auction and sell everything-
Zach Stanley: Yeah
Mark Martin: that I owned to pay off my debt-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: a- and start again from scratch. And
Zach Stanley: that was the face flat moment.
Mark Martin: That was flat.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Yeah. Got it. So I moved back to Wisconsin where, you know, the racing hotbed for late model type racing, racing was and- Mm-hmm ... and started my career over, which took me three years.
Yeah. Third year, I won the ASA championship again-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: for the fourth time.
Zach Stanley: So you would've been how old at that age? Mid 20s?
Mark Martin: Um, in '86, I was
Zach Stanley: 27. 27 years old. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Re- uh- Take us through... So from basically 27 on, you've been, you were in NASCAR for decades, correct?
Mark Martin: Yeah. Well, I actually got into NASCAR, the [00:12:00] Cup Series, I was 29.
Zach Stanley: 29? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So around, so upper 20s, in it for decades. What, what did it, what did it take to have such a long and profound career? I mean, there, you... Maybe it doesn't happen without the face flat moment. Um, that there's something there that most people don't have for having such a long, outstanding career.
What, what do you think are some of those factors?
Mark Martin: Some of the factors were that, um, I was in, you know, my, my obsession, no, my, my, uh, addiction-
Zach Stanley: Mm ...
Mark Martin: was, was lifting weights.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And I was addicted to that.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: Um, you know, I, I gave up alcohol.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Quit drinking. Um, I wanna make my second chance at NASCAR stick.
And so I trained like an animal at a time when most race car drivers weren't-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: training, and I felt like that gave me an edge. And I was always a car guy.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: So I knew a lot about the [00:13:00] car itself.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: So my... If you don't know anything about the car, you're totally, your career is in the people that work on your, your car.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: You, you, they-
Zach Stanley: Trust
Mark Martin: and, yeah ... they hold your whole entire career in their hands. So if they produce, great. If they don't, you fail.
Zach Stanley: Yeah. Yeah.
Mark Martin: And I knew cars and could help with that.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Help guide the thing, you know. Uh, so I was, I was with a team that would, um, would allow me to have input- Mm-hmm ... in the direction of some of the hardware with the cars and the aerodynamics and whatnot.
Brandon Still: Is that typical with, with, uh, most racers? Maybe not, maybe in your time and then today, do you think that's typical for the racer to really know their, the vehicle, the car?
Mark Martin: It's not today, but it was then.
Brandon Still: Yeah.
Mark Martin: It was pretty typical. I mean, the great, uh, Rusty Wallace is, you know, uh, a great... He knew everything about his car.
Alan Kulwicki was a great, he knew everything. [00:14:00] Davey Allison, you know, had to work on his own stuff. Uh, Dale Earnhardt worked on his own stuff- Mm ... until, you know, he got successful in Cup. Then when you get successful in Cup, you don't work on the cars anymore, but that doesn't mean you don't know what's going on with them.
For sure. You know? Um- Mm-hmm Uh, Darrell Waltrip knew a lot about the cars. So that era, a lot, I'd say half the drivers knew a lot about their cars. Yeah. And then half, maybe not so much.
Brian Wagers: Yes. I love the, the no drinking and fitness. I can attribute that. I, I stopped drinking seven years ago, and just my busin- my real estate business blew up.
The focus, like, you know, you're a very focused person, but being in shape, it's one less... You know, you have a lot more natural energy, a lot more focus, you know. Uh, drinking definitely pr- produces a haze.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Brian Wagers: Um, I'm interes- so you had three employees, you know, in your early 20s? Yes. You know, when you were first investing.
Yeah, that's huge. You know, came back, had this, you know, downfall, which I've [00:15:00] seen a ton of su- super success- not, like, you know, people above average, they have... It's like a, a steady Y curve, but the, like, super successful, it's like they have this hyper, uh, f- rise, and then they have a big drop-off, and it's like, okay, I've, I've tasted that, but, you know, now I need to dial in some things and, and refocus, so.
Mm-hmm. I, I'm interested in, you know, how you looked at... It, it sounds like you were starting to look at that as a business in the begin... You were already thinking about em- uh, hiring employees. Did, did you have mentors along the way? Did the, those mentors change as you became more successful? Great question.
Mark Martin: Yeah, that's a great question. Uh, mentor-wise, you know, um, yes, they were always... You know, I, when I was racing dirt tracks, it wasn't Richard Petty. Yeah. You know, it was the- Yeah ... best dirt track driver around. Yeah, yeah. You know? And then when I, you know, started racing pavement, Larry Phillips from Springfield, Missouri, you know.
Mm-hmm. And so it keeps stepping up, you know. Yeah. Darrell Waltrip, uh, took a liking to me, you know, when I was [00:16:00] first dipping my toe into NASCAR, and so did Bobby Allison.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: So, so they were never out of reach-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: type people that took a liking to me and, and, and, and helped me and all. So that, um, uh, that, you know, was just kinda how I operated and, and I was real lucky to, um, to be treated so respectful by so many at a early age.
Mm-hmm. You know, my racing success, you know, when I was 20, I, I moved out of Batesville and i- to Indiana, and I only had two employees then. Mm-hmm.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And, um, it was me and two other guys.
Brian Wagers: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And, you know, so I built my way all the way up into NASCAR where we had probably eight people to run the NASCAR circuit, and then when it all imploded, um, and I started over, I had one guy.
It was me and one-
Brian Wagers: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: guy, and everybody else was, uh, volunteer help that would come in at night. So me and my, uh, [00:17:00] Doug would come in, work all day on the car, and then work all night with the volunteer crew- Yeah ... as well, so. Shout out to
Brian Wagers: Doug.
Mark Martin: There was a lot of people that helped me along the way.
Brian Wagers: I feel like there's a lot of respect for... You used the word for Downtown Rogers?
Zach Stanley: Uh, gritty.
Brian Wagers: Grit. Grit. Yeah, grit. Yeah, yeah. I feel like that's what... You, you can definitely earn respect, you know, as like a young kid from Arkansas with a lot of grit and- Mm-hmm ... focus and working hard. I think people notice that.
I love that strategy about your mentor. You know, your mentor can shift as you gain more success and- Yeah ... you know, it's, uh, in a reachable status, so.
Zach Stanley: I see it all the time in, in young professionals and I, I, I've seen it in my life. I'll speak for me in itself, like, like undeserved... I don't deserve the kind of advice that I'm getting, and I'm like, I don't know why, why, why did God put this person in my life?
Why, why are these people teaching me? And there's, there's a lot of people listening in right now who probably most likely are in business. Would you encourage them to [00:18:00] find somebody that, that they wanna be like and try to follow them around like a lost puppy? Or like- ... what, like, what's, what's your word of advice to them?
Because I see a lot of successful people get mentored by smarter people.
Mark Martin: Well, first of all, the, the other side of that is, you know, when, when you do become successful- Uh, I believe in paying it forward. Mm-hmm,
Zach Stanley: mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: So I do a lot of that.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: You know, on my own. I, I see somebody I like, and I, you know, try to promote them- Yeah
on social media or maybe even get their phone number and- Mm-hmm ... give them a call and say, "Hey," you know? Yeah. "This is a little piece of advice." Yeah. So, um, for me, that always just happened.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: You know, I didn't necess- Well, I, I guess I did. I went and I talked to different individuals. There are certain ones that you gravitate to- Yeah
that seem to gravitate
Zach Stanley: to you. So you kinda, you, you s- you s- sought out people, but also some people gravitated to you. Is
Mark Martin: that correct? That's right. Yeah. Yeah, and, and, [00:19:00] um, yeah, the, I think it was, it was just sort of a natural- Mm-hmm ... thing. You would have natural chemistry with this one and not that one.
Yeah. So you would, I would talk to this- Yeah ... driver. Uh, for example, you know, there were certain drivers that I liked to talk about racing and race cars and the tires and- Yeah ... the different things. It's, racing is the same as any business. Mm-hmm. See, I worked with tons of Fortune 500 companies. Mm-hmm. And I w- y- you know, they used me in advertising and all this stuff, and I went to meetings and stuff, and it's all the same.
Yeah. It's the same as racing. It's the same as racing business.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Um, you adapt those things, but it's the same principles. To be successful, you know, you have to have those same principles and- Yeah ... so I, I, I felt like I learned a lot about, you know, uh, business-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: just from the racing business.
Zach Stanley: Through that. A- and I'm, I'm kinda jumping ahead a little forward here, but [00:20:00] walk us through just a quick synopsis of, like, your business life now. What does that look like? What, what have you done since NASCAR?
Mark Martin: So when I first retired, you know, I wasn't doing a whole lot. I was going to do, uh, I was thinking I wanted to do some mentoring and- Mm-hmm
and I th- I had a deal lined up, and then I decided I didn't wanna go through with that. I didn't do a whole lot for, for a while. I had already invested in car dealerships. Mm-hmm. Uh, the hometown- Yeah ... uh, Ford dealership and a Kia dealership and some of that stuff. I had a partner in it, Lance Landers.
Zach Stanley: Yep.
Mark Martin: Uh, a partner, and he ran the business side, you know, just rode along.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And, um, so we built that up to, up to five dealerships in a, in a lot but- I, it wasn't really where my heart was, so, um, I sold out to him.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And, uh, but our museum's still there in Batesville, the Ford Store.
Zach Stanley: Yep.
Mark Martin: I got a dozen [00:21:00] race cars and probably most of those 96 trophies are there.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. A lot of memorabilia and stuff- Mm-hmm ... from that. But what I do do a lot of now is, uh, me and my son Matt, uh, helps me, uh, enormously, is- Mm-hmm ... a lot of merchandising and a lot of racing related-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: uh, things that, you know, more retro.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Like, like what he did was retro apparel and merchandising and all that kind of stuff, and we're involved in a five-year project, um, that's just about to finish up that i- is a extensive book on my life.
Zach Stanley: Wow. Oh, okay.
Mark Martin: My entire life, and it's taken five years to do it. There'll be photographs in there that no one's ever seen before. Yeah. Matt spent so much time researching it, and historically correct, you know? Mm-hmm. And it, it's not just a book. Right. It's a historical book.
Zach Stanley: Wow.
Mark Martin: And, and it's of my whole life, so, [00:22:00] you know, that's in the, you know, and we're, we're in the middle of a year and a half res- restoration of- Mm-hmm
my first win-
Zach Stanley: Wow ...
Mark Martin: NASCAR car.
Zach Stanley: Wow, okay.
Mark Martin: Um, and so that's, you know, we got that going. I'm in a two and a half year project of finishing up my shop-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: here.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Um, so, you know, a lot of these things take so long.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And, and, uh-
Zach Stanley: That's a perfect piggyback to my next question, which is a lot of people want a lot of quick wins in business and in life, and what does it look like, um, to build wealth over time?
And what are some of those principles? Like, I, I see so many people, Brandon and I, like, "How do I get... How do I make a million dollars, like, today?" Yeah. Uh, but it's not how it happens. Can you talk a little bit to that?
Mark Martin: Yeah. So, um, you know, I'd never made more than what to eat until I got to NASCAR.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: You know, that's where the, where the money was, and I didn't even make any money there the first [00:23:00] couple of years.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: Um, because, you know, I signed whatever contract I got offered.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And, um, and building a team from scratch, so- As soon as we started making some money, m- m- Arlene and I, my wife and I are both very, uh, regimented.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: We, we got some drip stocks- Yeah ... you know, dividend reinvestment stocks, and we started putting every month, we'd put some in those stocks.
Yeah. And we built that, and we built that. And instead of buying, you know, a personal airplane or a, a fancy motor home or even a fancy house-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: we did that. Compound interest. And early on, you know, we were very... You know, and as I kept, you know, making more money, we started getting- Mm ... a second home and a nan- Yeah
you know, motor home and private aircraft and those- Right ... kind of things, but it, not first.
Zach Stanley: Right.
Mark Martin: You know, first it was all these, you know, get all this foundation [00:24:00] and then, um, by 1998 m- you know, my goal was to get, be debt free.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And, you know, but always do, do that regimented investing.
Zach Stanley: Yes.
Mark Martin: And because there's no retirement in NASCAR.
So, so many y- you know, sp- Yeah ... people that are successful in sports wind up with nothing, you know? Yeah. And I saw that. And, and I also saw my predecessors, like Bobby Allison and some of these guys, with not much- Mm-hmm ... in their late life. Yeah, yeah. And that's because they didn't make the kind of money that we made.
Zach Stanley: Right.
Mark Martin: So we better be very- Smart ... you know, uh, judicious with our money. Mm-hmm. And we were. Yeah. And we built that, and we built it over time, but we put that in front of all the comforts- Mm-hmm ... creature comforts. It came first. And so, you know, we have, uh, you know, we have investments now that obviously do better for [00:25:00] us than all our merchandising and whatnot.
Yeah. But we do have a lot of balls in the, in the air. Um, and, you know, I think it's, I think it's just really important to not... I have saw some drivers come in that in the rookie year they got a fancy motor home, and- Yeah ... next year they got a big jet, bigger than my airplane, you know? Yeah. And I'd been there forever, you know?
Yeah. And it's like, well, okay, but that's not- We'll see how that works out ... that's not how I do it. Yeah.
Brian Wagers: Don't increase your style of life directly correlated to your income. Yeah. That's, uh, that delayed gratification issue. So
Zach Stanley: sitting in your, in your seat right now, you would say compound interest works?
Mark Martin: Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah, big time.
Brandon Still: Yeah,
Zach Stanley: yeah.
Brandon Still: Mark, do you feel like your, your upbringing kind of was a part of the way that you think about money and finances? And, you know, I'm, I'm sure when you were in the spotlight and, and you were kinda in the, in the peak of your years in NASCAR, it's probably easy looking around to, you know, to buy the bigger plane, or to buy a plane, or to buy a really nice house, or, you know, continue to, you know, buy the [00:26:00] toys and things like that.
But do you think p- your upbringing maybe, uh, or was it something that you learned over time?
Mark Martin: Yeah,
Brandon Still: my- How you handle finances?
Mark Martin: My mom and dad were both really, uh, they were pieces of work, for sure. Um, they both- Got whatever they wanted-
Brandon Still: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: but they didn't want everything.
Brandon Still: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And that's, you know, I got what I wanted-
Brandon Still: Mm-hmm
Mark Martin: but I wasn't one of those guys that wanted all this stuff.
Brandon Still: Yeah.
Mark Martin: You know, like I never had, I never had a car. I was a race car driver and I had a, a, a, a factory vehicle that was furnished to me.
Zach Stanley: Mm.
Mark Martin: So I never had a Ferrari or, you know, any of the... You know, I never had anything- Yeah ... you know, uh, like that. I didn't have boats.
You know, I had tools. I had a motor home that I stayed in at the racetrack. I had aircraft that I used all week long-
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm ...
Mark Martin: you know, and to, to be able to do more stuff.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: But beyond... And, [00:27:00] and then we had a n- nice house, but we didn't want more. Mm-hmm. You know, we, we were, you know, we were just careful with that.
And so now at 67 years old, we're very comfortable without having to have a business- Mm-hmm ... that self-support us.
Brian Wagers: Yeah. How do you instill that with your so- so... Like, I think it is every father's dream to be in business with their sons and, and their kids. Mm-hmm. How do you instill that? You know, your son is obviously gonna have a lot more resources than you had growing up.
How do you keep that same mindset with your son? Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: Um, you know, he's... M- Matt is smart like his mother, not as smart like me. He's a lot smarter than, than I am. Um, and that's good. Yeah. It's, it... He, he needs, he needs that. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, I, I'm successful because I grind- Mm-hmm ... not because I'm all that smart.
Yeah. Right. I just grind harder. And when I mess up, I just, I fix it, you know? Mm-hmm.
Brian Wagers: So he's
Mark Martin: working smarter. And, and he thinks things through a lot better. Um, it has [00:28:00] been probably- The highlight of my life to work with him on this book because he's, he's always been into history since he was a little bitty kid.
Yeah. Um, and he's a historian, and he didn't pay much attention to my racing when I raced- Mm-hmm ... 'cause he thought that was just ho-hum, you know? Yeah. And now that he was the one that wanted to write this book-
Zach Stanley: Wow ...
Mark Martin: to have this book because he's really into that kinda thing, into his- Well, he started doing all this research, and now he knows way more about my career and all the details than I do.
And it's so fun- That's crazy ... to share with him because he wants to know the stories. He says, "You gotta get that story in the book, and you gotta get this..." And so we talk a lot more about that. And, like, he can u- look at a photo of me and say, "That's '96, that's '94, n- '93." Wow. Just like that from the patches on the uniform.
I can't do that.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: So he's studied all this. He's [00:29:00] put so much into this book.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And it is just... You know, that and the merchandise that he's, uh, he's just real particular.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And he does get that from me. Yeah. Sometimes it's almost over the top. And, uh,
Zach Stanley: but- It sounds like you're really proud of him.
And-
Mark Martin: I'm extremely proud ...
Zach Stanley: what, what, what I've, I've heard from a few successful people, and, uh, Pastor Greg G- Craig Groeschel on his leadership podcast, has stated that kinda the f- usually the first generation, yourself, will grind for it. They'll get it. Second generation saw the grind, so they, they know what it took, and so they uphold it.
And then oftentimes it's generation three where they sometimes see it fall off. How do you stop generation three from falling off? D- what is, what does your son have to do?
Mark Martin: Yeah, he's, he's, he's smarter than I am. Yeah. Honestly. Um, I see that.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: That third generation fall off-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: quite often.
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: Not always, but quite often.
Right. Um, I, I'm, uh, certainly not the case, [00:30:00] uh, this time. And to be real honest with you, um- You know, I don't n- I didn't really know my great-grandfather, but my, my grandfather was, was a piece of work.
Zach Stanley: Mm. Mm.
Mark Martin: Um, so, you know, and, and my dad was extremely successful. He didn't have big wealth, but like I said before, if he wanted an airplane, he got it.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: He wanted a motor home, he got it. If he wanted, you know, he just didn't want too much.
Zach Stanley: Right.
Mark Martin: Uh, but he, man, he ground. Yeah. He was a grinder big time, and that's how I'm, you know, that's how I got started racing. Yeah. If it wasn't for him, you know, I would have never made it because- Wow ... you know, he was the one, he and Larry Shaw-
Zach Stanley: Mm-hmm
Mark Martin: uh, worked every night. You know, they worked every day at their jobs and every night in the shop- Mm ... working on that race car, and I was 15 years old. You know, I would- Yeah. Mm ... you know, I didn't know how to work on a race car yet. So, um-
Zach Stanley: Wow ...
Mark Martin: you know, so, you know, the generations go back pretty far. And, and the, the good thing about [00:31:00] Matt is that he, you know, my wife is such a great complement to me.
We are not a whole lot alike. Mm-hmm. I mean, we do share values, but- Right ... she is a very different, she sees things very differently than I do, and he has part of that.
Brian Wagers: Yeah, yeah. Sounds like she sees the whole pic- you're, I, I mean, I'm guessing here, but laser focused and she's seeing the whole thing. I, I love that.
Uh-
Zach Stanley: She's the scope, you're the bullet.
Mark Martin: Yeah.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Brian Wagers: So talk us about, uh, Northwest Arkansas. We're sitting here in one of your investments, uh, at the Marquis Car Collection, and you're living here. When did you move to back to, uh, to, to Northwest Arkansas? What was the reason for moving to Northwest Arkansas and, and staying here and investing in the community?
Mark Martin: So we, uh, when I retired, we moved to Bates, back to Batesville. We had a home there.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And we were there, I don't know, four or five years. And, uh, about four years, and we got tired of that.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: Um, and [00:32:00] we fell in love with Montana, and so we moved out to Montana.
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And we were, and that was, the summers there are heaven.
Yeah. And we were right there in, uh, Flathead Lake area and- Mm-hmm ... right there by, uh, Glacier National Park. Yeah. And it's just so gorgeous. But the winters are long, and even worse than that, you can escape the winters, but it's so far. Yeah. And I- Yeah ... you know, we don't, we don't fly anymore. We drive in the motor home- Yeah
everywhere we go, and after you do that about 10 times- ... you know, 24 hours of driving- ... it, you know, it gets old. And we're farther from our family. My mother and my sister live in Arkansas. Uh, we've got kids that live in, you know, North Carolina and, and- Uh, you know, Tennessee, whatever. We just needed to be back here in the Midwest.
Brian Wagers: Yeah. Mm. Yeah. When did you move here, and [00:33:00] how long...?
Mark Martin: We've been here a couple years now.
Brian Wagers: Couple years, yeah, mm. Yeah.
Brandon Still: So, so Mark, tell, tell us a little bit more about... I know we've, we've talked a little bit about the marquee and everything, but I, I'd love to hear, you know, the type of, of folks that are purchasing units in here.
Are they using them for offices? Are they using them to showcase their cars? Are they, is it more of just kind of a, you know, place that people can come and be a part of a community? I know it's going to be... You know, if you think about opportunities like this in Northwest Arkansas, there's nothing like it.
So I think that's the, one of the cool parts about it, and you're in the, as prime location as you can be here in Pinnacle. Oh, yeah. So, but yeah, tell, tell me more about kind of what type of folks that you see in here. Is it a place that can be an office or, you know, a place just for, for storage for cars or, you know, a little, little bit about that.
Mark Martin: So these, you know, this formula is working fantastic in a lot of big, you know, uh, you know, in Scottsdale and, you know, big cities, uh, where people don't have [00:34:00] room to have a man cave at their house.
Brian Wagers: Mm.
Mark Martin: And so This gets you an opportunity to get out of your house. You c- and some of them are setting up with, uh, you know, the bar and, you know, a card table, whatever- Mm
play card, you know, or whatever it is. Uh, store their cars, have an office, a getaway, a lounge. I mean, it can be all of those things, whatever it is that you really want it to be.
Brian Wagers: Mm.
Mark Martin: But it gives you a chance to get out of your house. So you know, some of the people are retired, and some of the people are just doing this to store, you know, they have a lot of cars.
Zach Stanley: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Mark Martin: And, or they have really nice cars, and, and, you know, they don't drive them a lot. I mean- Yeah ... some of these cars are really expensive and just drive every occasionally.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: And so that's kind of what, what it really is, is, uh, it can be finished out in any way you want with mezzanines and bars and, [00:35:00] you know, of course they're putting restrooms in it and cars- Mm-hmm
and, uh, wash, you know, wash bays. Some of them have, you know, can wash inside.
Zach Stanley: Wow.
Mark Martin: Wash bays, um, or it's just gonna be a full service thing. I think when it's all finished, they're gonna have onsite detailer for detailing your cars- Mm-hmm ... or whatever.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: They'll be on site. Um, that's what they're talking about doing.
And-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: and so, you know, or you could set it up on subscription where once a week they come in and dust your-
Zach Stanley: Yeah ...
Mark Martin: vehicles or whatever. It's gonna be an, uh, incredible place when it's all finished out and-
Zach Stanley: Mm. Yeah ...
Mark Martin: and everybody gets their, their units built out. Mm-hmm. Because the build outs have... You know, there's only a, a few that are finished.
Yeah. Most of them are in the process or haven't even started yet.
Zach Stanley: Yeah. Do you feel this, this is potentially great for networking as well? Ow- owning something in here.
Mark Martin: Like-minded people. Yeah. It reminds me, I, I can see this, you know, at... It's very social.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Yeah. Love that. [00:36:00] So like-minded people that like cool cars.
Zach Stanley: Yeah. You know? Especially once the, once the middle house gets done, that'd be a great spot to have meetings.
Mark Martin: Yes.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Absolutely. The clubhouse is gonna be incredible.
Zach Stanley: They're gonna have a gym too.
Mark Martin: Yeah, they, they're gonna have a gym in it. Yeah.
Zach Stanley: Hear that, Brandon?
Mark Martin: Is
Zach Stanley: that to
Brian Wagers: me?
Zach Stanley: We're gonna, we're gonna transition into a fire round towards, as we get to the end of this episode.
Yeah. So Brian, would you, would you hit them with some fire questions? Yeah, these are gonna be a
Brian Wagers: quick f- round of five questions. Biggest mistake business owners make
Mark Martin: Getting over-leveraged. Mm.
Brian Wagers: Mm. Yeah. Most underrated trait for success?
Mark Martin: Um, hard work
Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm. Most overrated trait
Mark Martin: I think, uh, brains. You don't have to be s- smart to be successful.
Brandon Still: Great answer. That's true.
Brian Wagers: Best decision you've made in business?
Mark Martin: Saving my money early.
Brian Wagers: Mm. [00:37:00] What still excites you today?
Mark Martin: Uh, having fun.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Anything that's fun.
Zach Stanley: Love it. As we wrap up, if you were starting today, no racing background, just business or investing, what would you focus on first?
Mark Martin: I would, it would be a, it would be a, a type of manual. I'm a, I'm a hands-on, so you know, probably my specialty is, I'd probably go into detailing.
Zach Stanley: Yeah.
Mark Martin: Vehicle detailing, especially in Northwest Arkansas. Mm-hmm. Because you have the clientele here that can afford and want it done, not just washed-
Zach Stanley: Right, right
Mark Martin: but done, you know, buffing and ceramic coating and, you know, uh, all that kind of thing. And we have some great people in this area already, but if I was... That comes natural to me.
Zach Stanley: You see an, you see an opportunity there.
Mark Martin: Oh, yeah.
Zach Stanley: Yeah. Mark, so pleasure having you on the show. Thanks for coming on.
Mark Martin: Thank you.[00:38:00]
Zach Stanley: Thanks
Mark Martin: for
having me. Appreciate it. Enjoyed it, guys