NASCAR legend Mark Martin talks heartbreak, being crushed, and the wins that saved his job

Much of the talk heading into Phoenix this weekend revolves around 23XI star Tyler Reddick and whether or not he can achieve a four-peat, and NASCAR great Mark Martin has now chimed in.

The driver of the No. 45 Toyota has won the opening three races of the season, and can join an elite list of drivers to win four races in a row in NASCAR's top division if he is successful in Arizona this weekend.

Only a select list of drivers have achieved that feat before, and Martin is one of them, having won four consecutive Cup Series races at Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol and Darlington in 1993.

The former Roush Racing star says that it was only when he won those four races that he felt comfortable he wouldn't be fired.

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Mark Martin recalls Cup Series four-peat

“In 1988, ‘89, I was just barely keeping my job, “ Martin explained, via Charlie Marlow, looking back on his career. "And then, in ‘90, we had a shot at the championship, but in ‘91, we didn't win a race until the last race of the season.

“Once you pack down four Cup races in a row and add in three Busch races that I ran in, you know, seven [wins] in a row, you feel like ‘I can probably keep my job’, and if I was to happen to lose it, I could probably get another one.”

Martin continued, outlining the heartbreak and struggle that he went through to get to the stage.

“Honestly, the struggle that I went through to get there for the 10 years that it took to get to those seven wins, from heartbreak and being crushed and broken in half, to that, it meant more than most people can…I can’t describe it.

“But it was so much more than just winning those. It was, ‘Dude, I think I've arrived’, you know, ‘I don't think I have to worry about getting fired again’.

“I did get fired in 1983 after running what I thought was pretty good. That stuck with me my entire career, because when I got fired, no one would hire me.

“I never forgot that, all the way to the last race that I drove in 2013. I never forgot that there was a point when I couldn't get a job in the NASCAR garage.”

Martin: Good chance of Reddick four-peat

Looking ahead to this weekend's action and Reddick's chances of joining the short list of drivers to four-peat, Martin was optimistic regarding the 23XI star's prospects.

"I'd say there's an awful good chance of it," he explained. "They're hitting on all cylinders, and I want to revert back again to Bubba Wallace. [He] is showing the same kind of speed, so it's not a fluke.

"They're strong right now. They're actually putting as fast or faster race cars than the [Joe] Gibbs [Racing] bunch is right now.

"So yes, I give him a good solid chance. When things are clicking, they're clicking. When you've got fast race cars, and you've got that momentum, that wind at your back, it all adds up."