If you were on the search for the coolest NASCAR driver of all time, look no further than Navy veteran and country music star Marty Robbins.
Robbins might not have had the longest or most successful racing career of all time, but he made up for it by having 17 of his songs reach the top of Billboard’s Hot Country charts.
Humble Beginnings:
Like many NASCAR drivers of his era, Robbins was a hard working, self-made man – though, unlike the early stars of NASCAR, evading the law was never at the forefront of his life. A Glendale, Az. Native, Robbins grew up far away from the hub of the NASCAR scene. With NASCAR being as regional of a sport as any in its first three decades of existence, it’s a wonder that Robbins grew to become a fan of the sport at all. However, his involvement with the top stock-car racing series in the country would soon become much more than watching a race on a Sunday afternoon.
During his time in the United States Navy, Robbins’ musical career finally began to take shape. It was only after he returned home to Arizona, however, that his musical ventures would bear any fruit. A friendship with Jimmy Dickens would blossom into Robbins and his family moving to Nashville in 1953. As they say, the rest is history.
Marty Robbin’s NASCAR Career:
Robbins made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 1966, where he finished 25th. While he only made 35 Cup Series starts over 16 years, you could usually bet on him to put on a show one way or another. Perhaps Robbins’ greatest moment as a driver came at Talladega in 1972, where Robbins accidentally outed his car as illegal after the race. After running his best laps and putting together the best performance of his career at Talladega, Robbins talked with a NASCAR official after the race, wondering why his car had been able to keep up with the leaders. As it turns out, an illegal carburetor was the culprit, and Robbins was disqualified.
The magnum opus of Robbins’ Cup Series career came two years later at the Michigan International Speedway. Sandwiched in between two races at Talladega, Michigan was one of four starts that Robbins made in 1974, and the two-mile track nestled in the Irish Hills proved to be the best performance of Robbins’ career. After qualifying 20th, Robbins carved his way through the field to earn a fifth-place finish – the best finish that he would ever earn. Robbins would earn $2,050 for his troubles on that day, finishing behind Richard Petty, Earl Ross, David Pearson, and Gary Bettenhousen.
Robbins wouldn’t earn another top-10 finish over the last 14 starts of his career – his final top-10 would come at Talladega in 1974 – but the country music legend would remain a staple of the sport until 1982. The 57-year-old Robbins would make his final NASCAR start in the 1982 Atlanta Journal 500, just 31 days before his death on December 8 from a heart attack.
Legacy:
Robbins won’t be remembered for being a champion, a hothead, or being at the center of a scandal, but his impact on the sport was still extremely important. He posed a soft alternative to the rum-running, slow-talking stars that NASCAR boasted over its first few decades of competition. Robbins’ celebrity status was downplayed by his soft, friendly demeanor, and while he couldn’t always be counted on to contend for the race win, you knew that regardless of where he finished, he’d exit his racecar with a smile as wide as the Mississippi River etched across his face.
