Martin came aboard newly formed Roush Racing, with crew chief Steve Hmiel, for the first of 19 seasons in 1988 driving the No.
6 Ford Thunderbird.
Martin showed both signs of struggle and potential in its inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, recording three top fives and ten top tens along with winning the pole at Dover.
He finished a season-high second-place at Bristol early in the season.
Consistency proved to be crucial in that ten DNF's prevented Martin from cracking the top ten in points the entire season.
He finished his comeback season fifteenth in the standings.
Martin also competed in the Busch Series on a limited basis for Bill Davis Racing from 1988 to 1991.

Martin's 1989 season began a lot like his 1988 season with a DNF in the Daytona 500.
After his first 4 races he was 18th in the standings but went on to continue the season with 4 poles and finishing sixth or better in the next 7 starts.
He spent much of the season bouncing around from second to fifth in the standings.
With three races to go, he won his first Winston Cup race at Rockingham, beating eventual series champion Rusty Wallace by three seconds.
It was the first win for Roush as an owner.
An engine failure in the season finale at Atlanta relegated him to a third-place finish in the standings.
Martin led the series with a 5.3 average starting position, posting six poles and twenty-six top ten starting positions in twenty-nine races.
He also posted fourteen top fives, eighteen top tens, and cut down his DNF total from ten to four.

Martin entered the 1990 season as a favorite to winning the Winston Cup championship.
He started the season with a 21st-place finish in the Daytona 500, his first finish in the big race in six attempts.
His team was met with controversy following his second career win at Richmond.
During post-race inspection it was determined he had raced with an illegal carburetor spacer.
 Ironically, had the spacer been welded instead of bolted on, it would not have been considered illegal.
The consensus among Mark's fellow competitors was that this was not a performance advantage, but also was not strictly within the "letter of the law" with regards to the NASCAR rulebook.
As a result, Martin was penalized 46 championship points and crew chief Robin Pemberton was fined $40,000.

Following a DNF the next race, Martin finished no worse than fourteenth over the final twenty-six races.
He gained the championship points lead one-third into the season and held onto it for sixteen races before dropping it to Dale Earnhardt with two races to go.
Despite having three wins, sixteen top fives, twenty-three top tens, and three poles, Martin lost to Earnhardt by twenty-six points in the final standings.
Had the 46-point penalty never occurred, he theoretically would have won the championship over Earnhardt by twenty points instead.

Martin's 1991 season was disappointing compared to the previous season, as he entered with expectations to win the series championship.
Though he ran well, he never achieved the points lead through the course of the season and was winless entering the season finale in Atlanta, a race in which he won.
He also came close to winning at Charlotte three races prior, leading 198 of the first 212 laps before engine failure ended his race.
Along with his win at Atlanta, Martin finished the season with 14 Top 5s, 17 Top 10s, five poles, and a sixth-place finish in the standings.
Martin came aboard newly formed Roush Racing, with crew chief Steve Hmiel, for the first of 19 seasons in 1988 driving the No. 6 Ford Thunderbird. Martin showed both signs of struggle and potential in its inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, recording three top fives and ten top tens along with winning the pole at Dover. He finished a season-high second-place at Bristol early in the season. Consistency proved to be crucial in that ten DNF's prevented Martin from cracking the top ten in points the entire season. He finished his comeback season fifteenth in the standings. Martin also competed in the Busch Series on a limited basis for Bill Davis Racing from 1988 to 1991.
Martin's 1989 season began a lot like his 1988 season with a DNF in the Daytona 500. After his first 4 races he was 18th in the standings but went on to continue the season with 4 poles and finishing sixth or better in the next 7 starts. He spent much of the season bouncing around from second to fifth in the standings. With three races to go, he won his first Winston Cup race at Rockingham, beating eventual series champion Rusty Wallace by three seconds. It was the first win for Roush as an owner. An engine failure in the season finale at Atlanta relegated him to a third-place finish in the standings. Martin led the series with a 5.3 average starting position, posting six poles and twenty-six top ten starting positions in twenty-nine races. He also posted fourteen top fives, eighteen top tens, and cut down his DNF total from ten to four.
Martin entered the 1990 season as a favorite to winning the Winston Cup championship. He started the season with a 21st-place finish in the Daytona 500, his first finish in the big race in six attempts. His team was met with controversy following his second career win at Richmond. During post-race inspection it was determined he had raced with an illegal carburetor spacer.  Ironically, had the spacer been welded instead of bolted on, it would not have been considered illegal. The consensus among Mark's fellow competitors was that this was not a performance advantage, but also was not strictly within the "letter of the law" with regards to the NASCAR rulebook. As a result, Martin was penalized 46 championship points and crew chief Robin Pemberton was fined $40,000.
Following a DNF the next race, Martin finished no worse than fourteenth over the final twenty-six races. He gained the championship points lead one-third into the season and held onto it for sixteen races before dropping it to Dale Earnhardt with two races to go. Despite having three wins, sixteen top fives, twenty-three top tens, and three poles, Martin lost to Earnhardt by twenty-six points in the final standings. Had the 46-point penalty never occurred, he theoretically would have won the championship over Earnhardt by twenty points instead.
Martin's 1991 season was disappointing compared to the previous season, as he entered with expectations to win the series championship. Though he ran well, he never achieved the points lead through the course of the season and was winless entering the season finale in Atlanta, a race in which he won. He also came close to winning at Charlotte three races prior, leading 198 of the first 212 laps before engine failure ended his race. Along with his win at Atlanta, Martin finished the season with 14 Top 5s, 17 Top 10s, five poles, and a sixth-place finish in the standings.
Mark Martin