By Seth Sharp – Sometimes memories fade over time. The human mind allows people to remember how things turned out but sometimes leave them forgetting the path that it took to get to the destination.

Looking back in the NASCAR history books, it will always show that statistically @MarkMartin is the best driver to have never won a championship. Nine times Martin finished inside the top-three in points but looking closer, it shows how dominant his career was.

– Between 1990 and 2002, Martin finished second in points four times. During that span under the old point system, the maximum amount of points a driver could earn in a race was 185. In two of those four seasons, Martin finished at least 345 points ahead of third. In 1990, he finished an eye-popping 387 points ahead of third place finisher Geoff Bodine.

– In 1990, Martin was runner-up to Dale Earnhardt in the championship battle but scored 4404 points over the full season. From 1986 to 1992, the Winston Cup Series drove 29 races a season. Martin’s 1990 points total would have won the title in three of those six seasons and finishing within 70 points of the champion in two others.

His 6.6 average finish that season was the lowest since Richard Petty had an average finish of 6.4 in 1979.

-The first half of the 1993 season didn’t go as planned for Martin as mechanical issues hampered four races. He sat 10th in points after 15 races, 469 points back of the leader. Over the next seven races, Martin climbed to third in the standings thanks to four straight victories. He gained almost an entire race worth of points (162) on leader Earnhardt during that span. Martin eventually finished third in points thanks to his hot mid-season streak.

By casually looking at points finishes, another second half surge by Martin would be forgotten. The start of the season was a struggle for Martin, who found himself 11th in points after 17 races, 542 points back of first place. Over the final 15 races of the season, Martin picked up nine top-fives and 15 top-10s. His consistency helped carry him to a fifth place finish in points, 379 behind champion Terry Labonte.

-Unfortunately for Martin, his best season came in 1998, the same time @JeffGordonWeb put up the most dominant performance of the modern era. Martin’s season is just as deserving to be talked about as one of the most successful of all-time.

Gordon won 13 races while picking up 26 top-fives and 28 top-10s along the way. Martin matched Gordon the entire season by winning seven races and picking up 22 top-fives and 26 top-10s. Martin led 13 more laps than Gordon on the season, as both drivers finished with almost 800 more laps led with the third most laps led, @JeffBurton.

Over ten races, from the 14th race of the season at Michigan until Loudon, the two drivers put on a show. They finished first and second in four races, and both finished inside the top three in six of the 10. Gordon had the edge, winning six of those races but amazingly Martin only lost 58 points to Gordon during that span.

As all of the conversation of the ‘98 season focuses on Gordon, Martin’s average finish was the third best over the previous 15 seasons for the runner-up in points.

Martin finished the 2002 season 38 points behind the champion @TonyStewart. His 22 top-10 finishes were tied for the most in the series and he also finished with the lowest average finish.

Almost every season, Martin went head-to-head with the most dominant performances of the modern era. These amazing numbers throughout his career have left Martin in the conversation for not only being the best driver to never win a championship but also as one of the best drivers of all-time.

EMAIL SETH AT seth.sharp@popularspeed.com

FOLLOW SETH ON TWITTER: @NASCARMemories