Martin will hold the 'Grand Opening' on April 14 and 15

Mark Martin (Ronda Greer Photo)

Roush Racing's Mark Martin will hold the grand opening for his all new Ford dealership, Mark Martin Ford-Mercury, and museum this weekend (Friday and Saturday) in Batesville, Arkansas. The dealership and museum officially opened on Feb. 27th. The grand opening is being officially presented by Coke.

"I'm really excited about the grand opening," said Martin. "The Ford fan days that we held last year was one of the coolest things that I've we've ever done. I was able to take time with the people and the fans. It's not just an autograph session, it's a time where I can take time and walk around and talk to the people and meet them. We look at old photo books and they share some of the stuff with me that I might have never even seen.

"I just hope that as many of the fans as possible can get out and see us this weekend," added Martin. "Last year we had around 10,000 fans come out for the event and we hope to see that many or even more this time.

"This year we are even more excited about it with the opening of the new museum. It's just an awesome thing to be able to bring back all of these cars and trophies to the place where it all started and the place that I consider 'home,' said Martin. "We have a lot of stuff on display at the museum and I hope that all of the fans will get a chance to come out and share in all of the memories with us.

"Growing up I couldn't wait to get out of Batesville and go out and see what I could do," added Martin. "I went off seeking my fame and fortune and I was fortunate to work with a lot of great people and have a lot of success. Now it's time to bring all of that back home where it belongs to Batesville."

In addition to the normal artifacts on display in the museum, other items of interest that will be on display at this weekend's grand opening are the Nextel Experience that travels to each NASCAR Nextel Cup race, The winning Scotts Ford F-150 from the Daytona Truck race direct from Victory Lane, the No. 6 AAA Nextel Cup Ford Fusion, AAA simulators where fans can race each other, the AAA booth and tent display and Coca-Cola booths as well. Martin's No. 6 Ameriquest Busch car and hauler will also be on display and there will be live remotes with radio stations as well.

The state-of-the art museum features several of Martin's past cars, including the No. 6 Viagra Coca-Cola 600 win car, the '90 Folgers Thunderbird, the No. 60 Win Dixie Busch car, Martin's 2005 IROC car that he used to win his record fifth championship, and the '89 Strohs Thunderbird. Each car is a part of a display that includes hi-tech mantrons that tell the story of each piece of history.

The museum also has on display a variety of other memorabilia, including several of Martin's past race helmets and historic firesuits. There are also several personal photo books on display that chronicle Martin's early success, as well as thousands of pictures and newspaper articles that show Martin shows Martins climb from local dirt track sensation to NASCAR legend.

"We really wanted to do something that we could share with the fans and the people of Batesville," said Martin. "It's been a long road and it's been a lot of fun and we really wanted to put all of that on display.

"We could have put the dealership anywhere," added Martin. "But I wanted to bring all of it home. It means a lot to me and I'm excited to share what I've been lucky enough to experience with everyone."