Martin will join Kim Coon and Brooke Werner as representatives for Sprint, entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, for the 2014 season.
"The biggest part is bringing NASCAR to the fans," Martin said of her new job. "Giving them that cool, personal experience that I had at my first race. If I can make somebody's day by talking to them ? about the sport I love, that's an amazing opportunity.
"Meeting with fans, with drivers, doing stories, it all just pairs together a lot of the things that I love and enjoy doing."
From left to right, the Miss Sprint Cup lineup includes Kim Coon, Madison Martin and Brooke Werner. Martin, a graduate of Frostburg State University where she majored in Mass Communications, previously worked for WSOC-TV in Charlotte. She also served as an intern for Fox News Channel and was a student reporter at Richmond International Raceway.
"My mom took me to my first race (at Richmond) and I got pulled up on the Miss Sprint Cup stage by Monica (former Miss Sprint Cup Monica Palumbo Hancock)," Martin said. "That was actually my introduction into Miss Sprint Cup and my introduction into NASCAR. And I ended up becoming a huge fan after that experience."
Expect to see Martin in demand when there's a charity golf tournament tied into the Cup schedule -- she was captain of her high school golf team and was ranked as one of the nation's top 100 female golfers.
"I started golfing when I was 13 and kind of became obsessed with it," she said. "I got super into it and worked really hard. I was captain of the boys' team -- we didn't have a girls' team -- but I ended up being the No. 1 player, going to state and going to a national tournament. It was just an amazing experience."
More than just a presence in Victory Lane, the role of Miss Sprint Cup involves plenty of travel (Coon logged nearly 45,000 miles in 2013, Werner nearly 36,000), and long hours at the track as well as off site. In addition to Victory Lane duties, the representatives spend hours at The Sprint Unlimited Experience meeting with fans, hosting driver appearances and taking part in various fan-related events. They also can be found in the garage throughout the weekend, interacting with fans and officials and generating content for social media.
"There's so much that's good about the job," said Werner, who joined the team in 2013. "Meeting race fans every weekend ? fans that come back race after race that kind of become like your family. There are fans you'll see in Sonoma and then you'll see them in New Hampshire. The fans are definitely the best part.
"Sprint gives us opportunities to do so many awesome things. We had a chance to tour the Walter Reed Memorial Hospital. ? You see these warriors who have put so much on the line for us just kind of light up by seeing their favorite driver walk in the room. And we got to be there to see all of that, so that was really special."
Coon said she knew NASCAR fans were passionate, but working as a Miss Sprint Cup has given her a much better understanding of their support.
"You have fans that come to 20 races a year; you have fans from all over the world -- Australia, Japan, Germany," she said. "And you have fans that have saved up and maybe this is their one vacation for the next few years.
"I'm very blessed. It's not very glamorous -- there are glamorous parts but it's a lot of hard work and a lot of responsibility. It takes a lot of dedication."
Martin, who will join Coon and Werner at Daytona in February as the Sprint Unlimited non-points race kicks off the 2014 season, said she's had initial discussions about what to expect in the coming year.
She knows the "shuffle" -- how best to make sure she's seen behind the driver in the Victory Lane shot -- and she's been warned about the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team, who Werner said "likes to douse you in Gatorade and make you all rainbow colored."
"But not really anything scary," Martin said, laughing. "I think it's an honor to have this job and it really is a dream job. We're on the road a lot ? you have to be thankful for that. Not everybody gets to have that experience.
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