Father of NASCAR driver Mark Martin killed in plane crash

Monday, Aug. 10, 1998 | 10:23 a.m.

White Pine County Sheriff Bernie Romero said the twin-engine Piper went down around noon Saturday outside Great Basin National Park, in the foothills of 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak.

"It caught the forest on fire," Romero said, adding that U.S. Bureau of Land Management fire crews were on the scene within a half hour and discovered the wreckage.

The crash was also reported by military aircraft in the area, he said.

Julian Martin was piloting the plane when it went down, Romero said. Also killed were his wife, Shelley, and their 11-year-old daughter, Sarah.

There were no other passengers.

Mark Martin, 39, was told of the deaths after finishing second in the Bud at the Glen Winston Cup race Sunday at Watkins Glen, N.Y..

Romero said he did not know where the plane had taken off or where the family was flying to.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

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