Back to back nights of racing at Irwindale Speedway led to two second place finishes for Thomas Martin. For the second time in the past two seasons, Martin and crew have competed in the “Toyota All-Star Showdown” aired live on Speed Channel. With three winners in the first three years and many “showdown” graduates racing in the top 3 divisions, this is the event all drivers want to showcase their talent and prove they can compete against the best of the best!
Friday evening had Martin starting on the outside of row three in the sixth position. As the green flag flew, Kevin Vernon and Southeast driver Ryan Lawler got together on the start and the field scattered going into turn one and Martin found himself in the 8th position that fast. With one quick caution on lap two, Martin was already in the 4th position and two more laps after the green Martin quickly and easily moved himself into the second position. This second heat was rather uneventful as Martin followed Lawler to the finish for the second consecutive year of a fourth place starting spot in premier show on Saturday. The highlight of Friday night was Martin had the fastest lap of the qualifiers on lap 9.
Saturday evening was for all the glory and the excitement in the air was evident! A large crowd and a field of beautiful cars was about to go green with Southwest driver Eddie McKean and Ryan Lawler leading them to the start. The bottom row jumped to the lead with McKean, Pettit, Michels all getting the jump as Tim Schendel got to the bottom as well with Martin stuck behind Lawler. Lap three Martin had cleared Lawler and was even with Schendel when Michels brought out the first caution as he lost control of the rearend of his machine while trying to make a move for the lead. The restart had Mckean and Pettit battling for the lead as Schendel moved to the inside of Pettit for second and Martin followed for third. By lap 35 Martin had followed Schendel to the lead and was just pacing the 21 car in his tire tracks. One restart Martin pulled along side Schendel for the lead for three laps but pulled back to the outside to follow and he radioed his crew, “I would rather follow Tim for now. He is setting a fast pace.” The 75 lap caution came with Martin following Schendel to the stripe and 10 minutes of working on the car to try to give the #28 Strictly Toy-ondas, Rockett Race fuel, Racing for the Missing Chevrolet a little more grip off the corner for the end of the next 50. There was plenty of excitement in the pits as Martin’s best lap and last lap were both within a tenth of a second to the leader Schendels lap times. As The 28 machine pulled off pit road, a huge vibration accrued in the front suspension that would shake the steering wheel. After the race the crew found the left front wheel was bent and cutting into the hiem of the steering arm. Martin fell to 3rd place during the next 50 lap run with a car that was just a little to tight in the center of the corner, but was not disappointed on the radio. The end of the showdown brought a ration of cautions as well as a few restarts for the finishing order to be jumbled. As long as there was a restart Martin liked his chances for a win. The 125 lap event needs to end under green flag racing and because of that the race went into overtime. The lap 128 restart had Schendel holding the lead and 2nd place 36 car of Dan Fredrickson tried to move in on the 21 car. Martin, Holmes and Pettit all fanned out on the track for position on the final two laps. The last corner had Fredrickson drive high, and Martin dive low. Martin would clear the 36 car and slide up in front coming out of turn 4 as Fredrickson would cross over and pull alongside Martin on the bottom to the stripe. Tim Schendel came across the finish with the win, Martin came home second by .009 seconds over Fredrickson. Holmes and Pettit rounded out the top 5.
With the NASCAR Elite divisions coming to an end in its final season, many teams and drivers are wondering what they will be doing for next season. Martin is also one of them. Without a budget able to compete in the upper divisions, the 2007 season is looking dim. If anyone has any information and would like to be part of Thomas Martin or Martin Motorsports go to www.martinracing.com or send an e-mail to Thomas@martinracing.com
Martin Motorsports would also like to personally thank Darrell Lamoure and Jim Pettit for putting together the “Racing for the Missing” program in the Toyota All-Star Showdown. They have worked hard the past couple years on this program and it was great to see how many people gave hope to the families that are so much less fortunate that we are.. There are many adults that were profile on the hoods but if your in the state of Texas, Kristen Charbonneau has been missing for just over a year. She’s 26 years old and if you have any information contact the Euless police at (817) 685 1538
