NHRA: Martino hopes to help an old friend go out in style
10 November 2000
CENTURY 21 Racing Team aims to close out 2000 season on a high note at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals Parsippany, N.J., November 7, 2000 - This weekend the 2000 NHRA Winston Drag Racing season will come to a close with the running of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway. For Tom Martino and the Century 21 Racing Team, the event will also mark the end of an era, as they will be switching to the brand-new Pontiac Grand Am for the 2001 campaign, replacing the Firebird bodystyle the Martino team has used exclusively throughout their Pro Stock existence. Although Martino is looking forward to his new ride, his immediate priority is to give his old and trusted companion a proper sendoff. "We're excited about next year, but it's naturally going to take a little getting used to," said Martino. "After all, every Pro Stock run I have ever made has been in a Firebird. But the Grand Am is our future, and we'll have plenty of time to worry about It during the winter. Right now, we are completely focused on our CENTURY 21 Firebird. The way we see it, we have one last chance in Pomona to add to our record with this bodystyle, and our goal is to get our fourth national event win." However, Martino's motivation is based in much more than sentimental feelings for his hot rod. Entering this final race, the New Jersey native stands a single excruciating point away from a coveted Top Ten finish in the season's points standings, a deficit that the entire crew is resolved to make up. In addition, Martino is looking to extend a streak that has seen him reach at least one final round in each of his five years of professional competition. But most of all, the Martino team is determined to make a return trip to the winner's circle, knowing that with a victory everything else would fall into place. For the CENTURY 21 team to have realistic aspirations of challenging for the win, however, they must first get a firm handle on their racecar. After a strong debut last fall that included semi-final and final round finishes, this current chassis has bedeviled the Martino crew, as they battled to find the right combination to extract the maximum performance. Following some encouraging signs in the last few races, Martino is cautiously optimistic about his chances in the season finale. "This year has certainly been a challenge," explained Martino. "After testing well in the off-season and winning the Pro Stock Super Bowl (a pre-season event in Houston), we came in with extremely high expectations. But following a strong run in the Winternationals, the car just seemed to throw us a curve, and we've just haven't had the consistency we needed to win. We've qualified for more races than we ever have, but elimination round wins have been very hard to come by. "That is why, even though this is our last race with this particular CENTURY 21 Firebird, it's important that we have a strong showing at the Finals. The easiest way to explain it is that a lot of good things would come out of our winning in Pomona, including making the off-season and all the long hours we'll spend getting our CENTURY 21 Grand Am ready a lot easier to handle." Century 21 Real Estate Corporation (www.century21.com) is the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, providing comprehensive training, management, administrative and marketing support for the CENTURY 21Ò System. The System is comprised of more than 6,300 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in more than 28 countries and territories worldwide. CENTURY 21 Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD) and is part of the move.com family of relocation, real estate and home-related service companies. MARTINO MOMENTS: This will be Tom Martino's tenth Pro Stock appearance at Pomona Raceway…. Martino's best qualifying performance to date in Pomona came at this event a year ago, when he slotted 2nd for final eliminations…. Martino aims to improve upon his previous best NHRA Finals performance, which was a runner-up finish in 1997… Martino is looking to move up from his current 11th spot in the Winston Points Standings. Fast Facts WHAT: 36th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, the final event on the 23-race 2000 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series Schedule. WHEN: November 9 - 12, 2000 WHERE: Pomona Raceway, Pomona, California SCHEDULE: Professional qualifying begins with one session on Thursday, November 9 and Friday, November 10 at 1:45 p.m. and concludes with two rounds on Saturday, November 11 at 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Final eliminations begin at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 12. TV: ESPN2 will have three shows from Pomona on Sunday, November 12, starting with one hour of qualifying coverage at 1:30 a.m., and followed by an additional hour of early round coverage at 6:00 p.m. and conclude with two hours of semi-final and final eliminations highlights from 10:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. (Times given are Eastern. As always, please consult your local listings)