IHRA Harold Martin Is Ready
to Park his New Car in the Winner's Circle
Event: Fifth Annual ACDelco Nationals, the third event on the 12-race,
2005 IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series.
Location: Virginia Motorsports Park
Dinwiddie, VA
Dates: May 27 & 28, 2005
Harold Martin had the most successful season of his Pro Modified career
in 2004, winning his first national event and finishing third in the
Hooters Drag Racing Series Championship Standings. Energized by his
second consecutive Top Five finish, this second-generation racer geared
up for another title fight in 2005 by purchasing a new ACDelco Pontiac
Pro Mod.
As to be expected from a competitor who specializes in the latest in
automotive technology, this most recent addition to the Martin
Motorsports arsenal features an evolutionary design, incorporating
lessons the team learned during the three years with their previous race
car. After determining its performance envelope during successful
off-season testing and the first two races of the season, the "EFI
Wizard" feels his new ride is ready to shine at this weekend's ACDelco
Nationals in Richmond, VA.
"It is always a benefit to surround yourself with new tubing," said
Martin. "With the stress loads that our powertrain puts out, it
definitely puts a great demand on the chassis. Therefore, any time you
can upgrade and overcome some of the losses it has seen during its life
cycle is an asset.
"In addition, we are constantly challenged to come up with incremental
design changes to help us harness the acceleration and wheel speed that
our race program develops. Therefore, we have incorporated several
features in this new race car pertaining to the weight percentage and
structural design of the chassis to help improve our performance.
"What this new car has allowed us to realize is the numerous
enhancements we had installed in the old car. It was quite interesting
to lay out our history with the previous edition, and decide what we
wanted to carry through to the new ACDelco Pontiac.
"Our experience exemplifies the tremendous amount of technological
advances that have been made in racing over the last few years. Years
ago, the challenges were within the tuning side of the chassis. You
would work tirelessly on the four-link, the shocks and other suspension
components. Today, those efforts are joined by similar work in the area
of structural design, with as many changes there as we see in the
four-link bars.
"We have been very impressed by the fact that many of the things we were
trying to achieve with this new car showed up in its very first outing.
Although we realize it will not fix everything on our to do list, it has
definitely stepped up our performance. We are also constantly
challenged to determine this new Pontiac's tuning window under the
various conditions we will encounter throughout the year.
"If there is one thing that has stayed consistent in both cars, as well
as all the cars in our stable, it is the utilization of proven ACDelco
parts. One of our strategies is to bridge proven technology, so while
we expanded the design envelope in this new race car, we have also
included components that have historically been up to the task, many of
which are ACDelco.
"So far, it has shown itself to be a good race car, with the potential
to be even better. It's up to us to continue racing, learning what it
needs as we go along, and fine-tune it as necessary. That limited
experience is one of the liabilities of a new race car. Fortunately, we
have extensive notes for all the tracks we will race on, and in fact, we
limited the number of changes in the new car to make sure we could rely
on our old data to keep us near the top of the page. Boosted by the
additional knowledge provided on every run, our performance continues to
improve, and we are looking for good things this weekend in Richmond."
2. Michigander Martin should have the crowd on his side in Virginia
Virginia Motorsports Park is located in Dinwiddie, VA, a suburb of the
capital city of Richmond. As such, it is approximately seven hundred
miles from VMP to Harold Martin's race shop in New Hudson, MI.
However, there will be little doubt that Martin and his entire ACDelco
Racing team will be the crowd favorites.
"Although you can never really predict what is going to happen with the
weather, Virginia Motorsports Park characteristically has a high
barometer, and potentially some very favorable weather conditions. In
addition, once it is prepared properly for a national event, the track
should be very good. The challenge will come from everything being
compressed into a two-day event, which will give the crew chiefs fits,
because you know the conditions will not sustain themselves for any
period of time.
"Fortunately, our new race car program was designed to help us in this
type of circumstance, particularly under cooler conditions, which we may
see this weekend. Therefore, we will arrive in Virginia feeling better
prepared should it go from warm to cool, giving us a firm direction in
which to take our ACDelco Pontiac.
"As for this being our sponsor's event, I've always been a person who
thrives on pressure, so I truly look forward to the two ACDelco races.
This race is an opportunity for me to be amongst not just our sponsors,
but also our friends and fans who help this all happen. I see this as
an extension of a family reunion. I look forward to seeing them,
spending time with them and in general having a good time.
'Naturally, we will be there doing our normal routine, which is to race
strong while at the same time reaching out and touching people.
Hopefully, we will be able to reward all those who come out to support
us by giving them a ride into the winner's circle."
Harold Martin Fast Facts:
* Career best elapsed time: 6.183 seconds, Indianapolis, IN 9/04
* Career best top speed: 230.13 mph, Indianapolis, IN 9/04
* Currently seventh in the 2005 IHRA Pro Modified Championship
Standings, and fourth in the 2005 Pro Modified Shootout Standings
* Won his first IHRA Pro Modified national event on July 4, 2004
at the Western RV Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
* Finished a career-best third in the 2004 Hooters Drag Racing
Series Pro Modified Championship Standings
* Nicknamed the "EFI Wizard" for his expertise with electronic
fuel injection, including the revolutionary system in his ACDelco Pro
Mod Grand Am, which he designed.
* Former GM engineer and holder of 10 worldwide patents
Event Schedule:
Friday, May 27 - Two qualifying sessions at 2:00 & 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 28 - One qualifying session at 11:00 a.m.,
followed by the first round of
eliminations at 4:00 p.m.
