IHRA Harold Martin Pre Race

Team ACDelco

IHRA Race Preview

Harold Martin, Owner/Driver

ACDelco Pro Modified Pontiac


 

Event:   Amalie Oil Texas Nationals 

Location:  San Antonio Raceway

       San Antonio, TX

Dates:  March 24 - 26, 2006

 

A Well-Engineered Off Season has Martin & ACDelco Crew Ready to Open
their Pursuit of the 2006 IHRA Championship

 

The eMax Drag Racing Series kicks off its 2006 season this weekend with
the running of the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals in San Antonio, Texas.
Although it has been over five months since the stars of the
International Hot Rod Association's (IHRA) Pro Modified division have
squared off in national event competition, Harold Martin and his ACDelco
Pontiac Racing team have been far from idle.

 

After spending time at their shop in New Hudson, MI developing and
incorporating new technologies into their race program, Martin took to
the track, testing to confirm the potential of the new package, as well
as developing important tuning information.  Finally, a pair of
successful outings in another series' events (including a win)
fine-tuned the team's competitive skills.

 

With the entire organization fully prepared for the six-month,
eleven-race title chase that lies ahead, Martin heads into the Lone Star
State ready to take the first step in claiming this year's Pro Modified
championship.  

 

"There truly was no off-season, as we have been going non-stop since
October," said Martin.  "We went from running our ACDelco Pro Mod
Pontiac on the IHRA racetracks to an extensive research and development
program at our shop, advancing new technologies, which we tested on
various tracks throughout the winter.  At the same time, we participated
at numerous ACDelco events around the country.  

 

"For example, we made several appearances throughout Texas in advance of
this weekend's event.  Two were on behalf of the Arnold Oil Company, who
has quite a few distributors for ACDelco parts throughout the state.
The entire team was on hand as part of the grand opening of their new
location in Corpus Christi as well as a visit to their store in
Victoria, giving us numerous opportunities to interact with their
customers.

 

"In addition, I had the pleasure of being the keynote speaker at St.
Phillip's College here in San Antonio, which has become somewhat of an
annual tradition.  For the fourth consecutive year, I had the pleasure
of speaking with some extremely bright students, some of whom I have
seen progress from their freshman through senior years.   It's a great
feeling to be thought of as their mentor, and to see how they have
stayed in school.

 

"However, our focus will now turn towards this weekend's race.  We have
laid out both a short- and a long-term plan to accomplish our goal,
using a strategic approach, preferring to make incremental goals on a
solid foundation instead of deriving something by simply swinging for
the fences.  We have learned a lot, and now it is a question of getting
it out into the racing element, validating it against our desired
performance level.

 

"This weekend will be a great indicator.  The challenge we face in the
Pro Modified ranks is comparing your performance to those with a set-up
similar to yours.  Although our ACDelco Pontiac is unique in its use of
electronic fuel injection and other technologies, we can see how we
stack up against other nitrous cars.  Ultimately, we want to be at the
top of the class, gaining the measure of all of our competitors,
including the supercharged cars, which, as everyone admits, is currently
the superior package.  We may have our homework cut out for us, but
we're definitely up to the task."

 

Adding to Martin's optimism heading into the IHRA season-opener is his
prior success at San Antonio Raceway, site of this weekend's event.
After a Friday night qualifying incident threatened to cut their weekend
short in 2004, the Martin Motorsports crew worked throughout the night
to effect repairs.  Their efforts were rewarded when Martin qualified
second and defeated an all-star line-up en route to the runner-up
finish, propelling the former GM engineer to a career season.  This
year, he looks to improve his standing from that memorable performance
by one position, naturally without the added complications.

 

"There is a belief that some race cars just do not run fast until they
have a few battle scars, which seems to be the case with our ACDelco
Pontiac at San Antonio Raceway," opined Martin.  "After the major
incident in 2004 which saw us contact the wall and then rebound to
qualify second and advance all the way to the final, we came back last
year to have the car pull out of the groove and hit a timing cone,
tearing up the front end, and negating what would have been an awesome
pass.  This year, we hoping to prove that we can take advantage of the
performance potential to go some rounds and hopefully win the race
without incurring battle damage."

 

Finally, fans arriving at the San Antonio quarter-mile will see a new
look in the Martin pit area.  Although the "EFI Wizard's" revolutionary
ACDelco Pontiac Pro Mod remains visually unchanged, the team's massive
transporter will carry completely new graphics.  In addition, there will
be a fresh new look in the team's pit area, emphasizing the professional
image of these ultimate Real Car Guys.

 

"The entire ACDelco crew is excited about our new look, but the true
measure is the tremendous response it received from the Texas-based fans
during our appearances earlier in the week," stated Martin.  "They
appreciated it, and were pleased to be able to see it.  I think the rest
of the fans around the country will give it a similar reception."

 

Notes on Harold Martin and the ACDelco Pontiac Racing Team entering

the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals presented by Ancira Cars, Trucks and RVs
and the San Antonio Express News:

 

Harold's Record at San Antonio Raceway:  This will be Harold's fourth
appearance at San Antonio Raceway, where he has one final-round
appearance and two starts in the top half of the field.

 

Top Ten Streak: Harold is looking to extend a streak that has seen him
post a Top Ten finish in the IHRA Pro Modified Championship standings
for four consecutive years.

 

Event Schedule: 

 

            Qualifying:

                        Friday, March 24:                   Two rounds
at 3:00 & 6:45 p.m.

                        Saturday, March 25:                Two rounds at
3:00 & 7:00 p.m.

 

            Final Eliminations:

                        Sunday, March 26:                  Pre-race
ceremonies start at 12:15 p.m.

 
First round of eliminations at 12:30 p.m.