IHRA Harold Martin Pre Race: Martin is Set for a
Successful Defense of his Milan Home Turf
Contact: Jon G. Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing
Phone: (704) 662-3121
jgknapp@tmgsports.net
Team ACDelco
IHRA Race Preview
Harold Martin, Owner/Driver
ACDelco Pro Modified Pontiac
Event: IHRA Suzuki Motor City Nationals
Location: Milan Dragway
Milan, MI
Dates: August 24-26, 2007
Harold Martin is Set for a Successful Defense of his Milan Home Turf
Located less than an hour's drive from his state-of-the-art facility in
New Hudson, Milan Dragway is a second home to native son Harold Martin
and the ACDelco Pro Modified Pontiac Racing team. As such, it serves as
their primary test track throughout the year, with the hard-working crew
logging numerous runs in their never-ending search for speed.
However, while acknowledging the benefit of racing in front of their
fellow Michiganders, as the Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series makes
its way back to the Great Lakes State for this weekend's IHRA Suzuki
Motor City Nationals, the EFI Wizard is quick to dispel any notion of a
home field advantage - with one slight exception.
"Milan Dragway is home sweet home for our ACDelco Pontiac team," said
Martin. "I won at that racetrack early in my career, and have
experienced success in the national events held there, and nothing would
be sweeter than to build on that this weekend.
"Although we're on familiar turf, when the national event comes to town,
there is an entirely different team that is prepping that racetrack with
a different chemical, producing a different surface from the one we test
on. Therefore, we reference the notes from previous tracks we've run on
in similar conditions as well as prior IHRA national events in Milan.
"On the other hand, we are at home, so we know the back roads into the
racetrack, which we're looking forward to leveraging this weekend, as we
know the crowds will be stacking up at the normal entrances. That is
the true extent of our advantage this weekend."
Bolstering the team's confidence heading into their home race is their
improved performance in recent weeks. Despite recent rule changes that
forced a radical change in the team's tune-up, the Martin-led crew has
held their own, combining a tireless, positive attitude with a
competitive and consistent race car to overcome the challenges put
before them.
"We were very pleased to get some of our competitive performance back at
the last race," said Martin. "I can't say enough about my ACDelco team,
and how hard everyone has worked to readjust to the new fuel,
reconfiguring our entire engine program to adapt to it.
"We're now trying to combine that success with a repeatable race car, so
we think this weekend could be fun. We know that we can win in Milan -
it's just a matter of digging in and lining up all of those ducks to
make it happen, which is what we are committed to doing.
"As we travel the circuit throughout the year, we know we have a lot of
great fans, but nothing can compare to having our home state Michigan
fans cheering for us. Nothing would be better than to allow the hard
work and this team's great attitude to put us in the winner's circle, so
we could share our success with all of them."
For more information on Harold Martin, ACDelco, or the ACDelco/Harold
Martin "Pros Who Know" Scholarship program, please visit
www.acdelco.com.
Notes on Harold Martin and the ACDelco Pontiac Racing Team entering
the IHRA Suzuki Motor City Nationals:
Harold is right at home in Milan: In his last four IHRA national events
at Milan Dragway, Harold Martin has two starts in the top half of the
field including the No. 1 qualifying position in 2005. He has been
equally solid in eliminations, with a quarterfinal and semi-final finish
as well as a runner-up performance in 2005.
Event Schedule:
Qualifying:
Friday, August 24: One round at
6:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 25: Two rounds at
12:00 noon & 6:30 p.m.
Final Eliminations:
Sunday, August 26: Pre-race
ceremonies start at 10:20 a.m.
First round of eliminations at 10:30 a.m.
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