Off-week, On-week: Martin heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway’s Championship Weekend after a week off from competition. After a qualifying effort placed him 34th on his second grid in NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway, the bayou native battled back from handling issues all day for a 30th place finish. This week, the only current Louisiana driver in any of NASCAR’s elite three series hopes to continue to build track skills as he finishes his three-race debut of 2012; but also have a learning experience going into his bid for NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2013.
Saddled Up After Learning Experience at Texas Motor Speedway: After loose conditions relegated Martin to 34th position in qualifying, the driver battled the same woes throughout the race. “We did our best trying to dial it in, but getting out of pit sequence, it was hard to fight back. Lots of great lessons for our intermediate track program going into 2013.”
Give it an ECO…Boost? This week, Martin will make appearances on behalf of Homestead-Miami Speedway, at both the pit boxes and the Speedway’s famed Champions Club. “It’s great to be an ambassador to the sport already, and I’m excited to represent the NASCAR Nationwide Series to local fans and dignitaries. It’s the great part of being new and learning all of the folks at the track.”
Restoring the Louisiana Coastline Matches Hurricane Sandy Restoration: RestoreOrRetreat.org raises awareness for the erosion crisis along the Louisiana coastline – one of the busiest shipping & oil drilling hubs in the USA – & will be Martin’s charitable focus in NASCAR. His “Waterway Ridealong” this race is the Terrebonne Basin. Thursday through Saturday, Hal Martin Racing will donate $1 for Twitter retweets of specific coastline-related tweets & this precious ecosystem – with the use of hashtag #SaveLACoast. Restoration issues are at the forefront of conversation this week, as Hurricane Sandy ravaged the east and northeast coasts of the country.
Chassis History:The American Custom Yachts team from TriStar Motorsports has prepared chassis No. 108 for competition at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This chassis was last used at Texas Motor Speedway by TriStar Motorsports in 2012.
Hal Martin on Homestead-Miami Speedway
You finished 30th in Texas, any key learnings there that you’re bringing to Homestead-Miami?
The main thing I learned in Texas that I am carrying onto Homestead and beyond is to be more patient early in these races. The races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series are much longer than anything I have raced before. I need to stay patient early on.
Word on the street with Sprint Cup drivers is, “your enthusiasm is contagious.” What do you make of it? I am and have always been an enthusiastic and upbeat person. The way I look at it is that I have been working my entire life to get to this point in my racing career, and I will enjoy it and work hard to continue further. I’m just grateful to learn and be among the best of the best right now.
You have some pretty cool product partners. First, yachts…now coolers that double as “booming” speakers? My partners in racing are both unique and “Kool”. KoolBoom radio coolers were a big hit in Texas. This is a product I personally use often for outdoor events. I am very excited to have great partners onboard with me in the Nationwide Series.
Any major plans working up to 2013? Stay tuned for some exciting announcements for 2013. We will be announcing our 2013 partners in the next couple months. Needless to say, NASCAR will be exposed to Louisiana heritage. “Laissez le Bon temps roule!”
Hal Martin PR
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