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Tommy Joe Martins

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Tommy Joe Martins
Martins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2019
BornThomas Joseph Martins
(1986-12-07) December 7, 1986 (age 37)
Como, Mississippi
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
128 races run over 7 years
2022 position46th
Best finish20th (2020, 2021)
First race2014 Blue Jeans Go Green 200 (Phoenix)
Last race2022 Andy's Frozen Custard 300 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
28 races run over 4 years
2017 position91st
Best finish23rd (2016)
First race2009 AAA Insurance 200 (IRP)
Last race2017 JAG Metals 350 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of October 26, 2023.

Thomas Joseph Martins (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. He currently competes part-time in Asphalt Super Late Model competition, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing.

Racing career

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Martins racing at Road America in 2014

Martins began his racing career at the age of five in karting in his native Mississippi. After financial issues caused him to have to quit racing at 16, he attended the University of Mississippi seeking a degree in journalism. During his sophomore year, he resumed competition, driving in Sports Car Club of America-sanctioned events.[1]

Choosing to pursue a racing career, Martins joined Nashville-based Baker Curb Racing, then moved to family-owned Martins Motorsports to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, running five races between 2009 and 2011.[1] He had one truck and an old engine from Roush Racing.[2] After moving to the ARCA Racing Series on a limited basis, Martins returned to NASCAR in 2014, and planned to run the full Nationwide Series schedule.[3] However, the plans fell apart, and Martins did not race in 2015. In 2016, Martins purchased the owners points of Billy Boat Motorsports' No. 15 truck with plans to run the full 2016 Truck schedule.[4]

Martins ran his own No. 44 truck for the duration of the 2016 season. He ran 20 races, failed to qualify at Homestead-Miami Speedway and recorded a best finish of 15th at Michigan International Speedway;[5] however, he missed the Alpha Energy Solutions 200 at Martinsville Speedway after wrecking his truck in qualifying and his spot on the grid was taken by Austin Wayne Self.[6] He also maintained a blog throughout the 2016 season chronicling his journey that gained notoriety within the NASCAR community.[7] His largest blog post was about how the financial situation in NASCAR needed to change.[8]

For 2017, Martins paired up with another family team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, to split the 2017 schedule in the 44 truck.[9] At Daytona International Speedway, Martins was hired to drive the No. 99 Chevrolet for MDM Motorsports, where an early crash relegated him to last in the 32-truck field.[10] Martins would be in the No. 44 truck next week, finishing 23rd at Atlanta. On April 14, 2017, it was announced that Martins would return to the Xfinity Series, bringing his family team to compete for nine races in the No. 45 Chevy.[11] Despite initially planning to begin his schedule at Bristol Motor Speedway, the team withdrew from the weekend due to concern about rain canceling qualifying and preventing the team from attempting to make the race.[12] Martins stepped away from the Truck team to focus on Xfinity[13] and later moved to B. J. McLeod Motorsports to run a partial Xfinity schedule.[14]

After running Martins Motorsports in collaboration with AM Racing and Faith Motorsports in 2017,[15] Martins closed his Truck team and announced another partial Xfinity schedule with McLeod in 2018.[16] He ran over half the schedule with McLeod in 2018, continuing to bring awareness to the performance divide that underfunded teams face; he compared the Xfinity Series to a sports car race with different classes of cars, with Cup-affiliated teams as prototypes and small teams like BJMM in the Grand Touring division.[17]

Martins' 2019 Xfinity car at Atlanta Motor Speedway

With Vinnie Miller joining B. J. McLeod Motorsports for 2019 full-time, Martins said he will likely run fewer races than he did in 2018 for the team.[18] At New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, Martins announced that he would leave BJMM for MBM Motorsports after the New Hampshire race for a partial slate in the back half of the 2019 Xfinity Series season. He estimated his MBM schedule at about six races, including all four road course races, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. Citing more opportunities in the Xfinity Series and a chance to run in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with MBM, Martins implied that he held no ill feelings toward McLeod and instead thanked the team for the opportunities throughout his tenure with the team.[19] He ran his first race for MBM at Watkins Glen International, driving the No. 66.[20] On December 8, Martins announced he parted ways with MBM Motorsports.[21] Later in the month on December 24, Martins revealed Martins Motorsports' return for the 2020 Xfinity season as he intended to commit to a full-time schedule.[22]

After a slew of issues in the first half of the 2021 season, Martins claimed his first career Xfinity Series top-ten at Texas Motor Speedway in October.[23] On August 30, Martins confirmed a partnership with Caesar Bacarella to co-own Alpha Prime Racing, with Martins switching to a part-time schedule in 2022 to split the No. 44 with multiple drivers.[24]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

[edit]
NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2014 Martins Motorsports 76 Ford DAY PHO
35 		LVS
39 		IOW
36 		IND
DNQ 		IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX
 PHO HOM 35th 124 [25]
67 Dodge BRI
DNQ 		CAL
76 TEX
35 		DAR
30 		RCH
36 		TAL
14 		CLT
31 		DOV
35 		MCH
DNQ 		ROA
31 		KEN
DNQ 		DAY
DNQ 		NHA CHI
67 Ford MCH
38
2017 Martins Motorsports 45 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH
DNQ 		TAL CLT DOV 39th 90 [26]
B. J. McLeod Motorsports 78 Chevy POC
29 		MCH
28 		IOW
11 		DAY KEN NHA
29 		IND
26 		IOW
27 		GLN MOH BRI
33 		ROA DAR
31
8 RCH
29 		CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM
2018 DAY ATL
33 		LVS
25 		PHO
27 		CAL
24 		TEX BRI
26 		RCH
23 		CLT
24 		POC
25 		DAR
22 		PHO
35 		HOM
26 		31st 216 [27]
Toyota TAL
18 		DOV
78 Chevy MCH
24 		IOW
32 		CHI DAY KEN NHA
20 		IOW
21 		MOH
19 		BRI ROA IND
27 		LVS RCH CLT DOV KAN TEX
Toyota GLN
40
2019 99 DAY ATL
31 		LVS PHO
35 		CAL
20 		TEX
19 		BRI
26 		RCH TAL DOV
21 		CLT POC MCH
18 		IOW CHI
28 		DAY KEN NHA
25 		IOW 28th 206 [28]
MBM Motorsports 66 Toyota GLN
28 		MOH
18 		ROA
25 		IND
24
13 BRI
31 		DAR
35
61 LVS
25 		RCH CLT
35 		DOV KAN TEX PHO
17 		HOM
2020 Martins Motorsports 44 Chevy DAY
DNQ 		LVS
32 		CAL
18 		PHO
28 		DAR
26 		CLT
24 		BRI
23 		ATL
22 		HOM
31 		HOM
20 		TAL
15 		POC
30 		IND
35 		KEN
33 		KEN
27 		TEX
15 		KAN
18 		ROA
18 		DAY
13 		DOV
21 		DOV
15 		DAY
14 		DAR
26 		RCH
15 		RCH
26 		BRI
24 		LVS
22 		TAL
15 		CLT
27 		KAN
14 		TEX
10 		MAR
16 		PHO
34 		20th 481 [29]
2021 DAY
24 		DAY
24 		HOM
18 		LVS
15 		PHO
17 		ATL
18 		MAR
34 		TAL
11 		DAR
15 		DOV
20 		COA
35 		CLT
29 		MOH
39 		TEX
21 		NSH
20 		POC
20 		ROA
15 		ATL
16 		NHA
21 		GLN
19 		IND
21 		MCH
19 		DAY
18 		DAR
37 		RCH
37 		BRI
23 		LVS
14 		TAL
18 		CLT
33 		TEX
18 		KAN
23 		MAR
40 		PHO
24 		20th 497 [30]
2022 Alpha Prime Racing DAY
24 		CAL
31 		LVS PHO TEX
14 		TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO 46th 87 [31]
45 ATL
20 		COA RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR
17 		TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH GLN DAY
B. J. McLeod Motorsports 5 Chevy DAR
38 		KAN BRI

Camping World Truck Series

[edit]
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 NCWTC Pts Ref
2009 Martins Motorsports 44 Ford DAY CAL ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX MCH MLW MEM KEN IRP
22 		NSH
27 		BRI CHI
21 		IOW GTW
27 		NHA LVS MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 46th 361 [32]
2011 Martins Motorsports 42 Ram DAY PHO DAR MAR NSH DOV CLT KAN TEX KEN IOW NSH IRP
33 		POC MCH BRI ATL CHI NHA KEN LVS TAL MAR TEX HOM 77th 11 [33]
2016 Martins Motorsports 44 Chevy DAY
32 		ATL
25 		MAR
QL† 		KAN
32 		DOV
24 		CLT
25 		TEX
25 		IOW
30 		GTW
18 		KEN
26 		ELD POC
17 		BRI
31 		MCH
15 		MSP
19 		CHI
24 		NHA
21 		LVS
22 		TAL
16 		MAR
25 		TEX
31 		PHO
30 		HOM
DNQ 		23rd 176 [5]
2017 MDM Motorsports 99 Chevy DAY
32 		91st 01 [34]
Martins Motorsports 44 Chevy ATL
23 		MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW IOW KEN ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR
42 TEX
32 		PHO HOM
† – Qualified but replaced by Austin Wayne Self.

ARCA Racing Series

[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ARSC Pts Ref
2010 Tommy Joe Martins Racing 95 Ford DAY
8 		PBE SLM TEX TAL TOL POC MCH IOW MFD POC BLN NJE ISF CHI DSF TOL SLM KAN CAR 90th 190 [35]
2011 Martins Motorsports 42 Dodge DAY
14 		TAL SLM TOL NJE CHI POC MCH WIN BLN IOW IRP POC ISF MAD DSF SLM KAN TOL 112th 160 [36]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
2 Martins started the 2017 season running for Truck Series points, but switched to the Xfinity Series starting at Richmond in April.

References

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  1. ^ a b Petro, Camal. "Ole Miss student Tommy Joe Martins takes to the racetrack Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine". August 29, 2011. Oxford, MS: The Daily Mississippian. Accessed 2014-02-11.
  2. ^ Ryan, Nate (2018-04-10). "Ep. 132: Tommy Joe Martins from NASCAR on NBC podcast". www.stitcher.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  3. ^ "Nashville team plans to race in NASCAR's Nationwide Series". January 19, 2014. Nashville, TN: The Tennessean. Accessed 2014-02-11.
  4. ^ Knight, Chris (January 21, 2016). "Tommy Joe Martins Returns To NASCAR With New Team". Catchfence. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Tommy Joe Martins – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Austin Wayne Self Turns Second Chance into NCWTS Career Best Finish | Austin Wayne Self". Austin Wayne Self. 5 April 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  7. ^ Crandall, Kelly (2016-07-14). "Tommy Joe Martins providing unique perspective in blog". NASCAR Talk. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  8. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins is Speaking Up – And NASCAR Needs to Listen – Motor Racing Digest". Motor Racing Digest. 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  9. ^ Bearden, Aaron (2017-02-13). "Brandonbilt Motorsports, Martins Motorsports Combine For Select 2017 Races". Kickin' The Tires. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  10. ^ Beard, Brock (2017-02-26). "TRUCKS: Tommy Joe Martins left with second-straight Daytona last-place finish". LASTCAR. Blogger. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  11. ^ Long, Dustin (April 14, 2017). "Tommy Joe Martins moving from Truck to Xfinity Series". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  12. ^ "Jayski.com: Martins Motorsports Returns to NASCAR XFINITY Series". Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  13. ^ "Fantasy Sports Breaking News - Rotoworld.com". www.rotoworld.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  14. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins driving the #78 at Pocono". ESPN. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  15. ^ Beard, Brock (2017-11-05). "TRUCKS: Hard-luck Tommy Joe Martins' weekend a tale of two trucks". LASTCAR. Blogger. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  16. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins closes Truck team, to focus on Xfinity Series in 2018". NASCAR Talk. 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  17. ^ Gregory, Allen (14 April 2018). "martins wants fans to know the whole story". Bristol Herald Courier. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  18. ^ "#PETM164 – Tommy's Got a Gun!". PETMpodcast.com. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  19. ^ Nolen, Bryan (20 July 2019). "Tommy Joe Martins Leaving BJ McLeod Motorsports to Join MBM Motorsports". Frontstretch. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  20. ^ Page, Scott (July 24, 2019). "Tommy Joe Martins moving to MBM for remainder of 2019 UPDATE". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  21. ^ Brooks, Amanda (December 8, 2019). "Martins, MBM part ways". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  22. ^ "Martins Motorsports Returning To NASCAR Competition". Speed Sport. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  23. ^ Beard, Brock (October 29, 2020). "XFINITY: Timmy Hill sets up LASTCAR battle with Stephen Leicht; Brown, Vargas, Martins, and Currey enjoy career-best runs". LASTCAR.info. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  24. ^ Albino, Dustin (October 21, 2020). "Eyes on Xfinity: Tommy Joe Martins Focused on Building Martins Motorsports". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  25. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  26. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  27. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  28. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  29. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  30. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  31. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  32. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  33. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  34. ^ "Tommy Joe Martins – 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  35. ^ "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2010 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  36. ^ "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2011 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
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