MARK MARTINO: FINDING HIS PLACE IN IHRA PRO STOCK
Mon, 2009-06-01 22:33
Don’t know the name Mark Martino?
You soon will.
The 30-year-old driver from Stoney Creek, Ontario is a rising force in the IHRA Elite Motorsports Pro Stock ranks and has a mission to be the next star in the always tough Mountain Motor Pro Stock class.
“It is an awesome class and I am excited to be a part of it. I have always loved Pro Stock. Going up against teams like Berner, Goforth, Montecalvo and those guys who have been around for a long time is a challenge, but I think we are up to the task,” Martino said.
But prior to the season opener in Baton Rouge earlier this year, no one had heard the name Martino. Don’t know the name Mark Martino?
You soon will.
The 30-year-old driver from Stoney Creek, Ontario is a rising force in the IHRA Elite Motorsports Pro Stock ranks and has a mission to be the next star in the always tough Mountain Motor Pro Stock class.
“It is an awesome class and I am excited to be a part of it. I have always loved Pro Stock. Going up against teams like Berner, Goforth, Montecalvo and those guys who have been around for a long time is a challenge, but I think we are up to the task,” Martino said.
But prior to the season opener in Baton Rouge earlier this year, no one had heard the name Martino.
Martino got his start racing in his hometown, which is just a few miles down the road from Toronto Motorsports Park. He began racing in an outlaw class out of his home track and slowly progressed his way through the door car ranks all the way to Elite Motorsports Pro Stock last year.
“I started in 1999 driving a Mustang with a small-block and through the years progressed and got faster,” Martino said. “First time out we were racing in the 9.20s and finally with the small-block we got to the 8s then we moved to a big-block with NHRA 500 inch heads on it and got that to go in the 7.30s.
“At that point we were debating whether to stay outlaw or not so I bought John Konigshofer’s Mountain Motor to put in my car and we just said screw it so we bought Chuck DeMory’s car last year and started IHRA Pro Stock.”
With the car in hand, Martino and his father Tony began working on the car in preparation for its IHRA debut at the Mardi Gras Nationals in March.
And what a debut it was.
Martino qualified fourth and made it all the way to the semis with wins over Bob Bertsch and Cale Aronson before finally falling in the semi-final round to eventual winner Jason Collins. The following month Martino qualified 10th in a loaded field, but fell out of the running early when Dean Goforth eliminated him in the first round.
With that strong start, Martino currently sits sixth in the standings, just 85 points back of points lead Cary Goforth.
“We weren’t sure how far we were going to race this year. We went to Baton Rouge and then we went to Rockingham and now Dallas and we are just excited about the whole deal,” Martino said. “We are going to try and run all the races and after Tulsa obviously we get a lot closer to home which is nice. We are glad to be in Dallas this week. It is a top notch facility.”
Following the race this weekend, Martino will once again make the 24 hour trip back to Canada before doing it all over again in two weeks for the Sooner Nationals at Tulsa Raceway Park.
And for a team with limited funds and limited personnel, that isn’t always an easy thing to do. But when you love the sport as much as Martino, that makes the long trips to and from the track much easier to bear.
“It is just me, my dad and a couple others out here so it is definitely a challenge,” Martino said. “You have to be nuts to do this, but we love every second of it.”
You soon will.
The 30-year-old driver from Stoney Creek, Ontario is a rising force in the IHRA Elite Motorsports Pro Stock ranks and has a mission to be the next star in the always tough Mountain Motor Pro Stock class.
“It is an awesome class and I am excited to be a part of it. I have always loved Pro Stock. Going up against teams like Berner, Goforth, Montecalvo and those guys who have been around for a long time is a challenge, but I think we are up to the task,” Martino said.
But prior to the season opener in Baton Rouge earlier this year, no one had heard the name Martino. Don’t know the name Mark Martino?
You soon will.
The 30-year-old driver from Stoney Creek, Ontario is a rising force in the IHRA Elite Motorsports Pro Stock ranks and has a mission to be the next star in the always tough Mountain Motor Pro Stock class.
“It is an awesome class and I am excited to be a part of it. I have always loved Pro Stock. Going up against teams like Berner, Goforth, Montecalvo and those guys who have been around for a long time is a challenge, but I think we are up to the task,” Martino said.
But prior to the season opener in Baton Rouge earlier this year, no one had heard the name Martino.
Martino got his start racing in his hometown, which is just a few miles down the road from Toronto Motorsports Park. He began racing in an outlaw class out of his home track and slowly progressed his way through the door car ranks all the way to Elite Motorsports Pro Stock last year.
“I started in 1999 driving a Mustang with a small-block and through the years progressed and got faster,” Martino said. “First time out we were racing in the 9.20s and finally with the small-block we got to the 8s then we moved to a big-block with NHRA 500 inch heads on it and got that to go in the 7.30s.
“At that point we were debating whether to stay outlaw or not so I bought John Konigshofer’s Mountain Motor to put in my car and we just said screw it so we bought Chuck DeMory’s car last year and started IHRA Pro Stock.”
With the car in hand, Martino and his father Tony began working on the car in preparation for its IHRA debut at the Mardi Gras Nationals in March.
And what a debut it was.
Martino qualified fourth and made it all the way to the semis with wins over Bob Bertsch and Cale Aronson before finally falling in the semi-final round to eventual winner Jason Collins. The following month Martino qualified 10th in a loaded field, but fell out of the running early when Dean Goforth eliminated him in the first round.
With that strong start, Martino currently sits sixth in the standings, just 85 points back of points lead Cary Goforth.
“We weren’t sure how far we were going to race this year. We went to Baton Rouge and then we went to Rockingham and now Dallas and we are just excited about the whole deal,” Martino said. “We are going to try and run all the races and after Tulsa obviously we get a lot closer to home which is nice. We are glad to be in Dallas this week. It is a top notch facility.”
Following the race this weekend, Martino will once again make the 24 hour trip back to Canada before doing it all over again in two weeks for the Sooner Nationals at Tulsa Raceway Park.
And for a team with limited funds and limited personnel, that isn’t always an easy thing to do. But when you love the sport as much as Martino, that makes the long trips to and from the track much easier to bear.
“It is just me, my dad and a couple others out here so it is definitely a challenge,” Martino said. “You have to be nuts to do this, but we love every second of it.”
Advertisement
Categories:
