Hal Martin (born December 29, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver who has competed in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Truck Series, and the ARCA Racing Series.

Hal Martin
NationalityUnited States American
BornHal Martin
(1985-12-29) December 29, 1985 (age 38)
Galliano, Louisiana
ARCA Racing Series career
Debut season2009
Former teamsCunningham Motorsports, Mark Gibson Racing, Venturini Motorsports
Starts12
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish48th in 2011
Finished last season48th (2011)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
17 races run over 3 years
2014 position60th
Best finish35th (2013)
First race2012 Kansas Lottery 300 (Kansas)
Last race2014 U.S. Cellular 250 (Iowa)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish94th (2009)
First race2009 MemphisTravel.com 200 (Memphis)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Last updated on: June 15, 2020.

He earned the nickname The Ragin' Cajun due to being from Louisiana.[1]

Racing career

edit

Early career

edit

Martin began his racing career when he was 15 years old, racing 80cc and 125cc shifter karts, racing around the Gulf Coast of the United States and winning the 2004 Louisiana State 80cc Shifter Kart Championship. He then went to several driving schools to improve his driving skills as he prepared to move up to full-bodied stock cars, including the Buck Baker Racing School and Andy Hillenburg's Fast Track High Performance Driving School in Rockingham, North Carolina.[1]

In 2007, Martin won the Mobile International Speedway Track Championship in the Pro Late Model Division and was crowned the 2007 Louisiana State Champion by Late Model Digest. He would follow that up with two more wins the following season while competing on various short tracks around the Gulf of Mexico, followed by running some ASA Late Model Series races in 2009 and 2010.[1]

In 2009, Martin graduated from the University of New Orleans with a degree in mechanical engineering.[2]

ARCA and NASCAR

edit

Following his completion of Hillenburg's driving school, Martin was approved to compete in the ARCA Racing Series. He made his series debut at Mansfield Motorsports Park, finishing in 11th place. He would follow that up in his next race two months later with a 3rd-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway, his best finish to date. While he was competing on various short tracks around the Gulf Coast, Martin was gaining valuable experience on some of the biggest tracks in the country while competing in ARCA, including Daytona, Talladega, and Pocono. In 11 career ARCA starts between 2009 and 2011, Martin has a best starting and finishing position of 3rd place, while also tallying 3 top ten finishes.[3]

Martin made his lone Camping World Truck Series start in 2009 at Memphis International Raceway. Driving the No. 48 for Andy Hillenburg's Fast Track Racing Enterprises team, Martin finished 26th in the 36-truck field, competing in just over half the laps of the 200-lap race before retiring from the event due to overheating.

 
Martin's No. 44 is behind Blake Koch's No. 24. They are racing at Richmond in 2013

Martin made his Nationwide Series debut at Kansas Speedway in 2012, driving the No. 44 car for TriStar Motorsports. His debut ended 24 laps from the finish when he got together with Scott Lagasse Jr. and caused both drivers to hit the wall and crash out of the race, crediting him with a 25th-place finish. He would compete in two more races that season in preparation for a full-time effort in 2013, this time driving the No. 19 car for TriStar Motorsports at Texas and Homestead, finishing in 30th place on both occasions.

After running three races towards the end of 2012, Martin drove full-time for TriStar Motorsports in 2013 competing for Nationwide Rookie of the Year honors, where he was once again paired with veteran crew chief John Quinn.[4] Martin's competition for Rookie of the Year included Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of Dale Earnhardt, 2012 K&N Pro Series East champion Kyle Larson and former Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr.

Team owner career

edit

On July 28, 2015, Martin and his former teammate at TriStar, Eric McClure, formed Martin-McClure Racing, a K&N Pro Series East team which fielded the No. 39 car[5][6] for three years. In the team's final season, 2017, they also bought the No. 13 team of Hunter Baize from HScott Motorsports after that team shut down, and it became a second car for MMR.

Motorsports career results

edit

NASCAR

edit

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

Nationwide Series

edit
NASCAR Nationwide 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 NNSC Pts Ref
2012 TriStar Motorsports 44 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN CGV BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN
25
65th 47 [7]
19 TEX
30
PHO HOM
30
2013 44 DAY
28
PHO
23
LVS
24
BRI
31
CAL
24
TEX
38
RCH
24
TAL
34
DAR
29
CLT
23
DOV IOW MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN LEX BRI ATL RCH
30
CHI KEN DOV KAN
35
CLT TEX PHO HOM 35th 186 [8]
2014 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL IOW
26
CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW
28
GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 60th 34 [9]

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 Fast Track Racing Enterprises 48 Chevy DAY FON ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX MCH MIL MEM
26
KEN IRP NSH BRI CHI IOW GAT LOU LVS MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 94th 85 [10]

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 21 ARSC Pts Ref
2009 Cunningham Motorsports 4 Dodge DAY SLM CAR TAL KEN TOL POC MCH MFD
11
IOW KEN BLN POC ISF CHI
3
TOL DSF NJE SLM KAN
9
CAR 53rd 575 [11]
2010 Mark Gibson Racing 17 Dodge DAY
35
56th 410 [12]
59 PBE
11
SLM TEX
Venturini Motorsports 35 Toyota TAL
10
TOL POC MCH IOW MFD POC BLN NJE ISF CHI
15
DSF TOL SLM KAN CAR
2011 55 DAY
30
TAL
28
SLM TOL NJE CHI
12
POC
30
MCH
30
WIN BLN IOW IRP POC ISF MAD DSF SLM KAN TOL 48th 505 [13]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Hal Martin". HalMartin.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
  2. ^ "Hal Martin Takes Louisiana to NASCAR Country". Archived from the original on 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  3. ^ "Hal Martin's ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
  4. ^ "Louisiana Native "Ragin' Cajun" Hal Martin Announces NASCAR Nationwide Series Commitment for 2012-2013". Catchfence. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
  5. ^ "MCCLURE, MARTIN FORM K&N PRO SERIES TEAM". NASCAR. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  6. ^ "Austin Cindric Joins Martin-McClure Racing". Catchfence. April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  7. ^ "Hal Martin – 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  8. ^ "Hal Martin – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  9. ^ "Hal Martin – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  10. ^ "Hal Martin – 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Hal Martin – 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  12. ^ "Hal Martin – 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  13. ^ "Hal Martin – 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
edit