With a multi-race qualifying streak on the line heading to Topeka last weekend for the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals, Mark Martino and his Brian “Lump” Self tuned Pro Stock Car missed making the 16 car field by two one-thousandths of a second, a near miss that can now be attributed to having two wounded engines.

 

The theme of the weekend was that of change as the team made several, including an engine switch heading into Saturday’s final two qualifying attempts. “The car was having issues getting loose late in the run in Charlotte and that followed us here so we decided to change tires on Friday to try and correct that,” said Martino. “The new tires helped the situation but we couldn’t get the car to mile per hour after that change so we swapped motors for Saturday.”

 

The engine change yielded no better results during qualifying rounds three and four, leaving the team on the outside looking in at the end of the day. A disappointed Martino said, “It sucks. We came here looking for another strong showing and instead we are leaving with two motors that are gonna need some attention.”

 

The motors will indeed get some attention from engine builder Jimmy Oliver, with new parts already on order and some updates that should add more power planned for the rebuild.

 

Look for Mark Martino to return to the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in the coming weeks, prior to the start of the grueling Western Swing.

 

ABOUT MARK MARTINo : The 3rd year Pro has achieved great things thus far competing on a limited basis in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, including recording his first round win at the 2012 Gatornationals, beating two-time series champion Jason Line. His accomplishments also include a clutch performance on his sports biggest stage at the 2011 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, where he qualified for the 16 car Pro Stock field, besting 13 other competitors, including six-time NHRA World Champion Warren Johnson and multi-time national event winner Larry Morgan, for one of the highly coveted spots.

 

Posted by:  Jory Elliott

Photo by:  Bruce Biegler