Martino Motorsports Unveils New K&N Rear-Engine Dragster at NHRA Spring Spectacle of Speed
- Apr 30, 2014
Ryan Martino, son of founder Tom Martino of the family-operated Martino Motorsports, has had an exceptionally jam-packed and eventful off-season. Amid a brutal winter of relentless sub-zero temperatures and record amounts of snowfall blanketing their Youngstown, Ohio, home, the Martinos have been busy readying their brand new K&N Filters rear-engine dragster for debut at the NHRA Spring Spectacle of Speed at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 25-27. Between maintaining a full schedule of personal appearances, the national drag racing standouts recently took time out to give us a firsthand look at their new ride, and to give us some insights into their hectic pace.
Ryan: NHRA Top Dragster in Division 3 is probably the most competitive category NHRA offers. We constantly see record low bump spots at almost every event throughout the year and each season we see the bump spot lower at least a tenth in our class. Heading into 2014 we knew we had to step up our engine program to help maintain our competitive edge over the competition. Tom: Last September, we purchased a complete 665 cubic inch Ny-Trex nitrous injected engine combination which we were luckily able to break in before the end of the year in October. After a few passes in our 240” dragster, it was obvious we needed a longer car designed to handle the high-horsepower/high-torque output of the new motor. We were right on the edge with our 240” dragster and could have probably gotten the combination to work, but we didn’t want to invest half of our 2014 season experimenting with how to tame the car down from track-to-track.
Ryan: It was an easy choice for us to decide on who we wanted to build this new car. We’ve had a great working relationship with Mac Sherrill Race Cars in Sheffield Lake, Ohio over the years and have had great success in Super Comp and Top Dragster competition since we purchased our first Mac Sherrill dragster in 2005.
Tom: Mac truly outdid himself on this project. The new car is flat-out set up to go fast and is equipped to handle anything we can throw at it. The new car is a 260” Mac Sherrill Rear-Engine Dragster which features a fully-custom R&R Auto Body paint design. Ryan: What’s fascinating with this new car is that it’s nearly an all Ohio equipped vehicle. Ohio is definitely a hidden treasure in the automotive industry and we are lucky to have some of the industries’ best right in our back yard. We have a full schedule planned in 2014. Our main focus will be to make a strong run for the NHRA Division 3 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series title. We also plan to compete in Top Dragster at select IHRA and PDRA events when our schedule allows, along with Quick 8 events at Quaker City Motorsports Park and Thompson Raceway Park. Tom: We are also very fortunate to have a strong list of associates returning to our program in 2014. Anchoring the list of associates returning to Martino Motorsports in 2014 is K&N Filters. It’s truly been an honor and privilege to represent K&N Filters over the years. We have been long time fans of the K&N product lines in both our race cars and personal vehicles. Our new NHRA Top Dragster will utilize the K&N second-generation composite dragster scoop with K&N air filter (part # 100-8512) and K&N oil filters (part # HP-3002). New to our program this season will be the addition of Victory1 Performance; R&R Auto Body; RePlayXD Cameras; and Applied Racing Components (ARC). These associates have been a major part of our success over the years. 2014 wouldn’t be possible without their strong support and dedication to our racing program. Ryan: In between putting the new car together, we have also been actively involved with off-season personal appearances for associates of our race team and our community since November. We’ve met a lot of great fans from all over the world at these events, many of which we look forward to seeing at the track in 2014. |
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