Hal Martin (born December 29, 1985) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

driver who has competed in what is now the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, the

Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

, and the

ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

. He earned the nickname The Ragin' Cajun due to being from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Racing career

Early career

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 The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

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 The Buck Baker Racing School was founded by two time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Buck Baker in 1980. Buck Baker Racing School was the first of its kind. Today, Buck Baker's Seat Time Racing School, still follows the curriculum set by Buck Bak ...

and Andy Hillenburg'
Fast Track High Performance Driving School
in Rockingham,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. 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 The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, followed by running some

ASA Late Model Series The ASA Late Model Series is an American stock car racing series. Founded by Ron Varney in 2003 as the "USPRO Cup Series", it was renamed "ASA Late Model Series" when it was purchased by the American Speed Association in 2004. After financial di ...

races in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, Martin graduated from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

with a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

ARCA and NASCAR

Following his completion of Hillenburg's driving school, Martin was approved to compete in the

. He made his series debut at

Mansfield Motorsports Park Mansfield Motor Speedway (formerly Mansfield Motorsports Park and Mansfield Motorsports Speedway) was a 0.44 mile dirt track located in Mansfield, Ohio, United States. History The former Mansfield Motorsports Park (known as Mansfield Motorsp ...

, finishing in 11th place. He would follow that up in his next race two months later with a 3rd-place finish at

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...

, 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 Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Da ...

, 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. Martin made his lone

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

start in 2009 at

Memphis International Raceway Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) was an auto racing park located near the Loosahatchie River in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, just approximately ten miles south of Millington, and a few miles ...

. Driving the No. 48 for

Andy Hillenburg Andrew Hillenburg (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current team owner and track owner. His race team, Fast Track Racing, fields multiple cars in the ARCA Menards Series and formerly fielded entr ...

Fast Track Racing Enterprises Notes Fast Track Racing (also known as Fast Track High Performance Racing or Fast Track Racing Enterprises) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes full time in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series E ...

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. Blake Koch SR2 Motorsports Toyota Richmond April 2013

Blake Koch SR2 Motorsports Toyota Richmond April 2013

Martin made his

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

debut at

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...

in 2012, driving the No. 44 car for

TriStar Motorsports TriStar Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that used to compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series primarily during the early to mid 1990s, suspending racing oper ...

. His debut ended 24 laps from the finish when he got together with

Scott Lagasse Jr. Scott E. Lagasse Jr. (; born January 31, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He formerly drove in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is the son of former sports car and NASCAR driver Scott Lagasse Sr. He is the owne ...

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 Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

, 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. Martin's competition for Rookie of the Year included

Jeffrey Earnhardt Jeffrey Lynn Earnhardt (born June 22, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. He is the son of Kerry Earnhardt, gran ...

, grandson of

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

, 2012

K&N Pro Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

champion

Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ ...

and former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver

Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior (born July 25, 1985), also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 seaso ...

Team owner career

On July 28, 2015, Martin and his former teammate at TriStar,

Eric McClure Eric Wayne McClure (December 11, 1978 – May 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. Racing car ...

, formed Martin-McClure Racing, a

team which fielded the No. 39 car for three years. In the team's final season,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, they also bought the No. 13 team of Hunter Baize from

HScott Motorsports HScott Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, the K&N Pro Series East and the ARCA Racing Series. The organization was owned by North Carolina bus ...

after that team shut down, and it became a second car for MMR.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

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

Nationwide Series

Camping World Truck Series

ARCA Racing Series

(

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Hal 1985 births Living people People from Galliano, Louisiana Racing drivers from Louisiana NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers University of New Orleans alumni