Thomas Martin (born June 4, 1978) is an American stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

, driving the No. 11

Chevrolet SS The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufa ...

owned by

John Krebs John Richard Krebs, Baron Krebs, Kt FRS (born 11 April 1945) is an English zoologist researching in the field of behavioural ecology of birds. He was the principal of Jesus College, Oxford, from 2005 until 2015."Elliott Coues Award, 1999: Si ...

Racing career

Martin's father was a

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

mechanic. He owned mini

stock cars 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 ...

. This triggered Martin's interest in racing. He made his racing debut at age 16 at the Grass Valley Speedway. His father served as his crew chief. He joined the Pro-Four West Coast Series in 1994 until 1998. In 1995 he was named rookie of the year and he in 1996 he won the championship. At Altamont Raceway Park, Martin holds the 1-lap qualifying record for the series. He started racing

late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

cars in 1999, debuting at Madera Speedway. In 2003, Martin participated in the

SRL Southwest Tour The SRL Southwest Tour Series is a late model stock car racing league operating since 2001. The series is a continuation of the Tri-Track Challenge run in California between 1997 and 2000. The series is also connected to the former Supermodified Ra ...

driving the No. 21 2002

Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chevr ...

for Frederick W. Penney. Martin made his

K&N Pro Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

debut at

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southe ...

for the Carneros 200 in 2006. He finished 6th in the 2014 series. That year, he was awarded the Coca-Cola Move of the Year trophy.

Personal life

Martin is from

Auburn, California Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Placer County, California, United States. Its population was 13,776 during the 2020 census. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history and is registered as a California Historical Landmark. Au ...

. He attended

Placer High School Placer High School is a public high school located in Auburn, California, United States, and is part of the Placer Union High School District. Auburn is located northeast of Sacramento, California, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mounta ...

, where he played football. He is a CNC machinist.

References

External links

* Living people 1978 births People from Auburn, California Sportspeople from Placer County, California NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from California {{NASCAR-bio-stub