NHRA
Indianapolis Tom Martino Preview
Parsippany, New Jersey, August 30, 1998 - One of the greatest benefits a team can derive from winning an NHRA national event is the overall boost to the organization's morale. No matter how successful their efforts may have been to that point, ...
Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Parsippany, New Jersey, August 30, 1998 - One of the greatest benefits a team can derive from winning an NHRA national event is the overall boost to the organization's morale. No matter how successful their efforts may have been to that point, bringing home the title simply improves the overall outlook. Not only does it act as a reward for hard work, but as a motivator for future success. The mindset is quite simple: if we can win one, then certainly a second or a third victory is not out of the question. Such is the case with Tom Martino and the Six Flags Theme Parks Racing team. Coming off their first win of the season in Brainerd less than two weeks ago, the Martino crew bring their Thrill Machine Pro Stock Fire bird to Indianapolis Raceway Park focused on "doubling up" and capturing the most prestigious race on the Winston Drag Racing schedule - the U.S. Nationals.
"There are national events, and then there's the U.S. Nationals," explained Martino. "Naturally, you're thrilled to win any of them, as we did in Brainerd. But the feeling of putting your car in the winner's circle in Indianapolis on Labor Day is second to none in our sport, and that's our plan for the Six Flags Firebird!"
But as Martino knows, momentum alone will not gain the victory. The U.S. Nationals draws entries from all parts, with nearly fifty "doorslammers" expected this year. Brainerd is now ancient history, and the Six Flags crew quickly turned their attention to preparing for "The Big Go". Less than twenty-four hours after edging Mark Osborne in Minnesota, Tom Martino was back in the dynamometer room working on his race motors. But power will not be the only concern, as setting the car up for the notoriously tricky IRP surface will challenge even the most experienced crew chiefs, especially under the unique qualifying procedure for this event. Although an additional session is added for a total of five, the true test comes almost immediately. The very first time trial is held on Friday night, so teams will set-up their mounts based on their previous experience and ability to read the track. Although four attempts will follow, a fast run in this first round is considered crucial to making the sixteen-car field, as conditions might never be better throughout the weekend. A bonus to performing well on Friday is that the remaining rounds can be used to dial-in the racecar for Monday's final eliminations. Fortunately, Martino is well versed in competing in Indianapolis, having participated in the NHRA's biggest race throughout his career in Competition Eliminator, reaching the final round twice in 1991 and 1993. In this, his third attempt as a professional, Tom Martino is committed to completing the cycle and capture what would be his biggest win to date. However, there are additional factors to be considered and the Six Flags pilot is careful not to lose sight of the overall picture.
"Every team out here wants "U.S. Nationals champion" on their resume, including us" stated Martino. "But, we also want to make sure and maintain the forward momentum we've established over the last few races. We'll take this weekend one step at a time, just as we would at any race. That philosophy has served us well of late, and we're cautiously optimistic of continuing that trend. We've done fairly well here in the past, but now we'd like to take our Six Flags Thrill Machine all the way to the top, because a win in Indy would be awesome!"
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article BTCC: Brands Hatch Results 98-08-31
Next article BUSCH: Martin to Do Triple Duty This Weekend
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tom Martino
C. Force, Massey, Johnson and Hall race to victories at New England Dragway
NHRA
NHRA
C. Force, Massey, Johnson and Hall race to victories at New England Dragway
Baytown: Jeg Coughlin Jr pre-event notes
NHRA
NHRA
Baytown: Jeg Coughlin Jr pre-event notes
Gainesville: Final top-16 finish order
NHRA
NHRA
Gainesville: Final top-16 finish order
Latest news
Liam Lawson’s remarkable form is giving Red Bull a headache for 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
7 h
Liam Lawson’s remarkable form is giving Red Bull a headache for 2027
Hanley Motorsports announces multi-class IMSA arrival with BMW support and DXDT deal
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 8 h
Hanley Motorsports announces multi-class IMSA arrival with BMW support and DXDT deal
Ryan Preece will switch to No. 6 for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
9 h
Ryan Preece will switch to No. 6 for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe