@JohnsonvilleCA • @NASCARHomeTrack • @Sunset_Speedway – AYR, ON (MAY 28, 2015) – During the off-season, several members of the successful Micks Motorsports NASCAR team worked diligently preparing Adam Martin’s #97 Johnsonville Ford for action in the ultra-competitive Super Stock class at Sunset Speedway.
The extra effort is paying off as the sophomore racer finds himself in fifth-place in the points in the division’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series standings on the strength of several solid early-season outings.
Martin, 17, finished eighth and sixth, respectively, in the first two features of the season at the high-banked, one-third-mile oval located just south of Barrie, Ontario. Mechanical trouble in his third outing was his only setback of the season, so far.
The following weekend, on May 23, Martin bounced back with his best outing and result, to date. He started on the pole and led the first half of the feature race, before ultimately scoring an impressive fourth-place finish. Martin is understandably excited about his progress.
“Things have been going really well, so far, this season,” said Martin, who was the division’s Rookie of the Year in 2014. “In four nights of racing, we’ve had three solid feature finishes and several good heat race results. There was one night where we had a mechanical issue and didn’t finish, but otherwise, it’s been very positive.”
Making Martin’s performances even more impressive is the fact that Sunset Speedway’s Super Stock feature races regularly boast more than 25 cars, many of them driven by veteran championship-winning racers.
“With Barrie Speedway closing,” Martin continued, “we’ve had a lot more good cars come to Sunset to race, so the level of competition is very high.”
Helping him to grow as a racer, Adam has the benefit of working with Kerry Micks and Don Jacobson, who will share the crew chief duties. Micks is a former CASCAR national stock car champion who is currently the co-driver of the #02 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Johnsonville Ford. Veteran NCATS crew member Rino Montanari is also part of the team, preparing Martin’s vehicles for action.
And as if battling against the province’s top Super Stock racers on a weekly basis isn’t enough, the team is preparing a Late Model for Adam to race in the coming weeks.
“Once we kind of get our feet under us, we’re going to bring out the Late Model and do a couple of tests and race that later in the season,” said Martin, who is a Grade 12 student in Ayr, Ontario. “The plan is to be racing both cars at a point. I’ve only driven our Late Model once, last summer, but I’m really looking forward to getting back into it.”
Adam Martin takes to the track with sponsor support from Johnsonville Sausage, Candy Tree, Reser’s Fine Foods, Little Potato Company, SecureDrive, Stihl, Beyond Digital Imaging, GoTire, Micks Motorsports and Permatex. Martin unveiled his car in mid-March – in the Johnsonville Sausage booth – at Toronto’s Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo.
“The team has worked really hard over the off season to get my car prepared,” continued Adam. “So far we’re off to a great start. I look forward to getting to the track each week. I want to thank all my sponsors for their continued support for making this possible.”
ABOUT JOHNSONVILLE SAUSAGE: Founded in 1945 by Ralph F. and Alice Stayer, Johnsonville is the most popular brand of sausage in the United States, and is available in 30 other countries, including Canada. The company’s headquarters are in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Their award-winning product lines include Brats, Italian, Smoked, Breakfast, and Snack sausages. More information about Johnsonville products and recipes featuring the products can be found at www.Johnsonville.ca.
ABOUT ADAM MARTIN RACING: Seventeen year-old Adam Martin is in his second season of action in the Super Stock class at Sunset Speedway, near Barrie, Ontario. Affiliated with the successful Micks Motorsports NASCAR team, Martin plans to be competing in both the Super Stock and Late Model divisions before the end of the 2015 racing season. For more information about Adam Martin, visit www.Johnsonville.ca, follow him on Twitter at @johnsonvilleCA and on Facebook at Johnsonville, or call the team at (519) 658-7447. You can follow the team’s progress in Sunset Speedway’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at www.SunsetSpeedway.ca.
Prepared by Inside Track Communications / Photo courtesy DaveFranksPhotos.com
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