MARTIN ’ S PROCHARGER-BOOSTED 2018 ZL1 CAMARO HAS BEEN A SERIOUS THREAT SINCE IT MADE ITS COMPETITION DEBUT AT THE START OF THE 2021 SEASON .
I always have people trying to knock me off of where I ’ m at . It was more so this year . The competition was harder . More people felt like they were after me .
else drag racing . It looked really cool and it was something I definitely wanted to be a part of .”
Martin didn ’ t just want to be a part of it . He wanted to compete with the best of them .
“ I grew up my whole life street racing , but let me be realistic : I didn ’ t go out on Saturday nights and take my big-tire car out and try to go 4.20s in the street ,” Martin says . “ But when I knew that that was a thing , I was like , ‘ Hey , I think we can do that and I think we can be good at it .’ That ’ s kind of what drove me to do it .”
Martin parlayed his success on the 405 ’ s list into immediate success in the first season of No Prep Kings , which debuted in early 2018 . He won the first race of the season , a feat he ’ s repeated in all three seasons that followed .
In 2019 , Martin scored his first No Prep Kings championship with his cherry-red Camaro . He then debuted a new , Bill Gilsbach-built , Pro- Charger-boosted 2018 ZL1 Camaro for the 2020 season , but the COVID-19 public health crisis led to the cancellation of that year ’ s filming .
Martin hit the ground running when the 2021 season kicked off in early June at National Trail Raceway , scoring the first invitational class win of the year . He went on to win five more invitationals , two Team Attack races , and one Outlaw Big Tire class race on the 15-race schedule . Outside No Prep Kings competition , he also became the first repeat winner in the Big Tire class at Outlaw Armageddon 7 at Thunder Valley Raceway Park .
The tour ended with a six-weekend stretch of consecutive races , starting at Tucson Dragway in Arizona and winding back towards the East Coast with stops at Bandimere Speedway , Tulsa Raceway Park , the Texas Motorplex , and No Problem Raceway before concluding at Bradenton Motorsports Park .
It was a taxing experience for Martin and his small crew , which consists of crew chief Javier Canales , Martin ’ s best friend , Michael Beene , Martin ’ s wife , Cherish , and their young son , Dax . There were no weekends off and no time to unwind , other than the hours going down the road . “ I drive the rig , Javi drives the truck with the apparel trailer , and Michael usually flies into the races ,” says Martin , who works with Proline Racing ’ s Steve Petty on the tuning side .
All of that hard work , late nights , and many miles were validated when Martin clinched his
80 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 174