I feel like a lot of people step up to the plate to want to work with you . When you do decent , people want their stuff in your car . I feel like it ’ s all about giving back to those people who support us and give us good products and service , companies like Proline , HP Tuners , Summit Racing , M & M Transmission , ProCharger , FuelTech , RK Racecraft , Quick Performance , and a whole lot of other people and companies I should thank .
We don ’ t just get a plethora of free parts sent to us , but every now and then we do get help . It doesn ’ t matter if it ’ s a discount , a move to the front of the line , or whatever , we have to make sure we pay those people back . Those things like PRI and SEMA or a few little commercials we do or some ads on social media are our way of paying back – drawing people to their booths at PRI or making sure the people who look up to you know whose stuff you use . If I want a blower , I ’ m calling ProCharger . I whole-heartedly mean that , not because they ’ re sponsoring me , but because they absolutely have the best product and that ’ s why I won a championship . That ’ s why I think it ’ s important to give back to the people who give to you .
I think it ’ s also important to choose wisely who you work with to make sure you ’ re representing a good company .
What ’ s your take on the impact Street Outlaws and No Prep Kings have had on the drag racing community ?
With all the different versions of the shows , whether it be street racing or racing on the track , I think Street Outlaws has sparked a huge interest back up in the drag racing community in general . Before , you could only watch NHRA on Sunday nights . Now , any given night , you can watch a Street Outlaws program , 3-4 days a week .
It ’ s put some characters in the mix that people can follow instead of going , “ Hey , John Force is
MARTIN ’ S STAR STATUS AND CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER HAVE MADE HIM AN IDEAL AMBASSADOR FOR BRANDS LIKE HP TUNERS , FUELTECH , PROCHARGER , SUMMIT RACING AND MORE .
a badass driver ,” or whatever , which isn ’ t taking anything away from him because he was my idol as a kid . But this has let your average Joe find people that they can follow and latch onto and ride with through the whole chain of events , whether it ’ s on a street show or on a track-based show or on a build-based show .
I feel like , as goofy as this sounds , it ’ s taken away some of the real uber-professionalism to make the average Joe think , “ Hey , that ’ s a relatable thing for me . We drag race on the weekends or we grew up street racing and I can relate to that .’ It ’ s made drag racing more relatable than the nitro cars .
I think it ’ s dramatically affected drag racing as a whole , from parts manufacturers selling parts to getting people back at the racetrack , to getting people buying cars , to getting people watching TV . I think the viewership speaks for itself .
There ’ s a lot of talk every year about what would happen in NPK if this pro racer or that pro racer showed up and participated . Stevie Jackson , Rickie Smith , whomever . Does that get under your skin ? The notion that NPK – likely because it ’ s rooted in a television show – is lesser than where those guys race ? Truthfully speaking , there aren ’ t many racers at any level that would welcome a 15- race season .
Does it bother me for people to say , “ Hey , if Stevie Jackson came over here , he ’ d come over and do good ,” or whatever ? No , because let ’ s be realistic . There ’ s a few guys you could name like Stevie Jackson , for example , who we know is going to do good . He ’ s going to do good wherever he goes . He ’ s going to do well in whatever platform he ’ s in , whether it ’ s NHRA , drag radial , Lights Out , No Prep Kings , Outlaw 10.5 , it doesn ’ t really matter . He ’ s going to do good . I think the flip side of that is if I go and decide to race on radials , I ’ m probably going to do good there too .
To me , the people who put in the work and hustle and use the right parts and get the right engine builders and test their ass off and all that stuff , those are the people who are going to be at the top of any class . If somebody like [ Jackson ] came in , he probably would do good . But that being said , I don ’ t feel like it discredits what we do . Now , a lot of the average Joes don ’ t understand that and there ’ s a lot of Stevie Jackson nut-hug-
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