Tommy Joe Martins

Tommy Joe Martins (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Martins Motorsports.

Tommy Joe Martins
Martins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2019
Born	Thomas Joseph Martins (1986-12-07) December 7, 1986 Como, Mississippi
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
75 races run over 5 years
Car no., team	No. 44 (Martins Motorsports)
2019 position	28th
Best finish	28th (2019)
First race	2014 Blue Jeans Go Green 200 (Phoenix)
Last race	2020 UNOH 188 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
28 races run over 4 years
2017 position	91st
Best finish	23rd (2016)
First race	2009 AAA Insurance 200 (IRP)
Last race	2017 JAG Metals 350 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of August 15, 2020.

Racing career

Martins racing at Road America in 2014

Martins began his racing career at the age of five in karting in his native Mississippi. After financial issues caused him to have to quit racing at 16, he attended the University of Mississippi seeking a degree in journalism. During his sophomore year, he resumed competition, driving in Sports Car Club of America-sanctioned events.[1]

Choosing to pursue a racing career, Martins joined Nashville-based Baker Curb Racing, then moved to family-owned Martins Motorsports to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, running five races between 2009 and 2011.[1] He had one truck and an old engine from Roush Racing.[2] After moving to the ARCA Racing Series on a limited basis, Martins returned to NASCAR in 2014, and planned to run the full Nationwide Series schedule.[3] However, the plans fell apart, and Martins did not race in 2015. In 2016, Martins purchased the owners points of Billy Boat Motorsports' No. 15 truck with plans to run the full 2016 Truck schedule.[4]

Martins ran his own No. 44 truck for the duration of the 2016 season. He ran 20 races, failed to qualify at Homestead-Miami Speedway and recorded a best finish of 15th at Michigan International Speedway;[5] however, he missed the Alpha Energy Solutions 200 at Martinsville Speedway after wrecking his truck in qualifying and his spot on the grid was taken by Austin Wayne Self.[6] He also maintained a blog throughout the 2016 season chronicling his journey that gained notoriety within the NASCAR community.[7] His largest blog post was about how the financial situation in NASCAR needed to change.[8]

For 2017, Martins paired up with another family team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, to split the 2017 schedule in the 44 truck.[9] At Daytona International Speedway, Martins was hired to drive the No. 99 Chevrolet for MDM Motorsports, where an early crash relegated him to last in the 32-truck field.[10] Martins would be in the No. 44 truck next week, finishing 23rd at Atlanta. On April 14, 2017, it was announced that Martins would return to the Xfinity Series, bringing his family team to compete for nine races in the No. 45 Chevy.[11] Despite initially planning to begin his schedule at Bristol Motor Speedway, the team withdrew from the weekend due to concern about rain canceling qualifying and preventing the team from attempting to make the race.[12] Martins stepped away from the Truck team to focus on Xfinity[13] and later moved to B. J. McLeod Motorsports to run a partial Xfinity schedule.[14]

After running Martins Motorsports in collaboration with AM Racing and Faith Motorsports in 2017,[15] Martins closed his Truck team and announced another partial Xfinity schedule with McLeod in 2018.[16] He ran over half the schedule with McLeod in 2018, continuing to bring awareness to the performance divide that underfunded teams face; he compared the Xfinity Series to a sports car race with different classes of cars, with Cup-affiliated teams as prototypes and small teams like BJMM in the Grand Touring division.[17]

Martins' 2019 Xfinity car at Atlanta Motor Speedway

With Vinnie Miller joining B. J. McLeod Motorsports for 2019 full-time, Martins said he will likely run fewer races than he did in 2018 for the team.[18] At New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, Martins announced that he would leave BJMM for MBM Motorsports after the New Hampshire race for a partial slate in the back half of the 2019 Xfinity Series season. He estimated his MBM schedule at about six races, including all four road course races, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. Citing more opportunities in the Xfinity Series and a chance to run in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with MBM, Martins implied that he held no ill feelings toward McLeod and instead thanked the team for the opportunities throughout his tenure with the team.[19] He ran his first race for MBM at Watkins Glen International, driving the No. 66.[20] On December 8, Martins announced he parted ways with MBM Motorsports.[21] Later in the month on December 24, Martins revealed Martins Motorsports' return for the 2020 Xfinity season as he intended to commit to a part-time schedule.[22]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	NXSC	Pts	Ref
2014	Martins Motorsports	76	Ford	DAY	PHO 35	LVS 39							IOW 36									IND DNQ	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM	35th	124	[23]
		67	Dodge				BRI DNQ	CAL
		76							TEX 35	DAR 30	RCH 36	TAL 14		CLT 31	DOV 35	MCH DNQ	ROA 31	KEN DNQ	DAY DNQ	NHA	CHI
		67	Ford													MCH 38
2017	Martins Motorsports	45	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH DNQ	TAL	CLT	DOV																							39th	90	[24]
	B. J. McLeod Motorsports	78	Chevy												POC 29	MCH 28	IOW 11	DAY	KEN	NHA 29	IND 26	IOW 27	GLN	MOH	BRI 33	ROA	DAR 31
		8																										RCH 29	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM
2018				DAY	ATL 33	LVS 25	PHO 27	CAL 24	TEX	BRI 26	RCH 23			CLT 24	POC 25												DAR 22								PHO 35	HOM 26	31st	216	[25]
			Toyota									TAL 18	DOV
		78	Chevy													MCH 24	IOW 32	CHI	DAY	KEN	NHA 20	IOW 21		MOH 19	BRI	ROA		IND 27	LVS	RCH	CLT	DOV	KAN	TEX
			Toyota																				GLN 40
2019		99		DAY	ATL 31	LVS	PHO 35	CAL 20	TEX 19	BRI 26	RCH	TAL	DOV 21	CLT	POC	MCH 18	IOW	CHI 28	DAY	KEN	NHA 25	IOW															28th	206	[26]
	MBM Motorsports	66	Toyota																				GLN 28	MOH 18		ROA 25		IND 24
		13																							BRI 31		DAR 35
		61																											LVS 25	RCH	CLT 35	DOV	KAN	TEX	PHO 17	HOM
2020	Martins Motorsports	44	Chevy	DAY DNQ	LVS 32	CAL 18	PHO 28	DAR 26	CLT 24	BRI 23	ATL 22	HOM 31	HOM 20	TAL 15	POC 30	IND 35	KEN 33	KEN 27	TEX 15	KAN 18	ROA 18	DAY 13	DOV	DOV	DAY	DAR	RCH	RCH	BRI	LVS	TAL	CLT	KAN	TEX	MAR	PHO	-*	-*	[27]

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
2009	Martins Motorsports	44	Ford	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	MEM	KEN	IRP 22	NSH 27	BRI	CHI 21	IOW	GTW 27	NHA	LVS	MAR	TAL	TEX	PHO	HOM	46th	361	[28]
2011	Martins Motorsports	42	Ram	DAY	PHO	DAR	MAR	NSH	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	KEN	IOW	NSH	IRP 33	POC	MCH	BRI	ATL	CHI	NHA	KEN	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	HOM	77th	11	[29]
2016	Martins Motorsports	44	Chevy	DAY 32	ATL 25	MAR QL^†	KAN 32	DOV 24	CLT 25	TEX 25	IOW 30	GTW 18	KEN 26	ELD	POC 17	BRI 31	MCH 15	MSP 19	CHI 24	NHA 21	LVS 22	TAL 16	MAR 25	TEX 31	PHO 30	HOM DNQ			23rd	176	[5]
2017	MDM Motorsports	99	Chevy	DAY 32																									91st	0^1	[30]
	Martins Motorsports	44	Chevy		ATL 23	MAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	GTW	IOW	KEN	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR
		42																						TEX 32	PHO	HOM
^† – Qualified but replaced by Austin Wayne Self.

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2010	Tommy Joe Martins Racing	95	Ford	DAY 8	PBE	SLM	TEX	TAL	TOL	POC	MCH	IOW	MFD	POC	BLN	NJE	ISF	CHI	DSF	TOL	SLM	KAN	CAR	90th	190	[31]
2011	Martins Motorsports	42	Dodge	DAY 14	TAL	SLM	TOL	NJE	CHI	POC	MCH	WIN	BLN	IOW	IRP	POC	ISF	MAD	DSF	SLM	KAN	TOL		112th	160	[32]

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points
² Martins started the 2017 season running for Truck Series points, but switched to the Xfinity Series starting at Richmond in April.

References

1. Petro, Camal. "Ole Miss student Tommy Joe Martins takes to the racetrack". August 29, 2011. Oxford, MS: The Daily Mississippian. Accessed 2014-02-11.
2. Ryan, Nate (2018-04-10). "Ep. 132: Tommy Joe Martins from NASCAR on NBC podcast". www.stitcher.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
3. "Nashville team plans to race in NASCAR's Nationwide Series". January 19, 2014. Nashville, TN: The Tennessean. Accessed 2014-02-11.
4. Knight, Chris (January 21, 2016). "Tommy Joe Martins Returns To NASCAR With New Team". Catchfence. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
5. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
6. "Austin Wayne Self Turns Second Chance into NCWTS Career Best Finish | Austin Wayne Self". Austin Wayne Self. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
7. Crandall, Kelly (2016-07-14). "Tommy Joe Martins providing unique perspective in blog". NASCAR Talk. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
8. "Tommy Joe Martins is Speaking Up – And NASCAR Needs to Listen – Motor Racing Digest". Motor Racing Digest. 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
9. Bearden, Aaron (2017-02-13). "Brandonbilt Motorsports, Martins Motorsports Combine For Select 2017 Races". Kickin' The Tires. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
10. Beard, Brock (2017-02-26). "TRUCKS: Tommy Joe Martins left with second-straight Daytona last-place finish". LASTCAR. Blogger. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
11. Long, Dustin (April 14, 2017). "Tommy Joe Martins moving from Truck to Xfinity Series". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
12. "Jayski.com: Martins Motorsports Returns to NASCAR XFINITY Series". Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
13. "Fantasy Sports Breaking News - Rotoworld.com". www.rotoworld.com. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
14. "Tommy Joe Martins driving the #78 at Pocono". ESPN. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
15. Beard, Brock (2017-11-05). "TRUCKS: Hard-luck Tommy Joe Martins' weekend a tale of two trucks". LASTCAR. Blogger. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
16. "Tommy Joe Martins closes Truck team, to focus on Xfinity Series in 2018". NASCAR Talk. 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
17. Gregory, Allen. "martins wants fans to know the whole story". Bristol Herald Courier. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
18. "#PETM164 – Tommy's Got a Gun!". PETMpodcast.com. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
19. Nolen, Bryan. "Tommy Joe Martins Leaving BJ McLeod Motorsports to Join MBM Motorsports". Frontstretch. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
20. Page, Scott (July 24, 2019). "Tommy Joe Martins moving to MBM for remainder of 2019 UPDATE". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
21. Brooks, Amanda (December 8, 2019). "Martins, MBM part ways". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
22. "Martins Motorsports Returning To NASCAR Competition". Speed Sport. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
23. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
24. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
25. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
26. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
27. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
28. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
29. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
30. "Tommy Joe Martins – 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
31. "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2010 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
32. "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2011 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 28 September 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Tommy Joe Martins driver statistics at Racing-Reference