Tommy Joe Martins, co-owner and general manager of Alpha Prime Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, made a surprise appearance in the ASA STARS National Tour All-American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway this past weekend. . Martins calls his entry in the All-American 400 a passion project and says the effort really came together at the last minute.
“We put this deal together a little bit last minute, but it was kind of a pet project for my dad and former Martins Motorsports co-owner Rodney Risen,” Martins said with Racing America. explained in an exclusive interview. “They slowly built this up over time and were like, ‘We really want to run late model races this year.'” It was just fun, and from the deep end at All-American. It was like jumping off. ”
It was a surprise to see the Martins on the entry list, but the driver hopes to take the No. 44 car to more regional short track events in the near future.
“I’d love to go run something like the CARS Tour,” Martins said. “We’re really lucky. We’ve been able to partner with Derek Peebles, Alpha Prime Development is kind of working there, and we’ve run a little bit of cars and CARS Tour stuff this year. So, I I think there’s something to it.”
Martins continued, “I think it’s a mix of late model inventory here locally and inventory from the Carolinas and Virginia and things like that. For the super race, we’re going to be selective about it.” Ta. We’ll probably go to Pensacola, Mobile, and maybe Cordell where we have the big race to kick off the year and the Winchester 400. Some of those big events, those are the ones I want to go to and go see. That’s what I’m doing myself, spending a year trying to develop that car. ”
Martins had a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series for many years, finally moving up to full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor in 2020. After two years of full-time action, finishing 20th in the points in both seasons, Martins stepped down to become general manager of the rebranded Alpha Prime Racing in 2022.
Since then, Martins has only competed in a select few races.
It’s fun to think about the races you want to run, but in my opinion, the Alpha Prime Late Model program serves as a platform for the team’s young part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers like Leland Honeyman. Martins says that would be ideal. Rank in Alpha His Prime and gain experience on real world tracks while waiting for your next opportunity in the NASCAR National His Series.