Catchfence

(April 18, 2011) – Talladega, AL – Hal Martin, otherwise known from his New Orleans roots as the “Ragin’ Cajun,” returned to Talladega with strong hopes for a clean run at the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards 3 Amigos 250 in Talladega. After an impressive outing at the earlier April test session with Venturini Motorsports, as well as experience at the famed superspeedway, Martin felt like his “hometown track” would bring him some Louisiana luck.

“We had the right setups on the No. 55 NOLA Motorsports Toyota Camry after our test,” said Martin. “Crew chief John Quinn and I came back to Talladega for my second run at this track with a lot of confidence. The Venturinis know how to race this track and set up these cars.”

Martin went on to post top 10 times in both practice sessions. He posted a 12th fastest qualifying time on Thursday afternoon, just as the Talladega winds were picking up – later delaying the race to Saturday morning after tornadoes and rain ripped through the Talladega area all Friday.

After running in the top 10 for 44 laps and successfully drafting, Martin was clipped by a competitor, sending him spinning and throwing the race’s third caution flag of the day. The hit was a hard one, not only damaging the car beyond drivability but also sending Martin to the Infield Care Center. Martin thankfully walked away unharmed, minus a few bumps & bruises.

The dramatic crash footage can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82hmeJo_5aI

“We had a really strong day at Talladega,” Martin continued. “It unfortunately ended with a tore up race car. We were hooked going down the backstraight by another driver and sent into the inside wall. Now it’s on to Chicago, where I hope to put NOLA Motorsports Park in Victory Lane. We’ll keep moving forward.”

- Girl Friday Press Release