Harold Martin is Ready to Turn the Corner in Grand Bend
This weekend, the Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series will make the second of their three annual visits north of the border, heading to the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario for the Canadian Nationals. As is this case for all the international events, this race will seem like a homecoming for Harold Martin and the ACDelco Pro Modified Racing team, who over the years have developed a tremendous fan base among our northern neighbors. Armed with this added motivation, they look to add to their successful history at “The Bend” and score their first win of the season.
“Overall, the Canadian experience has been a good one for the ACDelco Pontiac crew,” said Martin. “The fans in Canada have become part of our extended family, and we usually run well there. For example, the track at the Motorplex this weekend seems to demand a set-up that is particularly well-suited to our program, so we’re really looking forward to going up and competing in Grand Bend.”
Through the first four races of the 11-race IHRA schedule, the EFI Wizard has been a solid performer on the edge of a breakout performance. Although their state-of-the-art, nitrous-injected Pontiac is at a performance disadvantage to its supercharged counterparts, the Martin-led crew has never wavered, qualifying for each event when former champions have gone home. Showing steady progress, they come to the shores of Lake Huron determined to improve upon their runner-up performance at this event three years ago.
“We’ve had great success at the Grand Bend Motorplex, and it would be great to get back to that type of competition and put a win together,” said Martin. “We think that our program is coming together, and with the race being later in the year than it has been in previous seasons, we’ll hopefully get some warmer temperatures, giving the nitrous cars a chance to be a little more competitive.
“You can’t let the performance difference get you down. What you have to do is keep looking at your program, trying to find ways to improve. The last test session was a perfect example. We’ve tested our ACDelco Pontiac Pro Mod in warmer conditions, trying extremely aggressive set-ups, and the results were very favorable.
“After all, we think it will be slightly cooler in Grand Bend, which means it will be fast, so we’ll have to be on our game. A conservative set-up will not get it done, so we’ll have to be aggressive, and hopefully have a little luck on our side. This track has been very kind to us in the past, so we’re looking to have the performance from the test session carry over so we can do well this weekend.”
For more information on Harold Martin , ACDelco, or the ACDelco/ Harold Martin “Pros Who Know” Scholarship program, please visit Redirecting.
Notes on Harold Martin and the ACDelco Pontiac Racing Team entering
the IHRA Canadian Nationals:
Harold has been solid at “The Bend ”: In his last six races at the Grand Bend Motorplex, Harold Martin has three starts in the top half of the field, including fourth place starts in 2004 & 2005, and a runner-up and quarterfinal finish.
