While known locally as the pilot who gives rides in his weight-shift trike, a hang-glider wing with three wheels, two seats, and a propeller, Joey Martin returns this weekend to his first love, drag racing, at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Pro Extreme Championship in Ennis, a town south of Dallas. He’ll be driving in place of Wesley Jones who’s recovering from detached retina surgery. Martin will be behind the wheel of a car he used to race, now owned by Jones.
Thursday, Martin will be testing the car, making qualifying rounds Friday, with the race on Saturday. The fastest runs of the four qualifying rounds, he said, creates the ladder.
One of the biggest highlights of Martin’s career was a world speed record he earned in 2013 at an American Drag Racing League event in Memphis. Behind the wheel of his Outlaw Pro-Modified Blower car widely known as "The LOWMAD,” he hit 216.27mph for a world record followed by a 215.55mph run.
Check out his record run here
While Martin started as a racer, he quickly developed as a racecar builder. Most recently, he finished a white C7 Corvette for Gene Hector, one of the PDRA owners. One of his first accomplishments, at age 15 he said, was installing a Kawasaki KZ750 motorcycle engine in a go-kart. Even earlier, Martin said he was going through scrap parts and taking lawnmower motors apart at 10.
Martin said he started racing in 1986 and seriously building since 1998. “It’s all I’ve done since ’98,” the self-taught builder said. His nickname “Hero” he said came from his car repair abilities. “People would say, ‘I want to race this weekend but my car’s broke.’ I’d say I would fix it and they would say, ‘Oh you’re my hero.’”
Starting Friday morning, fans who can’t make it to Dallas can check out the races online at www.motormaniatv.com. According to the schedule, Martin’s event will be under the link MMTV1 at Motor Mania TV.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Joey Martin gets back on track