Looking in from the outside, Tommy Joe Martins is not your average race car driver. Like many of the top NASCAR drivers, Tommy Joe began racing Go-Karts on dirt oval tracks in Mississippi at age 11. That is about as far as the “average race car driver” scenario goes… Tommy Joe, a true athlete, took a different road from that point. Tommy Joe excelled in both academics and sports. A talented athlete, Martins spent his high school years participating in a variety of sports programs including three years of football (winning two championships), three years on the golf team and one year of basketball… Following graduation from Magnolia Heights High School in Senatobia, Mississippi, Martins enrolled at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Then, following his sophomore year at Ole Miss’ Sally McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College, Martins realized something was missing….

In 2008, Tommy Joe’s started racing again. While competing in SCCA Road Racing – T2 Class driving a Nissan 350Z, something amazing happened. In his first seven national SCCA races, Tommy Joe compiled five wins and two second place finishes and set track records at four tracks drawing the attention of development scouts from all levels of racing!

Following the advice of Lorin Ranier, Director of Driver Development for NASCAR’s Chip Ganassi Racing, Martin began testing with various ARCA / NASCAR teams. In September 2008, Martins signed a NASCAR Driver Development contract with Baker Curb Racing. In preparation for the 2009 NASCAR Camping World East Series, Martins will race in a variety of late model, super late model and ASA Late Model races. Within the first month of signing with Baker Curb Racing, Martins had already won his first Pro Late Model feature and set a new track speed record in the Limited Late Model division at Riverview Speedway in Carthage, TN.

Story courtesy of: Baker-Curb Racing, Nashville, TN

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