NASCAR: Martins Motorsports officially shutting down

Over the New Year’s holiday, part-time NASCAR competitor Tommy Joe Martins confirmed his family-owned team will not race in 2018.

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is supposed to mark the closure of one chapter and beginning of another for many, with new opportunities possible in the new year. For part-time NASCAR driver Tommy Joe Martins, his opportunity to continue his career in stock car racing took a hit over the holiday. He took to social media this past weekend to confirm that his family-owned team will not race in 2018.

As first reported by Frontstretch.com, the move to shut down Martins Motorsports came after two handshake deals with funded drivers and sponsors fell through. The team has come to rely on drivers with funding in order to continue operations, and the Martins family understandably felt that taking another loss in 2018 would not be financially prudent.

Tommy Joe Martins, who has driven for the team throughout its existence, had this to say about the team’s future and his future career in NASCAR, according to Frontstretch.com.

"We had been trying to sell rides going into this year. I had two handshake agreements on that and they both backed out on me. We’re doing all this stuff for someone else to get to drive the trucks that we bought for me to race.I’m in a position now where my driving career isn’t tied to this race team. I’ve got a deal for 10 races with BJ McLeod next year and he’s already been open to upping that to about 15 races. So I’m getting to run half the year in Xfinity anyway."

More from NASCAR

Martins Motorsports began in 2011, fielding the #44 Chevy in the Camping World Truck Series for Tommy Joe. They later moved up to the Xfinity Series, initially with two cars, before cutting back to just one. Neither entry would run the full season in 2014. The team hoped to make a return effort to NASCAR’s #2 division in 2017, running Tommy Joe part-time in the #45 car. However, after not qualifying for their first two races, the team partnered with B.J. McLeod Motorsports to field Tommy Joe in additional races.

The team only appeared in a handful of 2017 Camping World Truck Series races, mostly through partnerships with other teams or pay drivers. The team intended to field the #42 Chevy for Matt Mills at Iowa Speedway, but it never left the garage. The #44 Chevy, meanwhile, was mostly fielded in tandem with Faith Motorsports and AM Racing. The latter will now partner with Niece Motorsports to field Austin Wayne Self and Justin Fontaine full-time in 2018.

Next: Top 100 NASCAR drivers of all-time

The departure of Martins Motorsports from the Truck Series field adds to the number of entries being chopped from the prospective 2018 field. Brad Keselowski Racing and Red Horse Racing both shut their doors either during or after the 2017 campaign. Other multi-truck teams like Kyle Busch Motorsports, ThorSport Racing, and GMS Racing have also yet to confirm their lineups for the new year.

Home/NASCAR