8/28/2019
RacinBoys
Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight: Martin in a good place entering MLRA Larry Phillips Memorial
By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- You might be hard pressed to find a race driver at a better place in life than Logan Martin, the 23-year-old from West Plains who's leading the Lucas Oil MLRA Series Rookie of the Year standings and is third overall in points.
Martin not only is having a solid season on the track, he's settled in as a business owner as his Mr. Dent Collision Repair in Seymour is going strong. Further, he and fiancee Larissa Atnip are closing in on an early October wedding date.
"I'm happy, man," Martin said. "Life is good, life is awesome. And I'm super excited to get going this weekend and try to knock down a win."
Martin and the MLRA tour returns to Lucas Oil Speedway on Saturday for the Larry Phillips Memorial Presented by Rugged Radio. The feature winner will earn $5,075 at a track where Martin made thousands of laps as a teen driving a B-Mod prior to moving to Late Models in 2017.
"I'm pumped up and excited for the weekend, going to two tracks that I've run pretty good at," Martin said, noting that a Sunday $5,000-to-win event at Quincy Speedway will wrap up the MLRA doubleheader. He added that the past experience at Lucas Oil Speedway is a benefit, even if it came in a Modified.
"It does give me extra confidence," he said. "You know the different characteristics of the track, how it races, when the lines change and how often the lines change. All that stuff carries over. The car might not drive the same as a Modified, but the way the track races does translate. That definitely plays a role and is a benefit."
Martin enters the weekend 93 points behind MLRA championship leader Will Vaught of Crane, but just 12 points behind Wisconsin's Mitch McGrath for the No. 2 position. He's 219 points ahead of fourth-place Joseph Gorby, also a rookie.
Martin said he would give himself a B-plus for his season as a whole, which includes one feature win on the Comp Cams Series. He made the feature both nights at the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in mid-July and has all but locked up the Sunoco Race Fuels MLRA Rookie of the Year Award, worth $2,500 and six drums of Sunoco Race Fuel.
"I really want to knock down an MLRA win and I feel like we have a good shot this weekend. If I could knock down one of those, I'd call the season an A," said Martin, who has one career MLRA feature win, last season at Lake Ozark Speedway.
Larissa is alongside for all the ups and downs and Martin admits she's been the MVP in planning the upcoming wedding and scheduling it around the MLRA tour dates. The two are due to wed the weekend before the MLRA Fall Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway and delay the honeymoon getaway until the day after the race.
"I won't lie and tell you that I've done a lot of planning," Martin said with a laugh. "I've helped when asked, but she has carries the majority of the planning and all that goes with it.
"She comes to the track with us and hardly ever misses a race. Have her support is huge. Everybody's support, really, in the whole family. It's typical of a racing family, but having that kind of support is a huge deal."
For Lucas Oil MLRA Series news, schedule and points please visit MLRAracing.com.
The O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks, Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods and Pure Stocks also will be on hand Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway, all running 25-lap features. The B-Mods and Street Stocks will go after a $750 first prize with the Pure Stocks, a guest class for the second time this season, competing for $400-to-win. There is no track registration fee or entry fee for any of the support classes, only pit passes.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and opening ceremonies at 7.
The entire program on Saturday will be recorded and shown, at a later date, on "Lucas Oil Speedway Saturday Night Racing" on MAVTV Motorsports Network and http://www.LucasOilRacing.TV.
Admission prices:
Adults (16 and over) $20
Seniors (62 and over)/Military $17
Youth (ages 6-15) $10
Kids (5 and under) FREE
Family pass $50
Pit pass $40
For questions about tickets or camping for any event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at Nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
