Darvin Martinets Belle Rose preview

Main & Martinets set to battle for Div. 4 title in '08

BELLE ROSE, La. - After a strong finish to the 2007 season, the Main & Martinets NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team is looking forward to kicking off the 2008 season at this weekend's Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series opener at No Problem Raceway just outside of New Orleans. Team driver Darvin Martinets reached the finals of the O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Dallas and the final of the Division 4 closer in Noble, Okla., and hopes to do more of the same this season.

Martinets, from Lake Jackson, Texas, is excited about going into battle with a year under their belts. Martinets last competed in Top Alcohol Dragster in the early '90's before hooking up with Team Owner Howie Main last season. The team found their stride in the latter half of the season, qualifying No. 3 at the Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, Pa., with a 5.35 second elapsed time at 267 mph before going on to finish the year out with final round appearances in Dallas and Noble. The team hopes to contend for the Division 4 title.

"We got the car solidly in the 5.30 range last year," said Martinets. "There are a lot of tough cars in Division 4, but we hope to be able to mix it up with them this year and have a shot at the Division 4 Championship. Morgan Lucas has already got a jump on us with a win at an out of division event in Bradenton, Fla., but it's a long season. We have our work cut out for us, but with our team still intact from last year, I think we have a shot."

"Howie has done a great job keeping everybody together," Martinets continued. "Rick Hanna will do clutch again, Scott Vaudrin will do bottom end, David Crabb will perform top end maintenance and Will Hanna will stay on board as a tuning consultant to assist Howie. Most importantly, my wife Natalie will be back to keep us all fed."

Martinets cites the team has a strong line up of associate sponsors, but still lacks a major sponsor to give them the budget to compete for the national championship. Pipe Tools, Inc., an independently owned distributor of pipe cutting and welding equipment, returns as a major associate sponsor in addition to Cliff's Bit & Tool, a manufacturer of aftermarket tool bits for the pipe cutting and beveling industry. For 2008, the team has signed a new associate sponsor DragRaceHose.com, a distributor of Goodridge Hoses & Fittings. The team is still aggressively pursuing additional marketing partners for the 2008 season and beyond.

"We have the parts and the people to compete nationally," cited Martinets. "We received a fair bit of coverage on television and in the media last year, so we feel like we offer a potential sponsor a lot of value. Right now we're planning on running the races in this part of the country and competing for the Division 4 Championship, but with additional funding, we can expand on that and travel more to compete for a strong national finish."

Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars with two more sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations will conclude the event on Sunday. Find up to the minute results at DragRaceCentral.com.

To contact the team, Darvin can be reached via email at Darvin4691@yahoo.com or phone (979) 299-5020.

www.DragRaceHose.com - Buy high quality Goodridge hoses and fittings direct from sportsman racer Will Hanna's DragRaceHose.com.

Contact: Will Hanna/ Pro Race Communications
Email: Will.Hanna@InsideTopAlcohol.com