Alpha Prime Racing

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Alpha Prime Racing
AlphaPrimeRacing.jpg
Owner(s)Craig Martins
Tommy Joe Martins
Caesar Bacarella
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesNASCAR Xfinity Series
Race driversXfinity Series:
44. Tommy Joe Martins, Ryan Ellis, Sage Karam, Caesar Bacarella, Rajah Caruth, Josh Bilicki
45. Caesar Bacarella, Kaz Grala, Tommy Joe Martins, Josh Bilicki, Sage Karam, Ryan Ellis, Howie DiSavino III
SponsorsXfinity Series:
44. Market Rebellion, Four Loko, Keen Parts, The Driveway Company, Alpha Prime
45. Lilly Finance, Ruedebusch, AP Regimen Legacy Series, Lemons of Love, Heartbeat Hot Sauce, Keen Parts
ManufacturerChevrolet
Opened2009
Career
DebutXfinity Series:
2014 Blue Jeans Go Green 200 (Phoenix)
Truck Series:
2009 AAA Insurance 200 (Lucas Oil Raceway)
Latest raceXfinity Series:
2022 Nalley Cars 250 (Atlanta)
Truck Series:
2017 Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead)
Races competedTotal: 127
Xfinty Series: 84
Truck Series: 41
ARCA Racing Series: 2
Drivers' ChampionshipsTotal: 0
Xfinity Series: 0
Truck Series: 0
ARCA Racing Series: 0
Race victoriesTotal: 0
Xfinity Series: 0
Truck Series: 0
ARCA Racing Series: 0
Pole positionsTotal: 0
Xfinity Series: 0
Truck Series: 0
ARCA Racing Series: 0

Alpha Prime Racing (formerly Martins Motorsports) is an American stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team was founded in 2009 by Craig Martins, and fields the No. 44 and 45 Chevrolet Camaro SS for multiple drivers. At various points, the team has had partnerships with AM Racing, Faith Motorsports and Brandonbilt Motorsports. The team was inactive in the 2018 and 2019 seasons and changed to their current name starting with the 2022 season.

Xfinity Series[]

Car No. 44 history[]

Tommy Joe Martins in the No. 44 at Daytona International Speedway in 2020.

On December 24, 2019, two years after shutting down its operations, Martins Motorsports announced its return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020, with longtime sponsor and family friend Rodney Riessen joining Craig Martins as the team's co-owners. The team will field the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Tommy Joe Martins.[1] The team bought chassis from GMS Racing and JGL Racing to help bolster its inventory, which already included a road course car Martins ran for MBM Motorsports in 2019.[2] The team failed to qualify for the season-opening race at Daytona, and had to temporarily lay off all of its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Midway through the season, the team hired Buddy Sisco as crew chief and results turned around.[3] On October 24, Martins recorded both his and the team's first top-10 finish at Texas Motor Speedway with a 10th-place finish; Martins had confirmed a 2021 return earlier that month.[4][5]

On August 30, 2021, the team announced announced it had formed a partnership with Caesar Bacarella, renaming the team to Alpha Prime Racing (after Bacarella's fitness brand) beginning with the 2022 season. Martins, Bacarella and Rajah Caruth are signed to drive for the team in 2022.[6][7][8] On November 22, 2021, Bacarella was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for a violation of the sanctioning bodies substance abuse policy. A team statement issued by Tommy Joe Martins (in his capacity as General Manager) said that Bacarella had taken a workout supplement that he was unaware was on the banned substance list and that Bacarella is expected to be reinstated in time for the first race of 2022.[9] On February 14, 2022, Bacarella was reinstated by NASCAR;[10] Martins would drive the car in the opening race at Daytona, with Bacarella instead driving the No. 45.[11]

Car No. 44 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts
2020 Tommy Joe Martins 44 Chevy DAY
DNQ 		LVS
32 		CAL
18 		PHO
28 		DAR
26 		CLT
24 		BRI
23 		ATL
22 		HOM
31 		HOM
20 		TAL
15 		POC
30 		IND
35 		KEN
33 		KEN
27 		TEX
15 		KAN
18 		ROA
18 		DAY
13 		DOV
21 		DOV
15 		DAY
14 		DAR
26 		RCH
15 		RCH
26 		BRI
24 		LVS
22 		TAL
15 		CLT
27 		KAN
14 		TEX
10 		MAR
16 		PHO
34 		22nd 481
2021 DAY
24 		DAY
24 		HOM
18 		LVS
15 		PHO
17 		ATL
18 		MAR
34 		TAL
11 		DAR
15 		DOV
20 		COA
35 		CLT
29 		MOH
39 		TEX
21 		NSH
20 		POC
20 		ROA
15 		ATL
16 		NHA
21 		GLN
19 		IND
21 		MCH
19 		DAY
18 		DAR
37 		RCH
37 		BRI
23 		LVS
14 		TAL
18 		CLT
33 		TEX
18 		KAN
23 		MAR
40 		PHO
24 		22nd 497
2022 DAY
24 		CAL
31 		RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO -* -*
Ryan Ellis LVS
13 		PHO
16
Sage Karam ATL
32 		COA
Team logo as Martins Motorsports

Car No. 45 history[]

On April 14, 2017, the team announced a nine-race Xfinity slate for 2017[12] with Tommy Joe Martins,[13] car No. 45[14] and sponsor Diamond Gusset Jeans,[15] starting with the spring race at Richmond and focusing primarily on short to intermediate tracks with the exception of the Indianapolis race.[16] After failing to qualify and withdrawing from the first two planned events, the No. 45's schedule was folded into a ride with B. J. McLeod Motorsports, which culminated with a career-best 11th-place finish at Iowa for the driver.[17]

On January 5, 2021, Alpha Prime Racing announced the number for their second full-time entry to be 45 and on January 6 announced Sage Karam to be one of the drivers.

Car No. 45 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts
2017 Tommy Joe Martins 45 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH
DNQ 		TAL CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM * *
2022 Caesar Bacarella DAY
38 		RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO -* -*
Kaz Grala CAL
25 		LVS
23 		PHO
33
Tommy Joe Martins ATL
20
Josh Bilicki COA

Car No. 67 history[]

This car was the team's secondary focus in their 2014 foray, with Clay Greenfield behind the wheel at Daytona. However, he along with Willie Allen failed to qualify, making Martins Motorsports 0 for 2 in that race.[18] The car withdrew the next week after no driver was found to drive it. The team then took time off to prepare for the spring Bristol race, where Tommy Joe Martins crashed in qualifying and withdrew.[19] To recoup from that, the team did not return until Michigan, when Benny Gordon qualified the car but then switched to Martins when he failed to qualify the 76.[20]

Car No. 67 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts
2014 Clay Greenfield 67 Dodge DAY
DNQ 		PHO LVS -* -*
Tommy Joe Martins BRI
DNQ 		CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV
Ford MCH
38 		ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM

Car No. 76 history[]

The 76 car at the 2014 Gardner Denver 200 with Tommy Joe Martins driving.
Martins in the No. 76 at Road America in 2014.

The primary focus in 2014, Nationwide veteran Willie Allen failed to qualify the 76 at Daytona and Bristol.[21] Tommy Joe Martins then took over the reins of what was left as the team's only entry after the demise of the 67, making eight races in the 76 and failing to qualify for four, including its last three attempts. The team primarily start and parked, but ran full races at higher-paying events like at Talladega and Charlotte.[22] The team's last attempt was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[23]

Car No. 76 results[]

Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts
2014 Willie Allen 76 Dodge DAY
DNQ 		BRI
DNQ 		CAL
Tommy Joe Martins TEX
35 		DAR
30 		RCH
36 		TAL
14 		CLT
31 		DOV
35 		MCH
DNQ 		ROA
31 		KEN
DNQ 		DAY
DNQ 		NHA CHI
Ford PHO
35 		LVS
39 		IOW
36 		IND
DNQ 		IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM

Camping World Truck Series[]

Truck No. 42 history[]

The team debuted in 2011 at Lucas Oil Raceway with Tommy Joe Martins behind the wheel. The team returned at Iowa Speedway in 2017 with Matt Mills behind the wheel and additional races to be determined.[24] Though the car never hit the track that weekend, the scheme was included in the original version of NASCAR Heat 2. The additional races were in the team's No. 44 entry. Martins returned for the 2017 Jag Metals 350 but a possible suspension problem led to a wrecked truck in practice, and a blown right-front tire three laps into the race ended Martins' weekend. The backup truck was loaned from fellow independent Mike Harmon.[25]

Truck No. 44 history[]

The first race for Martins Motorsports was in 2009, when Tommy Joe Martins ran a four race schedule, recording a best finish of 21st at Chicagoland.[26] The team and driver returned for one race as the No. 42 in 2011, finishing 33rd at Lucas Oil Raceway.[27] After taking all of 2015 off to recover from a failed Xfinity Series effort, the team returned in 2016 with Martins as the full-time driver except for a qualifying crash at Martinsville (spot sold to Austin Wayne Self),[28] Eldora (dirt racer J. R. Heffner),[29] and a DNQ at Homestead-Miami.[30]

On February 13, 2017, Martins Motorsports announced a partnership with another family Truck team, Brandonbilt Motorsports,[31] to put driver Brandon Brown in the 44 truck for "select races".[32] However, the operations of the 44 truck ceased with the 2017 Xfinity announcement except for Heffner again piloting the truck at Eldora.[33] After ceasing operations, owner points of the 44 truck were sold to Faith Motorsports. When that team ran into organizational trouble mid-season, Matt Mills drove the truck for a race at Kentucky but crashed out. The much-anticipated return of Heffner the following race[34] was derailed due to a blown engine early in the weekend, the entry never making it to the grid. After the Eldora race, the 44 became a joint-prepared effort between Martins and AM Racing.[25] That relationship lasted through the end of the season except for Faith and Ted Minor running a Las Vegas shooting paint scheme at Texas.[35][36]

2017 closure[]

Following reports two days earlier that longtime crew chief Kevin Eagle had left the team, primary driver and owner Tommy Joe Martins took to Twitter, Periscope and the media to announce the team's closure in late December 2017. The team had plans to compete in a full 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule; however, two drivers signed to drive on handshake deals failed to follow through, leaving the team's financial security in doubt.[37] Tommy Joe, commenting on the situation, noted the irony of the situation that the team had been founded as an underdog, family team and now had to rely on pay drivers to survive, the antithesis of what the team was founded on. Once those drivers with sponsors backed out, Martins said that his family was unwilling to take the $300,000 or $400,000 loss that the team took in 2017. At different points, he called the decision "hard" to give up on a dream, yet "easy" to make financially.[38] He also did not rule out a return to the Xfinity Series but the return did not seem likely at the time of closure.[37] Martins later disclosed that the team had approached Ford Performance to become a partner team but that the manufacturer turned the team down.

References[]

  1. ^ Page, Scott (December 24, 2019). "Tommy Joe Martins, Martins Motorsports returns to NASCAR XFINITY Series full-time in 2020". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  2. ^ Haverlin, John (March 8, 2020). "Tommy Joe Martins on restarting family team: 'This was always something we had on the backburner'". New Mexico Motorsports Report. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Albino, Dustin (October 21, 2020). "Eyes on Xfinity: Tommy Joe Martins Focused on Building Martins Motorsports". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  4. ^ Beard, Brock (October 29, 2020). "XFINITY: Timmy Hill sets up LASTCAR battle with Stephen Leicht; Brown, Vargas, Martins, and Currey enjoy career-best runs". LASTCAR.info. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Albino, Dustin (October 21, 2020). "Eyes on Xfinity: Tommy Joe Martins Focused on Building Martins Motorsports". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Tomlinson, Joy (August 30, 2021). "Tommy Joe Martins, Caesar Bacarella Pair for New Xfinity Team, Sign Rajah Caruth". Frontstretch. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  7. ^ Nguyen, Justin (August 30, 2021). "Alpha Prime Racing formed by Tommy Joe Martins and Caesar Bacarella, signs Rajah Carruth". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  8. ^ DeGroot, Nick (August 30, 2021). "Rising star Rajah Caruth will run part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022". Motorsport.com. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (2021-11-22). "Mike Harmon Docked Points For 2022, Caesar Bacarella Suspended". www.frontstretch.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  10. ^ "Caesar Bacarella Reinstated by NASCAR". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona: Entry list, TV schedule for the Beef. It's What's For Dinner. 300". www.yahoo.com.
  12. ^ "Martins Motorsports Returns to NASCAR XFINITY Series". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  13. ^ "Martins Motorsports Announces Switch to XFINITY Series". Frontstretch. 2017-04-14. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  14. ^ "Martins Motorsports Returns at Bristol". Popular Speed. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  15. ^ "Martins Motorsports Returning To XFINITY Series". Speed Sport. 2017-04-14. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  16. ^ Long, Dustin (2017-04-14). "Tommy Joe Martins moving from Truck to Xfinity Series". NASCAR Talk. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  17. ^ "Eyes on XFINITY: Tommy Joe Martins Still Surviving in NASCAR". www.frontstretch.com. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  18. ^ "02/22/2014 race: DRIVE4COPD 300 (NXS) - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  19. ^ "03/15/2014 race: Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 (NXS) - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  20. ^ "06/14/2014 race: Ollie's Bargain Outlet 250 (NXS) - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  21. ^ "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  22. ^ "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  23. ^ "Martins Motorsports Making XFINITY Series Return". www.onpitroad.com. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  24. ^ "Martins Motorsports returns to Truck Series competition with Matt Mills in Iowa". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  25. ^ a b "TRUCKS: Hard-luck Tommy Joe Martins' weekend a tale of two trucks". brock.lastcar.info. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  26. ^ "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  27. ^ "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  28. ^ "Driver Austin Wayne Self 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  29. ^ "Driver J.R. Heffner 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  30. ^ "Driver Tommy Joe Martins 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  31. ^ "Martins Motorsports, Brandonbilt Motorsports Form Partnership – POPULAR SPEED". www.popularspeed.com. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  32. ^ "Brandonbilt Motorsports, Martins Motorsports Combine For Select 2017 Races". Kickin' The Tires. 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  33. ^ "Fantasy Sports Breaking News - Rotoworld.com". www.rotoworld.com. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  34. ^ "JR Heffner Heading Back To Eldora's Dirt Derby With High Hopes". Race Pro Weekly. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  35. ^ "NASCAR Camping World Truck Series - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  36. ^ "Minor, Faith Motorsports to run Vegas tribute at Texas". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  37. ^ a b "Martins Motorsports Closes Down Truck Series Team". www.frontstretch.com. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  38. ^ Martins, Tommy Joe (2017-12-29). "Martins Motorsports Shutdown". Periscope. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
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