Owner(s) | Craig Martins Tommy Joe Martins Caesar Bacarella |
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Principal(s) | Tommy Joe Martins (President) |
Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
Series | NASCAR Xfinity Series |
Race drivers | Xfinity Series: 43. Ryan Ellis 44. Brennan Poole 45. Caesar Bacarella, Brad Perez, Alon Day, Garrett Smithley (part-time) |
Sponsors | Xfinity Series: 43. Heartbeat Hot Sauce, Classic Collision, Rolling Plains Construction, Southern Elevator, Costa Oil, Eclipse Claims Consulting, Four Loko, MacLean Power Systems, SHINE Water, United Construction & Forestry, Snapchat, Sweetwater Construction, Renascent Demolition, ABC Warehouse, Pella Windows 44. Finance Pro Plus, Macc Door Systems, Prime Bites, CW & Sons Infrastructure, Frontline Fire Protection, Toxic Waste Energy Drink, Members 1st, Yxngxr1, Hackett Truck Sales 45. Prime Bites, Weiss Sand & Clay, Jet Support Services, Trophy Tractor, Hackett Truck Sales |
Manufacturer | Chevrolet |
Opened | 2009 |
Career | |
Debut | Xfinity Series: 2014 Blue Jeans Go Green 200 (Phoenix) Truck Series: 2009 AAA Insurance 200 (Lucas Oil Raceway) |
Latest race | Xfinity Series: 2024 Focused Health 250 (Atlanta) Truck Series: 2017 Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead) |
Races competed | Total: 208 Xfinty Series: 165 Truck Series: 41 ARCA Racing Series: 2 |
Drivers' Championships | Total: 0 Xfinity Series: 0 Truck Series: 0 ARCA Racing Series: 0 |
Race victories | Total: 0 Xfinity Series: 0 Truck Series: 0 ARCA Racing Series: 0 |
Pole positions | Total: 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. 43 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Ryan Ellis full-time, the No. 44 for Brennan Poole full-time, and the No. 45 part-time for multiple drivers. The team was inactive from 2018 to 2019 and changed to their current name starting with the 2022 season.
On September 15, 2022, Alpha Prime Racing announced that Ryan Ellis would return for an increased number of races in 2023 with specific partnership announcements coming at a later date. [1] On December 20, the team announced it would be starting a third car with Ellis being the primary driver in 25 races with potentially more races being announced at a later date. He would complete 30 of the 33 races in the 43. [2] Caesar Bacarella drove the car to a sixth-place finish at Talladega. Leland Honeyman finished 28th at Portland, while Dylan Lupton finished 24th at Sonoma.
On August 4, 2023, APR announced that Ellis will run full-time in 2024. [3]
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Ryan Ellis | 43 | Chevy | DAY 35 | CAL 34 | LVS 27 | PHO 19 | ATL 23 | COA 20 | RCH 15 | MAR 28 | DOV 25 | DAR 33 | CLT 27 | NSH 28 | CSC 31 | ATL 25 | NHA 19 | POC 18 | ROA 35 | MCH 23 | IRC 29 | GLN 30 | DAY 32 | DAR 29 | KAN 17 | BRI 18 | TEX 13 | ROV 36 | HOM 24 | MAR 24 | PHO 26 | 28th | 393 | ||||
Ford | LVS 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Caesar Bacarella | Chevy | TAL 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leland Honeyman | PIR 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dylan Lupton | SON 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2024 | Ryan Ellis | DAY 11 | ATL 25 | LVS 22 | PHO 21 | COA 33 | RCH 27 | MAR 26 | TEX 26 | TAL 26 | DOV 13 | DAR 38 | CLT 27 | PIR 17 | SON 26 | IOW 14 | NHA 35 | NSH 23 | CSC 21 | POC 36 | IND 23 | MCH 14 | DAY 37 | DAR 21 | ATL 21 | GLN | BRI | KAN | TAL | ROV | LVS | HOM | MAR | PHO | ||||
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. [4] 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. [5] 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. [6] Midway through the season, the team hired Buddy Sisco as crew chief and results turned around. [6] 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. [7] [8]
On August 30, 2021, the team 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. [9] [10] [11] 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. [12] On February 14, 2022, Bacarella was reinstated by NASCAR; [13] Martins would drive the car in the opening race at Daytona, with Bacarella instead driving the No. 45. [14]
On December 13, 2022, Alpha Prime Racing said in a press release that Jeffrey Earnhardt will be competing full time for the team in 2023. One of Earnhardt's long-time sponsors, ForeverLawn, will serve as the primary sponsor for the entry for multiple events. [15] However, in the race at COTA, Earnhardt was swapped out in favor of Sage Karam, who only completed 23 laps before engine issues kept him from finishing the race. Earnhardt continued to race the #44 until Darlington in May, when he was swapped to the #45 permanently. Since then, several drivers have driven the #44 car, including Karam, Rajah Caruth, Daniel Dye, and Greg Van Alst. The car failed to qualify for 6 races in the season. At Martinsville in October, Rajah drove the #44 Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish, the best finish of the season for the team.
On November 9, 2023, Alpha Prime Racing announced that Brennan Poole would drive for the team full-time in 2024 with primary sponsorship from Finance Pro Plus (20 races) and Macc Door Systems (10 races). [16]
On April 14, 2017, the team announced a nine-race Xfinity slate for 2017 [17] with Tommy Joe Martins, [18] car No. 45 [19] and sponsor Diamond Gusset Jeans, [20] starting with the spring race at Richmond and focusing primarily on short to intermediate tracks with the exception of the Indianapolis race. [21] 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. [22]
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.
On December 2, 2022, Alpha Prime Racing announced that Sage Karam will be returning in 2023 in 17 racing, starting with the spring race at Atlanta. [23] On December 23, 2022, Alpha Prime announced that Stefan Parsons will also be returning for select races in 2023. [24] Caesar Bacarella will also be driving the car at Daytona and Talladega.
The No. 45 scaled back to a part–time schedule in 2024. Confirmed drivers are Bacarella for at least four superspeedway races, and Brad Perez for the race at the Circuit of the Americas. [25] [26] On July 16, Alpha Prime acquired the owner points from the JD Motorsports No. 4 for the No. 45 at Indianapolis, after JD Motorsports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [27]
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. [28] 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. [29] 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. [30]
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 | 63rd | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||||||||
The primary focus in 2014, Nationwide veteran Willie Allen failed to qualify the 76 at Daytona and Bristol. [31] 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. [32] The team's last attempt was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [33]
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 | 44th | 118 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The team debuted in 2011 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park 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. [34] 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. [35]
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 | Owners | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Tommy Joe Martins | 42 | Ram | DAY | PHO | DAR | MAR | NSH | DOV | CLT | KAN | TEX | KEN | IOW | NSH | IRP 33 | POC | MCH | BRI | ATL | CHI | NHA | KEN | LVS | TAL | MAR | TEX | HOM | ||
2017 | Chevy | DAY | ATL | MAR | KAN | CLT | DOV | TEX | GTW | IOW | KEN | ELD | POC | MCH | BRI | MSP | CHI | NHA | LVS | TAL | MAR | TEX 32 | PHO | HOM | ||||||
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. [36] The team and driver returned for one race as the No. 42 in 2011, finishing 33rd at Lucas Oil Raceway. [37] 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), [38] Eldora (dirt racer J. R. Heffner), [39] and a DNQ at Homestead-Miami. [40]
On February 13, 2017, Martins Motorsports announced a partnership with another family Truck team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, [41] to put driver Brandon Brown in the 44 truck for "select races". [42] However, the operations of the 44 truck ceased with the 2017 Xfinity announcement except for Heffner again piloting the truck at Eldora. [43] 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 [44] 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. [35] That relationship lasted through the end of the season except for Faith and Ted Minor running a Las Vegas shooting paint scheme at Texas. [45] [46]
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 | Owners | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Tommy Joe Martins | 44 | Ford | DAY | CAL | ATL | MAR | KAN | CLT | DOV | TEX | MCH | MLW | MEM | KEN | IRP 22 | NSH 27 | BRI | CHI 21 | IOW | GTW 27 | NHA | LVS | MAR | TAL | TEX | PHO | HOM | ||
2016 | Chevy | DAY 32 | ATL 25 | KAN 32 | DOV 24 | CLT 25 | TEX 25 | IOW 30 | GTW 18 | KEN 26 | POC 17 | BRI 31 | MCH 15 | MSP 19 | CHI 24 | NHA 21 | LVS 22 | TAL 16 | MAR 25 | TEX 31 | PHO 30 | HOM DNQ | ||||||||
Austin Wayne Self | Toyota | MAR 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J. R. Heffner | Chevy | ELD 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017 | Brandon Brown | DAY DNQ | MAR 27 | KAN | CLT | DOV | TEX | GTW | IOW | |||||||||||||||||||||
Tommy Joe Martins | ATL 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Matt Mills | KEN 29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J. R. Heffner | ELD Wth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Austin Wayne Self | POC 16 | MCH 15 | BRI 24 | MSP | CHI 20 | NHA 14 | LVS 20 | TAL | MAR 29 | TEX | PHO 25 | HOM 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
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. [47] 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. [48] He also did not rule out a return to the Xfinity Series but the return did not seem likely at the time of closure. [47] Martins later disclosed that the team had approached Ford Performance to become a partner team but that the manufacturer turned the team down.
Thomas Joseph Martins is an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. He currently competes part-time in Asphalt Super Late Model competition, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing.
Mike Harmon Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that fields the No. 74 Chevrolet Camaro part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team has also competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series in the past.
Burton Darwin "B. J." McLeod is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He owns B. J. McLeod Motorsports, which fields entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and co-owns Live Fast Motorsports, a NASCAR Cup Series team which fields the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 which McLeod drives part-time. He also competes part-time in the Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for MBM Motorsports. McLeod has previously competed in the NASCAR Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.
Austin Wayne Self is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 22 Ford F-150 for his family team, AM Racing. He has also competed in the ARCA Menards Series, previously driving full-time in it for two years before moving up to the Truck Series, although he has continued to drive in the series part-time, most recently in 2022, where he drove the No. 32 Chevrolet for AM Racing.
B. J. McLeod Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by B. J. McLeod and his wife, Jessica. The team currently fields No. 78 part-time for B. J. McLeod.
AM Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series fielding the No. 15 Ford Mustang Dark Horse full-time for multiple drivers. They also compete in the ARCA Menards Series fielding the No. 32 Ford Mustang full-time for Christian Rose. The team also has a technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing. The team used to compete the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series fielding the No. 22 Ford F-150 part-time for multiple drivers.
Garrett Kirk Smithley is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 4/6 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports and the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series.
Brandonbilt Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team was owned by Jerry Brown, who is Southern National Motorsports Park's co-owner. The team fielded the No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro SS full-time for Brandon Brown, Austin Dillon, and Kris Wright.
Spencer Paul Boyd is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 76 Chevrolet Silverado for Freedom Racing Enterprises, a team he co-owns with Chris Miller. Boyd has also previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Joshua M. Bilicki is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for MBM Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 92 and 91 Chevrolet Camaros for DGM Racing and the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and sports car racing.
Matthew Robert Mills is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
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Caesar Peter Bacarella is an American stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. Bacarella has also driven in the ARCA Menards Series and Pirelli World Challenge.
Dawson Kevin Cram is an American professional stock car racing driver, mechanic, and team owner. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado for Faction46.
Stefan Charles Parsons is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 75 Chevrolet Silverado for Henderson Motorsports. He has also previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series and the CARS Tour.
The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 39th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the NASCAR Racing Experience 300 on February 15. The regular season ended with the Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway on September 11. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway on November 7.
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The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 41st season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 5 at Phoenix Raceway.
The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 42nd season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 4 at Phoenix Raceway.
Gregory Michael Van Alst is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 35 Chevrolet SS/Ford Fusion for his own team, Greg Van Alst Motorsports.