Martel Sees Success At Talladega, Moves towards Pocono

It’s been two weeks since the ARCA Racing 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, and the entire Bill Martel Racing organization is still riding the high of a solid 12^th place finish in their ARCA Superspeedway debut.  After the setbacks of missing Daytona, a solid run, with a lot of media exposure was just what BMR needed to get the momentum rolling on the rest of their 2010 season.

The team went to Talladega with a solid plan: qualify for the race, and run well, get laps, and gain respect. “We are still a new team; we have only run 6 races in this series.  Kyle is a very skilled driver, but he still has to earn the respect of the veterans of the series and show that we are seriously here to compete” said team owner Bill Martel.  The team unloaded fast right off the truck.  The newly reorganized team, led by veteran crew chief Ted Brown, discovered that their original setup was pretty good from the start. “We changed sway bars, a rear gear, and played with our carb a little.  Kyle likes the way I set the cars up, and with the amazing level of feedback he provides us with, it makes it really easy to make informed changes to the car and not chase ourselves."

The car was much better in the draft than by itself.  Kyle started the race 26^th, and wasted no time moving forward.  The 43 ran most of the race inside the top 15, avoiding accidents and learning the draft. “The biggest problem we faced was overheating,” said Kyle, “We were hot all race, and it kept me from being able to make some of the moves I wanted, because I wanted to make sure I saved the car and didn’t tear it up.  I race hard, but I have to race smart.”  The team hooked the cool-down up on one pit stop to help, and left the rest of it in Kyle’s hands.  Towards the end of the race the team ran inside the top ten till getting shuffled back to 12^th at the end of the race.

Team owner Bill Martel was pleased with the results: “For as small a team and as underfunded we are, 12^th is a great finish.  Everyone has given 120% on this team to get our new shop done, and get all our cars built and ready for this season.  We have a wonderful group of dedicated guys behind Kyle, and to finish 12^th, without ever changing tires during the race, shows how strong we are.  With some sponsorship behind us, we could definitely content for a victory in the ARCA series.”

Next up for BMR will be tackling the “Tricky Triangle” of Pocono Raceway.  Last season, Kyle drove to a 9^th place finish at Pocono, and the team hopes to build on that momentum in June.  Brown plans to run BMR003 for the first time at Pocono: “We decided to not bring the chassis we ran last year, instead that will be the backup.  We reclipped 003 over the winter and did a lot of work to make the car faster.  It’s good to know your taking an even better car to the track than you ran last year.  If our backup car can run 9^th, we hope to put this new car into the top five, especially since we added a better engine package.”

Kyle is also excited to return to his home track. “We ran really well there last year.  Teddy made a lot of changes when he came aboard and it really helped the car drive better last year.  I mean, I got my best finish so far there last year, and we don’t go and run in the top five all day, I’m going to be disappointed.  Every race is important, but you always want to do your best at your home track.  You got friends, family, sponsors all there watching, and to give them the best show possible, it’s what we do.”

The team is still actively searching for additional partners for Pocono and beyond. Any interested parties should contact either Bill Martel (Bmartel@hanovercoldstorage.net) or Chris Hofmann (CLHofmann@gmail.com) to discuss product, associate, or primary sponsorship and marketing opportunities.

Talladega Time!

Thats right! The BMR team is all loaded up and is currently on the road to Talladega, Alabama, where Kyle and crew hope to make their 2010 ARCA Racing debut this Friday.  The last few months have been busy ones for BMR, moving to a new, much larger shop across town, as well as reorganizing after a disappointing outing in Daytona in February. "You know, we just weren't together.  We went to the test, tried some things, and it worked.  We made the mistake of coming back in February and trying more things, and we engineered ourselves right out." said crew chief Ted Brown. "Was it disappointing? Yes.  Did it hurt? Yes.  We had a lot riding on that race, and not making it was a major blow for the entire organization on a lot of fronts.  But it might have been a good thing.  We didn't tear the car up, and it forced us to refocus our goals for the season."

The teams spring test in Talladega was very promising, and the team is hoping for a solid run.  The goal is to make laps, get notes, and hopefully get noticed and get some television time.  Kyle is very enthused to be getting back to the track:  "I'm a race car driver.  When I'm not racing, all i want to do is be racing. Teddy, Ray, Doug, Drew, and all the guys have put in a lot of hours - more than I can ever thank them for- to make sure that this car will be amazing for me.  I can't wait to get down there and let it all hang out and see how well we can run.  I got a good feeling about this race."

The ARCA Racing 250 will be broadcast live on Speed Channel Friday at 5pm EST.

The team would like to thank current 2010 partners for their support:
AP Tuning
Automotive Specialists Racing Engines
Core Supply
Finish Line Express
Finish Line Transportation
Hanover Cold Storage
Mama Jean's Restaurant
Midnight Race Designs
Race Tracker Software
Sign-A-Rama Norristown, PA

BMR is still actively looking for sponsors and product partners for the rest of 2010 and beyond.  If interested contact:

Bill Martel
717-821-8684

♫

bmartel@hanovercoldstorage.net

 

Chris Hofmann

484-336-9010

CLHofmann@gmail.com

BMR 005 going back together in the shop.

BMR005 ready to head to Talladega

Pre-Talladega Testing

With Spring in full force, and BMR happily settling into its new, much larger shop, the focus has swung back to getting Kyle ready for the upcoming ARCA race at Talladega.  The days are slowly ticking down to April 23rd, when the ARCA Series has its second superspeedway race of the season, and BMR is making sure its better prepared for Talladega than it was for Daytona.

Tuesday's on track time was shorter than hoped, as Monday night storms in Talladega meant that Tuesday morning was spent drying the track.  A slight delay in track time, but it gave crew chief Teddy Brown more time to make sure that BMR005 was ready to go on track.  Famed carburetor builder Bill Pink was on hand to help the BMR team with their motors and carb settings, and he was an invaluable benefit to the team.  Chassis wise the car was good right off the truck.A few slight tweaks, but the team ran over 50 laps Tuesday, working to get Kyle comfortable on track.

Wednesday was also a productive day.  With Kyle providing amazing feedback from the drivers seat, Teddy and crew were able to get the BMR Chevrolet running 51.65 second laps by themselves, putting them as the second fastest Chevrolet behind Joey Coulter.  Running less laps today, the team did some drafting practice, finding some areas of the bodywork that they will work on before coming back to Talladega next month.

It was a very good outing for the team, helping re-swing momentum to the positive after Daytona, especially when you consider that currently Bill Martel Racing has one of the smallest budgets amongst the serious competitors in the ARCA Series.  If you are intersted in becoming a sponsor or partner of BMR for Talladega, or any additional races, contact Bill Martel at 717-821-8684, or Chris Hofmann at CLHofmann@gmail.com

March Update

Wow, sorry for the lack of updates all winter.  It's been hectic.  Sadly, Daytona did not go as planned for BMR.  But things have been looking up since then.  The team is currently in the process of moving into a new shop in Myerstown, PA.  The new shop is a much, much larger and better facility to allow Teddy and crew to produce winning race cars.

Kyle Martel will pilot the #43 Chevrolet Impala SS in the following Events:

April 23 ARCA Racing Series 250 At Talladega Superspeedway
June 5 Pocono ARCA 200 At Pocono Raceway
July 31 Pennsylvania ARCA 125 At Pocono Raceway
August 27 Chicagoland ARCA 150 At Chicagoland Speedway
October 9 American 200 At Rockingham Speedway

Any additional races will be determined if the team can find funding or sponsorship.  Anyone with sponsorship interests or leads can contact us via our Facebook Page.

Of Beaches and Holidays

Everyone at Bill Martel Racing would like to wish you a happy holiday season.  The team is enjoying a few much needed days off to rest up, as they get ready to finish plans for the 2010 season.

The 2009 ARCA Daytona test was a very successful outing for BMR.  With team owner Bill Martel still at home recovering, the team was lead by veteran crew chief Teddy Brown all weekend.  "Not having Bill here was tough, but right now we just need him to get better." said Brown, "We want him to be all healed up for the season so he can be back down here when it counts in February." Teddy lead the crew through a light tech session on Friday, handling manly the overall car templates and the fuel cell certification for 2010.  With Kyle not available on Friday to drive the car, the team called upon Clayton Rogers to come on Friday and shake out chassis BMR005, and to see how good the baseline setup was.  "Having Clayton come down to help us out like that was a real good thing.  With Kyle not having ever driven on a superspeedway before, it was good to let an experienced driver just shake the car out, make sure nothing was loose, and it helped us take care of the body rub issues before Kyle got there, meaning all we had to do was get him seat time and experience", said Brown.  Rodgers tested the car in the afternoon session on Friday, turning a lap of 51.105 seconds at 176.108mph during the rain shortened session.

Saturday morning brought driver Kyle Martel to the speedway for the first time.  "Its such an inspiring place.  I mean, you look at the track itself, the history, the driving greats who have run here..... to just get my chance to compete just blows me away.  I really hope that we are able to add our names to that list of winners."  said Kyle.  The team's goals for Saturday was just to get Kyle as much seat time as possible, so ARCA would sign him off for race approval for February's Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.  Kyle, however, had other ideas, quickly putting the #43 high up on the speed charts. Between the morning and afternoon session, Brown had this to say "I've never seen a driver take to this place that fast.  Kyle just got into the car and seemed to be able to feel it from the get go.  We gave him the best car we could, and he just ran with it."  The team spent all of Saturday and most of Sunday's sessions just refining the setup of the racecar, decided to call it a day early Sunday afternoon and head back North.  The team was in the top 15 on the leader board all weekend, with Kyle's average time and speed for the weekend being 49.545 seconds at 181.653 mph.

After turning over a hundred laps this weekend, Kyle was feeling pretty confidant on the team's return in February: "Man, what a weekend.  I've never felt so good inside a racecar before.  Heck, Teddy and the guys claim I fell asleep while in the car between practice sessions I was so relaxed in there!  But seriously, it was an amazing weekend.  I can't thank the guys that came down and the guys back in the shop enough for getting me this car. I don't really know how to say it.  But it felt "right" out there.  I just felt like I knew exactly what the car was doing every time we moved.  That Automotive Specialties engine just digs hard to pull this car around, and this test showed me alot about how these bigger cars drive, and in addition to helping us here, I think its going to help out intermediate program.  I feel like I know I can drive it in a little deeper, a little harder now and it will stick.  And drafting.  Drafting was cool.  We went out and working with Danica in the 88 alot- I think we can definitely work with her in February.  Its a neat feeling, the car sucking up to another like that.  But I think I know how to draft, how to pass, and I think we made some good friends to dance with when we come back in February.  To say I'm excited is an understatement.  I can't wait."


The team currently has support from Hanover Cold Storage, Finish Line Transit, and Mama Jeans Restaurant.  Sponsorship and product opportunities are still available in 2010 for the 43 car.  We have many packages available and they are all customizable based on price and exposure desired.  For sponsorship inquires contact Bill Martel at 717-821-8684.

For for media and public relations questions contact Chris Hofmann.  CLHofmann@gmail.com or 484-336-9010

 Kyle on track Saturday afternoon.

Clayton Rogers getting ready to go out Friday.

Daytona Bound!

First off, Bill is now out of the hospital, and is with family now while he recuperates.  The entire BMR organization would like to thank everyone sending cards, phone calls and well-wishes as our team owner continues to recover.

There is still a job to be done though, and crew chief Ted Brown has been leading the charge to get everything ready for the upcoming ARCA open test at Daytona International Speedway next weekend, Dec 18-20.  The team has been hard at work, preparing BMR005 for the test, as well as getting all the equipment and the tractor trailer ready to go.  "Testing is harder than a race weekend," said Brown, "when you race, you know what to expect.  When you test, and especially when you test somewhere for the first time, you bring a lot of spares.  We are taking containers of spare parts, as well as welders, and fabrication tools down to Daytona with us, so it makes packing the truck a lot trickier.  But I think we will be good.  The car is about 95% done, Kyle seems ready to get up on the wheel, and I'm looking forward to a successful test.  The plan is to work on going through templates and tech Friday, and once we know we won't have any issues, then spend Saturday and Sunday getting Kyle accustomed to the high speeds, get him licensed, and then work on fine tuning our setup."

BMR005 is about ready to go, a custom nose hung on her by Smith Fabrication of Mooresville, NC last month, with the BMR crew finishing the final fab work.  A fresh Hendrick Motorsports engine, prepared by Keith Dorton, arrived last week and has been installed for the test.  The team lans to load up this coming Wednesday and leave Thursday morning for the beaches of Daytona.  Check back next weekend for updates on how the team is doing.

BMR005 Coming out of the paint booth this week.

Get Well Soon Bill!

First off, apologies for the lack of updates.  Its been a busy month at BMR. On top of acquiring new parts, tools, and racecars, the team has had a slight setback this week.

Team owner Bill Martel is currently hospitalized at the Hershey Medical Center following injuries received in a large microburst / mini tornado that went through Lebanon County Wednesday evening.  The house that Bill and Kyle live in had one of the trees on the property fall through it.  Kyle managed to escape with out injury and will be staying with other family.  Bill was not so lucky.  The tree landed in the room Bill was in, and he is currently in the ICU at Hershey Medical Center and will be under observation as he continues to improve.  Please keep him in your prayers as he goes through this painful recovery.

As more information becomes available we will pass it along.

The team WILL still be attending the ARCA Daytona test December 19,20,21st to get Kyle his superspeedway license, and to prepare for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 in February.

Shop Updates:

BMR004
All the bodywork has been finished on the primary downforce car, and she looks really good in her new flat black paint.  The car still needs some finish tin work, and valences but is close to being completed.

BMR005
Fabrication work continues along, as the team mainly just needs to finish painting the car, and plumb the engine, then set it up for the upcoming test.