In some cases, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That will be the case for Russell Racing and team driver Joey Martin.
Arguably the most recognizable car in Pro Modified racing, the venerable Lowmad has made its last pass. The current car will give way to a new version, fabricated by Joey Martin Race Cars. Wagon fans not to worry, the new car will continue to be a ’55 Chevy Nomad, bearing the familiar moniker, the Lowmad.
The original creation was fabricated by legendary chassis builder Tommy Mauney as a Top Sportsman ride in 1991. Many milestones have been reached throughout the years including top qualifier honors at the inaugural NHRA Top Sportsman event at Bristol in 2002 with car owner Toney Russell behind the wheel. Many years of Outlaw eighth-mile passes followed, with Russell reaching the 3-second zone in 2005.
In some cases, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That will be the case for Russell Racing and team driver Joey Martin.
Arguably the most recognizable car in Pro Modified racing, the venerable Lowmad has made its last pass. The current car will give way to a new version, fabricated by Joey Martin Race Cars. Wagon fans not to worry, the new car will continue to be a ’55 Chevy Nomad, bearing the familiar moniker, the Lowmad.
The original creation was fabricated by legendary chassis builder Tommy Mauney as a Top Sportsman ride in 1991. Many milestones have been reached throughout the years including top qualifier honors at the inaugural NHRA Top Sportsman event at Bristol in 2002 with car owner Toney Russell behind the wheel. Many years of Outlaw eighth-mile passes followed, with Russell reaching the 3-second zone in 2005.
Although Russell gave up the driver’s seat, success continued with many Quick 8 victories and ADRL round wins, including a final round appearance at the 2008 ADRL Summer Drags. With Martin behind the wheel, the performances continued to improve. In somewhat ironic fashion, Martin eclipsed the 200 mph barrier at the final event for the legendary ride at Montgomery Motorsports Park, posting a 200.12 mph lap.
However in the ultra competitive world of Pro Modified racing, racers and their equipment must be ever evolving to stay ahead of the curve, thus the decision to fabricate a new ride.
“With the et’s and speeds constantly getting quicker and faster, we felt that a new car was in order to remain competitive” said Russell. “We have made many changes to this car to improve performance, but we’ve done about all we can do at this point. So we made the decision to build a new piece.”
Martin, a chassis builder by trade, was the obvious choice to construct the new chassis at his Milton, Florida-based shop. Also Harry Glass out of Jacksonville, FL was challenged to produce a new body with the very distinctive Lowmad look.
“We would like to thank Gordon Nelson and the staff at Hairy Glass, they did a fantastic job building a carbon fiber body for us” Martin said. “The weight savings versus the current body is tremendous. The current fiberglass body weighs in at a hefty 182 pounds, and the new carbon piece is significantly lighter.”
When questioned about the chassis design and resulting weight savings, Martin is quick to point out that a tremendous amount of weight has been saved, but as one might expect, is reserved about actual numbers.
“This think will be light, real light” Martin said with a smile. “We’ve looked at every aspect of the chassis, the various components, all the way down to the nuts and bolts. Keeping safety in mind, we addressed the car from front to back and have taken advantage of every opportunity to save some weight”.
“We are real excited about the new car and cannot wait to get out and do some testing” added Russell. “The old car has been great to us, just look at the performance this weekend with a 200 mph lap, but we think with the new piece we can achieve even stronger performances.”
Martin added, “I would like to thank Toney and the entire Russell family for providing me to opportunity to not only drive a great race car, but also entrusting me with building the new piece.”
The new car is currently in paint, and plans call for testing in about three weeks leading up to the final Southern Outlaw race of the season at Montgomery.
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