Editor’s Note: Portions of the reporting regarding the Thunder On The Beach offshore event and reactions from participants were first reported by Speed on the Water and are credited accordingly.
Apparently there are two kinds of IHRA officials: those who have been fired and those who eventually will be. Add another sub-category now. Those fired in the middle of an event.
Leah Martin’s departure as IHRA president during the Thunder On The Beach offshore event in Cocoa Beach, Fla., wasn’t simply another executive move. It became the latest development in a rebuilding effort that continues to generate headlines as much for leadership changes as racing itself.
Martin made history in December when she became the first woman to lead a major U.S. motorsports sanctioning body. Her arrival coincided with renewed energy surrounding IHRA’s expansion efforts, including offshore racing, facility acquisitions and the heavily promoted Triple Crown initiative.
Then, in the middle of a race weekend, the run ended.
“The International Hot Rod Association and Leah Martin have parted ways effective immediately,” new IHRA president Tommy Thomassie said in a text statement first reported by Speed on the Water.
Martin’s response carried a much different tone.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Martin wrote. “I have poured my heart and soul into this sport at the cost of time with my family. I wish it all the best.”
The larger issue is that Martin’s departure doesn’t stand by itself.
CompetitionPlus.com has documented a growing list of executive changes during IHRA’s rebuilding effort. Scott Woodruff, the former Chief Operating Officer of Drag Racing, was fired via text message. Brett Underwood also departed during the same period, joining earlier restructuring moves involving Kenny Nowling, Rich Schaefer, Christian Byrd, Alan Reinhart and Josh Peake in various roles.
Martin’s departure lands differently because it doesn’t arrive as an isolated move.
It arrives as another name added to a list that continues getting longer.
For an organization selling growth, expansion and stability, leadership turnover has become part of the conversation whether IHRA wants it there or not.
Questions also remain outside executive offices.
IHRA generated significant attention through facility acquisitions and an aggressive vision for future schedules. But with 2026 moving closer, Atlanta Dragway and Memphis Motorsports Park continue drawing industry discussion because visible progress at the properties has not appeared to match the urgency of the calendar.
The Triple Crown concept faces similar questions.
IHRA promoted the three-race series and its $1 million sweep bonus as a program capable of pulling major NHRA teams into the fold and creating marquee events around the promise of a seven-figure payday.
On paper, it looked like a swing worth taking.
The early returns have been quieter.
To date, only four NHRA Top Ten finishers have committed to the concept, a number well below the kind of migration many expected when the program was introduced.
IHRA kicks off its most ambitious event to date, the IHRA Triple Crown Series, this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., one of the tracks purchased during the off-season.
