New Car Spurs Optimism For NEMA’s Abby Martino
The 2009 Northeastern Midget Association tabbed Abby Martino “Most likely to wear pajama pants and flip flops in six feet of snow.” The soon-to-be graduate (accounting) of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island has a serious side as well.
The 21-year old Norfolk, MA resident heads into her third NEMA campaign with a definite plan. “I want to consistently run in the top-10,” she says. “We ran just outside the top-10 last year and with the equipment we have now I believe top-10s is a realistic goal.”
The Martino operation, which includes father Frank and mother Joan, will campaign the Mopar-powered Beast chassis driven in the past by Barry Kittredge. The team will, in fact, keep the #21 on the car.
NEMA will open the ’09 campaign Saturday night, May 23 at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway. It is the first of a 17-race campaign that will take the club to eight tracks.
Martino’s best ’09 finish was a 12th at Seekonk’s DAV Memorial. “I was happy with last year,” she says. “I think we improved every time out. Even when we had trouble, we got better because of it.”
She made her NEMA debut with a series of flips at Waterford Speedbowl in 2006. She suffered a broken leg and didn’t return until the final event. “Nobody knew who I was and then I went out and flipped and all of a sudden everybody knew who I was. I was on the cover of magazines. When I got back in the car I wanted to drive harder.”
Coming to NEMA from the Focus Midgets, she spent much of ’08 adjusting to the wing (“you have more options”) and power (Autocraft).
While she refuses to signal any one individual when it comes to the aid she’s received, Martino can’t help but acknowledge the Santos clan of nearby Franklin. Headed by Bob Jr. and featuring Bobby III and Erica, the Santos’ are one of New England’s premier racing families.
It was Bob who talked to long-time friend Frank Martino about “the family aspect” of auto racing. Discovering early that “team sports were not my thing,” Martino found herself in a quarter midget at age 12. She came to NEMA after two and a half years driving a Focus Midget.
Frank, who “does all the work on the car” and Joan have “have been there every step of the way.”
There was some “she’s just a girl” attitudes in the Focus Cars but there has been no problem in NEMA. She’s quick to credit close friend Erica Santos with some of that. The big thing, she insists, is “respecting the other people in the club, the other drivers on the track. “
Randy Cabral and Tim Bertrand will begin defense of their driver and owner championships at Monadnock. The contenders include Russ Stoehr back in the Angelillo #45, Adam Cantor in the family-owned 7ny, Greg Stoehr in his own Mazda powered 26, Erica Santos in Ed Breault’s #44, William Wall in the Wall Motorsports #5 and Nokie Fornoro in Mike Jarret’s #4.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR