Eric Martin (racing driver)

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Eric Martin
NationalityAmerican
Born(1969-02-06)February 6, 1969
ARCA Racing Series
Years active2001–2002
TeamsHixson Motorsports
Starts40
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish17th in 2001

Eric Duane Martin (February 6, 1969 – October 9, 2002)

Lowe's Motor Speedway
on October 9, 2002, during a practice session for the season-ending EasyCare 100.

He was not related to Mark Martin despite sharing a same last name.

Martin initially spun and backed into the fourth turn wall, coming to rest on the racing line entering the tri-oval. A fairly routine and innocuous accident, Martin radioed his crew that he was fine. However, 16 seconds after the initial crash, just as Martin was unbuckling his belts, Deborah Renshaw, going full speed along the racing line in the belief that the track was clear, careened directly into the driver's side door of Martin at about 160 mph[2] and killed him instantly.

Both ARCA and Renshaw were roundly criticized following the accident. ARCA received criticism because its regulations did not require spotters to be located on top of the grandstands. Renshaw's spotter was standing on top of the team trailer,[3] and thus could not see the wreck and communicate its location to his driver. Thus, in spite of the fact that 16 seconds, an eternity in racing, passed between the initial crash and the fatal second collision, not all the drivers were notified of the crash. Renshaw was herself criticized, because although several other cars with similarly situated spotters managed to see Martin in time and slow considerably before avoiding him, Renshaw did not see the car stopped on the racing line until it was much too late to avoid the fatal collision. In the aftermath of the accident, ARCA mandated that each car that went onto the track had to have an assigned spotter in the spotter's stand, and a yellow warning light was mandated for the car's dashboard that illuminated when a caution was declared on the race track. Eric left behind two sons, Brian and Matt Martin.

Martin had 40 starts in the ARCA Re/Max Series.[4]


Motorsports career results

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series
results
Year Team 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 ARSC Pts Ref
2001 Hixson Motorsports 56 Chevy DAY
NSH
WIN

30
SLM

30
GTY

35
KEN

37 		CLT
36
KAN

37
MCH

39 		POC
33 		GLN
25
KEN

35 		MCH
33
POC

32 		ISF
33 		DSF
40
TOL

30 		BLN
31 		CLT
36
TAL

28 		ATL
40 		17th 2480 [5]
Bob Schacht Motorsports
 75 Pontiac MEM
35
Martin Racing 91 Chevy CHI
38
SLM

33
Hixson Motorsports 56 Ford
NSH

16
2002 Chevy DAY
DNQ 		ATL
DNQ
NSH

23
SLM

30 		KEN
26 		CLT
40
KAN

21
POC

25
MCH

31
TOL

35 		SBO
26 		19th 2990 [6]
2
KEN

37 		BLN
28
POC

33
NSH

31
ISF

23
WIN

32 		DSF
14
CHI

18
SLM

27
TAL

DNQ 		CLT
Wth

References

  1. ^ "Motorsport Memorial - Eric Martin". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  2. St. Petersburg Times. October 20, 2002. Archived from the original
    on October 23, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  3. ^ "A brutal sport sometimes". Sports Illustrated. October 9, 2002. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Eric Martin fatally injured". The Auto Channel. October 9, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "Eric Martin – 2001 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "Eric Martin – 2002 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

External links


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