Mon, 5 Jul 2010, 08:16 PM Arnie's Army!!

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

For years there have been a lot of multiple-car teams in the National Hot Rod Association. A lot of folks look at today's Team Force operation or the cars that Don Schumacher fields and point to them as examples of what a car owner can do if he has the resources. Those of us who have been around the sport for a few years know that these mega-teams are not new, in fact, Don Schumacher had a three-car team back in the early 1970's. Barry Setzer and Candies and Hughes were other examples of teams that had more than one car in their stable, but the practice of bringing more than one car to the track is not restricted to the professional categories. Dave Boertman brought a truck full, a real, honest to goodness car-carrier full of cars to Indy years ago. And the famous Rod Shop team featured a fleet of cars in both professional and sportsman classes. Today, as racers try to maximize their opportunities at he track, a lot of them race more than one car at a national event, but few of them have done it with more style than Arnie Martel.

Fred Allen

Arnie is a fifty-one year old businessman, a very successful businessman from New England, who has a couple of cars that he runs in the highly competitive Competition Eliminator category. "At one time I had as many as five cars," he said between rounds at the recent Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. "But I found out that more isn't always better." Today he runs, by his standards, a rather modest collection of two cars, but make no mistake about it, those are two very good race cars. "I have the street roadster that Fred Allen is driving this weekend (in Norwalk) and the GTO that I drive." The roadster, which runs in the C/SR class, is sometimes driven by Peter Biondo, but he is currently occupied with one of his other rides. "Peter does a great job but he asked me if he could take some time off to drive for Phil (Montieth, Peter's friend and partner), so Fred is driving now and he is doing a great job." The roadster, one of the best cars in the class, has a V-6 engine and, according to Arnie, "It's pretty quick and runs really well." Those of us who have watched it run know that's a huge understatement. The car was built by Suncoast Race Cars in Florida and sports an engine that was built by Larry Allen, who does all of Arnie's engine work. As for the car that Arnie drives, it's a GTO that runs in D/AA and it has a small-block V-8 engine, and again, according to Arnie, "it's a pretty fast hot rod." With a few extra pounds added to it Arnie can also run the car in the F/AA. "I have to put 250 pounds back in the car and I can run it in the F/AA class if I want to."

Arnie Martel

Arnie, who is in the land developing business in New England, began his racing career helping out his friend, Jim Boudreau. “It was back around 1987 and I was helping Jim with his stock car. I lugged about three million gallons of water a day around the track trying to keep his car cool and here I am today. Jim was a neighbor and he was like my second dad when I was growing up. He took me under his wing and pretty much kept me in line.” After hanging out with and helping Jim, Arnie got the driving bug and a career was born. “In 1987 I made my first pass down the track in a 1967 Camaro in G/SA. It went about 10.30 or 10.40, which isn’t fast by any means, but I was hooked.” He ran that car for a while before stepping up to an IROC Camaro in Super Stock. “I had some success with that car and then I met John Lingenfelter. He put me through the torture chamber, put me in a dragster in Competition Eliminator and I really loved it.” John, who was one of the best racers ever in Competition Eliminator, was also responsible for getting Arnie and his engine builder, Larry Allen, together. “When I was racing with John, Larry lived a few miles away and we got to be friends.” Now, Larry has a complete shop that he built in Indiana. “Larry does a great job and he makes good power. We’ve got a full shop there and he does all of our work.”

Peter Biondo

For a man who could run in any class that he chooses, Arnie explained why he elects to race in the highly-competitive, time, labor and resource intensive Competition Eliminator category. "I like Super Stock, too, but Comp is a pretty exciting class. You can go fast, you don't have to dial-in, but you still have to use your foot to keep from hitting the index sometimes. Besides, if I didn't run here what would I do?" Well, he could always run Pro Stock, and that's something that Arnie has thought about. "I have a lot invested in these cars, but I do run a business and have a family to think about. Pro Stock is time-intensive, and if I did it I would do it full time. So right now, I'm happy where I am, but you never know." His family will be taking center stage shortly when one of his daughters gets married. "I want to do it right for her. I'm very blessed with a good wife and great children and I hope the day is perfect for her." I didn't have the heart to ask Arnie if the wedding was on a race weekend, although with his schedule, there's a good chance it is. Or was!!

Martel vs. Glen Treadwell in Gainesville final.

While Arnie has a nice collection of cars, he also has a rival in Comp in Mr. Vinny Barone. "Oh yeah, I send him Christmas cards and we go out together all the time. He's in my will." A quick look at the expression on his face told me that Arnie was joking. "We're both fierce competitors and we take this seriously. I like to race against him, and make no mistake about it, I like to beat him." I'm sure if we gave Vinny equal time he'd say the same. And as much as those two may have a rivalry, Arnie says that the racers in Comp are all very good. "You can't run in this class and not take it seriously. We all have good cars and we all like to win." One thing that Arnie would like to do is win a World Championship. "I've been close before, and I've had a pretty good start to the season this year. We'll run a bunch of point's races in the next few weeks and then see where we stand."

Martel celebrates Gainesville win.

I've known Arnie for a long time and I was pleased that he remembered his first win. "I'll never forget it. It was in Virginia and a good friend of mine, I love the guy, Bob Frey, caught me standing on the roof of my car after the win. To get that first win, to beat David Rampy and to be interviewed by you was something special." It was for both of us, Arnie. Since that time Arnie has won ten more national events and a lot of division races. This year he won the Gatornationals and some of his family members were there to enjoy it with him. "My daughter was there and she had never seen my operation and she was, well, impressed. I was glad I could win the race with her there."

As the year goes on Arnie plans to continue racing and having fun. "I'm in a pretty good place right now and I'd love to win the championship. If it's meant to happen it will. Larry Allen has given me a pretty good hot rod and I'm driving well right now." And while the Norwalk race didn't work out quite as well as he had planned, you can be sure that Arnie isn't giving up. Before you know it he'll be back on the roof of his car celebrating another win, or on stage in California picking up his championship hardware.

Arnie wants to thank Mark Clark, Mike Barrett and Pat Taylor from Speedco. Also, Forest and Charlotte Lucas from Lucas Oil, Bridgestone Tires and his son, Arnie Jr, who runs in Stock Eliminator. Plus, thanks to Lisa and everyone at Sparco.

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