It’s a long-going argument.
Late Model vs. Modified.
Here’s one from the Modified side, from a guy who’s raced both successfully.
Put yourself in his driving shoes for a moment:
You’re Larry Martin, 52, of Gainesville, happily married to wife Elaine for 28 years and with a beautiful and musically talented daughter, Erica, 26.
You are a long-time associate (10 years) and now Sales Manager at Damron Auto Parts (LKQ Corporation) located on U.S. 441 and although your prematurely gray hair belies your age, you’re very active.
Oh, are you ever.
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That neat CP logo on Larry Martin’s black 07 Modified stands for Cement Precast products, the Gainesville business of Mike Harper, “Larry and I became friends while students at Gainesville High School, graduated together in 1969, and spent six years together in the National Guard,” Harper says. “We always had the understanding that I’d help him any way I could in his racing. “He’s not only a long-time friend, but I think he’s one of the most consistent drivers in the state.” |
Your favorite TV show, when you have time to watch it, is “Becker”. Your favorite food is roast beef and potato salad, prepared by Elaine. Nothing unusual there.
But you’re Larry Martin and yours and the family’s entertainment is not that big screen TV, but running that race car, which you’ve been doing very successfully now, for 25 years and with something like 250 trophies stacked up there in your comfortable southwest Gainesville home. That’s where you also have your shop for that black No. 07 Modified race car and an unrelated pickup truck restoration in process, plus a second Modified race car.
Entertainment, you’ve got it, plus sometimes as Erica sings the Star Spangled Banner at various pre-race functions.
You turn left more often than the pages of a book and keep your foot on the gas like it’s the head of a rattlesnake. You like your Modified.
That’s it. YOU get the idea, so here’s Martin, a driver who has won in everything from Street Stock to Late Models and Modifieds. He’s currently campaigning that second car ( 0 ), also, which has also won with friend Kevin Durden of Archer at the wheel.
We’ll look further at Martin’s career in a moment, but first, why Modified as opposed to the sometimes more popular Late Model?
Martin ran Late Models for eight years and now has been in the Modifieds for 10 years.
Off the top of his head, Martin guesses he has won 25 Late Model races and 45 in those open-wheeled Modifieds.
“The biggest reason, I guess, I run the Modified is the expense and the cost of racing,” Martin explains.
“Compared to the Late Model, if you were to put them car-to-car. I’d say you could probably get a top-notch Modified for, say $20,000. To put a top notch Late Model together, you’re probably talking close to double that.
“On the Late Model there’s more body work, it takes more motor. You could build a decent Modified motor for like $10,000, to go to a good Late Model motor you could spend $25,000.”
The wheel base of the two classes is virtually the same, in the neighborhood of 108, horsepower is probably about 100 more in a Late Model.
Martin says there is no significant difference in the tires.
“However, in a 50 lap or even a 100-lap race, we’ll usually practice on tires that we have run previously. Then we’ll put a new set on to run the race. Most of the Late Models I’ve been around, if you run a big race and get the set-up right, you’ll practice on new tires and run on new tires.
The Modifieds run an eight inch tire, the Late Models a 10 inch.
“There might be a $20 cost difference between the two, the Late Model more expensive. And it takes like twice the number of tires.”
Martin says there’s more work to be done on the Late Model, because you have the enclosed fenders and enclosed front.
“If you do get in a wreck, it takes more time (time is money) to fix all the body work. So again, you go back to comparing the expense of both of them.”
Yeah, but what about the race purses?
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Let’s hear from another quarter, Tim Christman, owner and promoter of the United Promoters Modified Series: “Larry Martin has been a real asset to our series. He is a professional on and off the track with first rate equipment. He currently is 7th in points in what I believe is the most competitive Modified series in the South. Most people would be thrilled with being 7th in points but I know that Larry is a little disappointed because his expectations are to always win. “Week in and week out he is one of the cars that all of the other competitors keep an eye on because they know that he is always going to be one of the fastest cars at the track. He has had some bad luck this year which has caused him to fall out of some races early but at the end of the night, win or lose, he is always very pleasant to be around. “Larry has also ventured into the car ownership side and seems to be enjoying that role. I hope to have Larry's support for many years to come as I stated before he is a real asset to our series.” |
“The most we’ll probably run for is a $2,500 to $3,000 purse maybe two times a year. A lot of the Late Models they’ll run these races every couple of months that will pay $5,000 to win. Those races are usually a lot longer than the Modifieds, probably running at least 125 laps, while most of the races we run are 50. We’ve run a 75 and have a 75 coming up”.
Sometimes, like when coupled with a Sunbelt race, the Modifieds will run 100 laps.
We promised to let you know how Martin got to this point in racing:
It was over 25 years ago, when a neighbor asked him for help in building a street stock car. Martin agreed and the following year built one of his own.
“My dad had a salvage yard and I got a lot of parts from that and it made it easier getting starting,” Martin recalls.
His first big year early on was when he initially competed in and won the Super Six Cylinder Class at Bronson Motor Speedway. That was also a memorable year, because daughter Erica was born.
Then it was on to the Sportsman and Late Models, more championships.
“Then I took a respite, but was really most happy when I was in a race car,” he says.
So, to the Modifieds.
And continued success. He’s won twice on the National level and those victories stand out as probably his biggest.
“Winning the Blue-Gray 100 at Columbia Motorsports Park in 2000 was a great way to start the new century.”
That event, as its name implies, matches the best Modified drivers from the North and South and is run during Speed Weeks.
And Martin proved it was no fluke, returning to win it again last year.
Among Martin’s current activity is competing in the United Promoters Modified Series, where at last glance he was running seventh.
And a continuing threat.
