When asked to present a program to school students, Harold Martin, National Guard racecar driver, puts every effort into encouraging students to stay in school, and continuing on to college. Sharing his desire for success, he inspires students to continue with their education. Part of his appeal is not only his personal charisma, but he also brings his race car, which has a very visual impact on the students.

He bases his emphasis on what education has brought into his personal life, how it has helped him to help his family and what it has done for his race team. While many believe that a "Race Driver" needs little formal education, Harold speaks frankly about the impact education has had on his life.

He shares his experiences as a child, working on his father's race team, and the benefits of knowledge and how he has used his education to excel as a driver. He speaks openly about the need for family and the importance of education on his family.

As the president of Martin Motorsports, and former GM engineer, his softly spoken words make a big impression on his audience. Harold is comfortable speaking to inner city students as well as students with privilege. His message is "every individual should have a dream. Strive to realize your dream and execute it with a passion." This aligns perfectly with Harold`s personal philosophy of encouraging audiences to maximize their potential.

Check out Harold's Upcoming Appearances listed below or click here to learn more about his recent appearances.

Upcoming Appearances:

Recent Appearances:

Rockingham, NC

Harold Martin and the M4	M4 Burnout
Harold Martin and the M4	Harold Martin in the M4
M4 Take Off	M4
Harold Martin makes a Rockingham burnout
Off the M4 goes!
M4 /burnout	Martin M4 headed to the finish line

South Georgia Motorsports

On Friday March 6, 2009 at 12:00pm, it became official that the Martin M4 was approved for professional racing and its official certification labels were posted inside the car.

Harold Martin with fans Rolf and Cason at SGMP (South Georgia Motorsports Park) in front of the new Martin M4.
M4..... One Badd Car.

Pioneer High School Visit

Harold Martin at talks with students at Pioneer	Harold Martin at talks with students at Pioneer
Harold Martin signs autographs for students	Harold Martin signs autographs for students
Harold Martin with Students at Pioneer
Harold Martin with Diesel Students at Pioneer
Harold Martin with Automotive Students at Pioneer

 

 

Harold Martin at Las Vegas Valley High School, Las Vegas, NV

Harold Martin at Las Vegas Valley High School Group Photo	Harold Martin at Las Vegas Valley High School Autograph Session
Harold Martin at Las Vegas Valley High School Motivates Students	Harold Martin at Las Vegas Valley High School Selects Mentor Student

 

Ennis, TX Races

Harold Martin's TV Interview	Harold Martin's TV Interview
Harold Martin with New Recruits	Harold Martin signing autographs
Harold Martin Burnout	Harold Martin Take Off
Harold Martin Take Off

 

 

Harold Martin Races at Rockingham, NC

Harold Martin burnout at Rockingham Dragway
Rockingham, NC Crowd	Rockingham, NC Crowd
Rockingham, NC Action Shot	Rockingham, NC Action Shot
Purging at the Rock

Martin competes at Norwalk

Pictures courtesy of Raceworks. com

Martin Attends Hall of Fame Ceremony

Harold Martin was invited to don his tux and head out for a memorable black-tie evening of pomp and circumstance. Seems the ADRL Pro Nitrous star received a last-minute invitation to sit at the VIP table for tonight's 20th annual Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Ceremony at the Fillmore Detroit.

Martin will bear witness to John Force, Michael Andretti, Buddy Baker, Richie Ginther (deceased), Paul Goldsmith, Wayne Rainey and Betty Skelton being inducted into a group that already includes the likes of Andretti's father, Mario, stock car legend Richard Petty and drag racing pioneer Don Garlits. Other drag racing inductees expected to attend the event include Don Prudhomme, Bill Jenkins, Danny Ongais, Joe Amato, Chris Karamesines and Shirley Muldowney, among several others.

"I once received an invitation to attend another Hall of Fame induction ceremony down in Talladega (AL), but I wasn't able to go that time, so I'm really looking forward to tonight," Martin said. "This is a great opportunity to gain some exposure for what we're doing in the ADRL and to educate people about our style of racing and how much it has progressed in such a short time."

 

Harold Martin Racing / NATIONAL GUARD Racing at Budds Creek

Budds Creek Crowd	Budds Creek Crowd
Harold Martin Racing & The National Guard Pit	National Guard Helicopter in the Pits
Budds Creek National Guard	Budds Creek Burn out
Harold takes off	Out goes the Parachutes

 

Harold Martin ADRL Racing Celebrity/National Guard Team Driver Visits Kennedy Krieger Institute 

"Is it possible that we will one day find motorsports science in patient care"
             - Harold Martin

Harold meeting with Executives Patrick Rummerfield, Dr. Michael Johnston, Joe Stein	Harold visiting special patient Kyle
Harold brainstorms with research physicians on industry parallelism.	Harold visiting research & test lab

 

Harold Martin Racing / NATIONAL GUARD Rockets the Motor Mile Dragway / ADRL

July 4,5,6 in Radford, VA.

Harold Martin - ACDelco	Harold Martin Hospitality Area
Honorary Pit Crew
Staging	Burnout
Harold Martin Crossing the Finish Line

Harold Martin Guest Appearance at IRL Race in Richmond, VA

Harold Martin talks with IRL team	Harold Martin IRL Interview
Harold Martin talks with IRL Racer

Harold Martin Racing at US 131

Harold Martin and the ADRL team are quite familiar with, Knoll Gas Motorsports Park.  Located within a two hour drive of our New Hudson headquarters in Martin, MI.

US 131 Crowd	US 131 Crowd - Click for Larger Image
Pit View	National Guard Soldiers
Interview	Harold Martin
Harold's In Action	Race Car Action

Martin's VIP Visit to Pentagon

Harold Martin, Josh Hernadez & Sgt Metzler Photo	Martin joins National Guard team pit area for Richmond race event
Martin over looking IRL National Guard Car	Martin joins National Guard team pit area for Richmond race event
Martin Looks over data at event	Martin talks tech with National Guard IRL race team
Arlington Cemetery

Valdosta, Georgia Race, May 9-10th

Valdosta Crowd - Click for larger image	Valdosta Crowd - Click for larger image
National Guard Troops	National Guard Troops
Harold on the move	Burnout

Hardees Appearance, May 8th

Harold Martin took full advantage of the Hardee's sponsorship during the recently completed 4th annual ADRL Hardee's Georgia Drags.

Hardees - Valdosta GA	Harold Martin at Hardees Drive-Thru

Worth County High School Appearance

Worth County High School Appearance	Worth County High School Group Photo
Harold Martin Speaking at Worth County High School	Harold Martin with Worth County High School Students

Monroe Comprehensive High School

Harold Martin speaks to Monroe High School students.

Harold Speaks to Monroe High School Students	Monroe High School Group Photo
Monroe High School Group Photo

Houston, TX - Pit Experience

The Houston ADRL Race Event was the season kick off and balanced with record event attendance and the opportunity to display the new Army National Guard team blue and team red pit experience. Martin, hosting the team blue rig is configured with a dual awning allowing sponsors and fans alike to share the option of the hospitality side or see close up the race car and team preparation. Many race fans were allowed the opportunity to see the EFI wizard at work and witness first hand the unique technology in the pit area. 

Climb the National Guard wall	Climb the National Guard wall
Climb the National Guard wall

Houston, TX - Guarding Our Youth

Harold had the opportunity to meet with students from Guarding Our Youth Program in Houston, Texas. He shared his story and offered them the challenge of reaching for their dreams and making history. Click on the pictures below for a larger Image

Guarding Our Youth Participants in the Pit Area	Guarding Our Youth Participants with Harold Martin
Harold Martin & Josh Hernandez	Harold Martin
Harold Martin Speaking at the Guarding Our Youth Event	Harold Martin Speaking at the Guarding Our Youth Event
Harold Martin Speaking at the Guarding Our Youth Event	Sgt. Metzler Speaking at the Guarding Our Youth Event
Harold Martin Motivates the Guarding Our Youth Participants	Harold Martin Q & A Session
Harold Martin Talks Safety	Harold Martin Up Close with the Guarding Our Youth Students
Harold Martin & Guarding Our Youth Participants	Harold Martin & Guarding Our Youth Participants
Harold Martin Ready to Win

Chicago Auto Show -

Harold Martin officially announced his new partnership with the National Guard as his primary sponsor at the Chicago Auto Show. Martin’s newly decorated National Guard Pro Modified Pontiac Grand Am was unveiled at the event, Feb. 8 to 17 at McCormick Place in Downtown Chicago. Martin added his name to a distinguished list of National Guard-sponsored drivers which includes NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. and American Drag Racing League Pro Extreme driver Josh Hernandez.

Harold Martin with the Troops

Arnold Oil Corpus Christi Texas -

Harold recently visited with Arnold Oil Employees and race fans in Texas. Lucky employees also had the opportunity to be part of the honorary pit crew for the San Antonio race that weekend. Click on the pictures below to view a larger image.

Arnold Oil Staff	Harold and Mrs. Arnold
Arnold Oil Company	Harold Wins the Funnel Award
Harold Signing Autographs at Arnold Store	Harold Meeting with Fans
Harold Meeting with Arnold Employee	ACDelco/Arnold Oil Installer Seeking Autograph
Meeting with Fans	ACDelco Zone Manager for Texas
Radio Interview for Victoria Station
Honorary Pit Crew Members for San Antonio Race -

Victoria High School, Victoria Texas -

Harold had the opportunity to meet with students from Victoria High School. He shared his story and offered them the challenge of reaching for their dreams and making history. Click on the pictures below for a larger Image

Victoria High School Group	Speaking to Group
Motivating a student to reach for his dreams	Victoria High School Administrators
Students

Detroit Autorama -

Race Fan Autograph Sessions -

Virginia Motorsports Fan	Milan Dragway Fan
Race Fan Support

Detroit High School Visit -

Speed Vision Interview -

At a recent speaking appearance

AC Delco Philadelphia Trade Show -

St. Philips College -

A recent speaking appearance

Jackson Community College -

From a recent visit to the Automotive Tech Expo at Jackson Community College, the following pictures were received by Harold.

Eton -

Recently, Harold spent an afternoon with the students of Eton Academy. We have included excerpts from letters and drawings he has received from those students.

Letters from Eton Students:
To Mr. Martin, Thank you for coming and explaining what you do and what got you so interested in racing. Also thank you for bringing your race car and trailer with to show us. We liked your speech that you shared with us on Tuesday. Thank you for the autographed picture. The gifts were really great. Thank you for letting us go in your truck. from,Anthony
Dear Mr. Martin,If you get to read this note, because you probably have a lot of thank you letters. This letter is in my own words, not someone else's words. And so I say thank you for the speech and your time. I know you wanted to touch someone's life or something like that. I guess you could say you kind of did that for me. Thank you for coming to our school. from Samantha
"To the best race car driver ever--Thank you for visiting Eton Academy, I really appreciated it." "To a very nice person, thank you Mr. Martin, for coming to the school and for really liking my question."
Dear Mr. Martin,Thank you for coming tour school. And giving me the slinky and the autographed paper. It was very nice of you. Thanks for showing us your super duper lolupper fast drag racer and your big big big big big big big big huge huge huge big big big truck. Sincerely, Joseph
Thank you for coming to our school. I liked your race car. It was cool. do you encourage someone else to race? You gave a really good speech. You really touched me and hopefully everybody else. thank you again. From Alison

AETC -

Harold recently appeared as a key note speaker for the Advance Engine Technology Conference. Click on the images below to view a larger version.

This was very well received and the kids loved having their photos taken with our driver.

While Harold was at Hampton Middle School, he participated in a lively question and answer session with the students.

Q: "What does it feel like to drive that fast?"
A: It’s a great feeling, the acceleration of a drag race car is second to nothing.
Q: "Is your dad still involved with your race car?"
A: Yes, he attends most of the race events.
Q: "Did you take special classes to learn how to drive fast?"
A: No, I learned from my dad who had previous racing experience
Q: "Did your college education help you with your race car?"
A: Yes, it continues to be the foundation that gives me direction and insight
Q: "Are you afraid when you race?"
A: No, I have a job to do and I concentrate on being professional and winning the race
Q: " Would you encourage your children to race?"
A: I encourage every child to set goals and to have a dream. I have not placed any expectancy on my son to race. I only want him to pursue his profession of choice with a passion
Q: "Do you drive fast on the street?"
A: No, I think the place for fast driving is on the race tracks
Q: "Have you ever had a bad crash with your race car?"
A: No, thank god!!

Harold Martin and CNN visit Southfield High School

Harold Martin's personal commitment to the future of the youth in America found him speaking to students at Southfield High School. While the primary interest of the students in the group is pursuing careers in the automotive industry, Martin's message encourages them to believe in themselves.

Martin shared his personal experiences as a engineer at General Motors, as well as the lessons he learned as a youth on which he bases his incredible drive and ambition. The students were intrigued by Martin's ability to pursue personal challenges while continuing to achieve higher levels.

The students listened as Harold shared his lifelong ambitions, successes and learning experiences. "If I got knocked down, and I was laying flat on my back, if I can still look up, I can get up" Martin shared with the students. "Encouraging and motivating students to find the spark within themselves to make it happen is what it's all about"

Also participating in the event was the Southfield High School television crew, radio staff, newspaper staff, and administrators. It was a great opportunity to capitalize on working side by side with the CNN team to capture Harold Martin's message.

Martin engages in a lively question and answer session before signing autographs and touring Southfield High School's new technology center.