2016 Season Winding Down
Lakeland, FL - While NASCAR is deep in the chase, Dylan Martin's 2016 season is
winding down. Chicagoland Speedway was the final confirmed race on the schedule
for 2016. With a 24th place finish, it wasn't the race results Dylan or his team
at Empire Racing were looking for. The Empire Racing hauler pulled into Chicagoland
Speedway and unloaded a really sharp looking No. 48 Ford sporting the Petty Blue
paint scheme. The car was an eye-catcher wherever it was on the track. Unfortunately,
with some troubles on pit road and a couple challenging pit stops, the No. 48 car
spent the last 70 laps of the Scott 150 in the garage. Unable to finish the race
with shock bolt damage, it wasn't the wrap up to the 2016 season anybody was hoping
for. Martin wrote this after the ARCA Racing Series Scott 150, "Our night is over
unfortunately. Broke a LF (left front) shock bolt and blew a tire because of it.
We had a good car and were just riding. But it's racing. Thank you everyone for
all the support and to my team and sponsors for the endless hours put in to make
sure we get to the track."
Dylan said he was honored to be able to run a 1.5 mile track that offered great
challenges to his driving skill and he enjoyed every lap he took at the track. Martin
had the support of his family and friends at the track. Many traveled 1000+ miles
to watch Dylan race this intermediate track and even though it wasn't the finish
anybody was hoping for, it was a prestigious event to be a part of.
To view photos of Chicagoland Speedway Scott 150 https://www.facebook.com/336256853100413/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1150185281707562
The Race Fan Rally in Joliet, IL the day before the Scott 150 was a success and Dylan was honored to be a part of the event. He met some amazing people and very gracious fans of the sport. He was able to sign autographs, take photos and hand out his custom coloring books.
Dylan enjoyed spending time with the fans and sharing his passion of racing. He
was able to do a television interview and a questions and answers session during
the event.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dylan shared this last week on his Facebook page with his fans and supporters....
Life Update: It saddens me to say that tomorrow (Sept 30th) will be my last day working and driving at Empire Racing & Saturday will be my last day in North Carolina. Hopefully not for good. But as of right now I am moving back to Florida. Due to our unsuccessful fight for 2017 sponsorship I will not be racing in the ARCA Racing series or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2017 (as of now). Despite all that. This year has been something that only few will every have the opportunity to do and I'm so humbled by it. This year was not a very successful year performance wise for me by race results but that doesn't mean anything to me for this year.
The amount I've learned on the track and in the shop is something I can never
forget and being able to run competitively with the best drivers in the country
says a lot. Working with and for Empire Racing is more than just a team and working
with co-workers. It was and is still a family. Empire has a rare relationship
throughout the team and it is so amazing to be considered a part of the family
and have memories and lessons I will never forget. I will be moving back to Florida
and go back to racing my Super Late Model while searching for sponsorship for 2017
or 2018 for ARCA and NASCAR. Thank you so much to everyone for the support in my
career! It's something I can't put into words. Through my journey everyone has
been so supportive through thick and thin and that's something I will never forget!
My journey isn't over and I will not give up until I make it!
Click to share thisClick to share this