4/27/2026
Knoxville Raceway
WIDE OPEN: Chris Martin’s Pursuit of Victory
Chris Martin in the #44 410 sprint car is coming into the 2026 Knoxville Raceway season strong. With three months of pre-season racing with the World of Outlaws, High Limit, ASCS, and the USCS series, Martin feels more prepared than ever for his upcoming season at the Sprint Car Capital of the World.
In the offseason, Chris and his team have been working hard to ensure their program is ready to hit the ground running. Continuing with their Maxim Chassis and Moyle/HP engine programs, cars have been prepped and engines have been freshened. Martin’s team consists of Iowa based Jim, “Iggy” Farland and his sidekick, Ed Ergenbright; Ashton LaPointe; and recent Florida transplant, Trey Meredith. Trey will also be in Iowa running his own 360 with some Sprint Invader races throughout the season. Car and Crew Chief, Danny Lasoski, is able to manage things logistically from his home in Ocala, Florida and can come up to Iowa throughout the season for hands-on help during the races as well.
Chris and his wife, Taylor also balance their work-home life, chasing after their two and a half year old daughter, Emersyn and keeping up with her increasingly hectic life. Chris’s focus on the offseason included a lot of physical training as well, working out four times a week for 60-90 minute sessions of cardio and weights. “I know that to be at the top of my racing game includes being mentally and physically fit. I don’t ever want to lose a race because I fell out of the seat.”
The team began their 2026 season in January down in Volusia, Florida in both the 360 and 410. Action started with the ASCS National tour where Chris set a new track record and made a couple of dash appearances. In his 410 showing, Chris has his best qualifying effort with the World of Outlaws, timing in 4th. The team then headed on to Southern Raceway in Milton, Florida with the USCS and charged to a 2nd place finish and Martin landed his first win of the season there. Continuing their tour of the South, they traveled to Deep South Speedway in Loxley, Alabama, which was a USCS race as well. After their time across Florida and Alabama, the team took four weeks off to come back to Iowa to prepare for the upcoming Midwest races. After some rain outs in the start of spring, Martin headed to the ASCS National race at Selina, Kansas on April 11th where he went quick time in his group, ran 3rd in his heat, 2nd in the dash and ended up on top with the feature win. He then backed that performance up with a Dash appearance with the High Limit at Lucas Oil Speedway on April 18th and a win with the ASCS Midwest at Stuart on April 19th.
“Going into Knoxville with wins like these is huge,” said Martin. “After the speed we had in Volusia and other places, it’s encouraging to go back home and know we have speed at Knoxville. After having speed early in the (race) nights with Danny (Lasoski) last year, it’s really encouraging to go back to a place where it’s been a kind of kryptonite for me and feeling like I just couldn’t get results. I feel like things will come into place more this year. I have high hopes this year.”
Teaming up with Danny Lasoski has brought the Martin program full circle coming into the 2026 season at Knoxville Raceway, Chris said.
“This is our third full season together. The partnership just kind of happened out of the blue at the final race at East Bay that year, and Dad (Richard Martin) and Danny started talking. Danny came up during maintenance and asked me if would want to ever work with him. I kind of thought it was dumb to say no to someone like Danny, with all of his knowledge in the sport, especially at Knoxville.”
Chris recalls that the first season together was a lot of trial and error, just trying to figure each other out; styles, set ups, communication, etcetera. “Last season we really started to find our mojo and groove and figure out each other’s personalities- which is half the battle. We started to have fun. I started getting to know his strategies of attack on a race: from starts, restarts, racing in general, finishing a race, and just how to race a race. Danny is more than a crew chief/car chief- he’s a driver coach. He’s still the crew chief, but for me, more of a solid driver coach. I’ve matured as a driver more having him with me and now that we understand each other more, I can use what he brings to help me be a better driver. He helps a lot with engine program, ordering of cars and organizing of the race team. He does a lot from Florida when he can’t be in Iowa. He takes care of our HP engine program and has a solid relationship with Maxim Chassis. Danny works super closely with our shock guy, (Michael Schure of Schure Build Suspensions). It’s been cool having Danny be part of our team also because I’ve gotten to know so may of his friends and family. I’ve gotten to know his dad, George, such a nice man; his son, Cody and grandson, Maverick. When we are down in Florida, we spend a lot of our off time go karting with Cody and Maverick. We have gotten to know a couple of Danny’s friends well, like Captain Bob who always takes us on airboat rides, as well as his good buddy and former NASCAR driver, Ernie Ervin. He’s good stuff, just a super good guy (in regard to Ernie).”
Going into 2026, Chris has solid goals in sight for the season. He wants to make major improvements at Knoxville, the top priority is a win at Knoxville. “I’d like to win at Knoxville, any win, 360 or 410. My highest finish has been a 3rd at Knoxville. I want to be consistent all the way through the night of racing. I mentally break my race night into steps: Step 1, qualify well. Step 2, get through heat. The 3rd step is finishing the night, which is harder than anyone can understand. My fitness and ability have improved a lot in the offseason”. The team plans to focus on the 410 at Knoxville this season and will run some of the 360 bigger shows throughout the season as well.
When asked about the changes to the race format at Knoxville and how it will affect the way he approaches the race, Martin stated that the format change was needed to continue to allow the racing to be competitive. “It’s going to be fun to learn the changes and experience them. The format is more caught up with the times and makes you want to race harder in the heat races. It seems like there will be less forgiveness in the heats now with the format change and the way the competition is these days. Every position and every row matters for a better starting spot for the A Main.”
Chris Martin and team will be fun to watch this season for sure. Be sure to support his marketing partners whenever possible: Intellicents, Heartland Steel, K1, Victory Seats, Bell Helmets, and Quick Change Rearends.
Article Credit: Joanne Cram
Submitted By: Eric Arnold
