Words by Josh Hachat
Photos by Slade Tyree

When it mattered most, Joey Martin once again proved he could deliver.

The confident ADRL Pro Extreme standout battled parts malfunctions all weekend Heartland Park Topeka, but he overcame those at the ideal time and then delivered a perfect performance in the finals of the Kansas National Guard Independence Drags V on June 18.

In a rematch of the finals at the ADRL race in April, Martin and his Lowmad again got the best of points leader Jason Hamstra, delivering a track record 3.652 at 205.98 miles per hour en route to his second straight win.

“We just had to get all the gremlins out of the way. The first two rounds we had to pedal it and it almost got away from us in the semis,” Martin said. “We got everything fixed up for the finals, and Jason and I were both here to win.”

Martin closed in on the points lead, but he wasn’t alone in winning his second straight race on a near-flawless day at HPT.

Mike Castellana outran his teammate Mahana Al-Naemi in the Pro Nitrous finals, going 3.839 for his second consecutive victory.

The ADRL also crowned three first-time event winners, as Dan Millen (Extreme 10.5), Terry Schweigert (Pro Extreme Motorcycle) and Scott Hintz (Extreme Pro Stock) all claimed their first Minutemen in front of an energetic crowd.