Since he was 15, Joey Martin has been fascinated with cars. It started out as tinkering on his own car, turned into others asking him to work on their cars, and evolved into building and driving some of the quickest Pro Mods and Pro Extreme cars in the world. But what started as a hobby turned into a 24/7 job. He got burnt out, stepped away from racing, and swore he’d never go back. But then he saw the DI Winter Series and got bit by “the bug” again.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #200, the World Series of Pro Mod issue, in May / June of 2026.]
Inspired by the movement that was happening in Pro Modified and the Winter Series, Martin decided it was time for his return. He called up some buddies who offered to help, and he went to work building a new car. Built in-house at Joey Martin Race Cars, it features Cynergy Composites’ new C7 Corvette carbon fiber body and a Harts Charger-boosted Pro Line Racing engine.
Martin found himself outside the 32-car qualified field at the first two Winter Series races. Finally, at the World Series of Pro Mod, Martin ripped off a 3.601-second pass at 207.85 mph in the third qualifying session to get into the big show. He ended up No. 31 in the 32-car field – the second quickest in Pro Mod history.
“This is like a pipe dream. I can’t do it on my own, especially with what stuff costs now,” says Martin, who thanked friends David and Sharon Phillips, Jay Ashe, Lee Collum, and David Cooper for their contributions to the car as well as manufacturers like Pro Line, M&M Transmission, Harts Charger, Hammer Concepts, Stroud Safety, Strange Engineering, Cynergy Composites, Driftwood Fabrication, Michael Bunton, Bohr Racing, Racetech Seats, Hoosier Tires, Panhandle Driveline, Carmack Engineering, FuelTech and Thermodyne Powder Coating. “But seeing Wes Buck’s drive and motivation and passion for Pro Mod racing reminded me why I did it. He’s got the biggest show on the face of the planet and I want to be a part of it while I can still do it.”
In a first-round pedalfest against Rian Hayward, Martin left the line first and ended up getting the win. Excitement turned to disappointment, though, when Martin discovered that intense tire shake cracked the chassis to the point it couldn’t be fixed at the track between rounds.
“I fought issues the entire time. I finally got it figured out two weeks ago what the cause was,” says Martin, who also thanked his volunteer crew: Steve Holloway, Craig Tate, Patrick Ellis, and David Woodard, as well as Doyle Ellis, who hauled his car to all the races. “I would’ve been more of a contender, but coming out with a brand-new car and fighting issues that took me a little while to find set me back a little bit. I definitely want to come back next winter to try again.”
This story was originally published on July 17, 2026. 
