When it comes to the sport of drag racing, having a sponsor or a lot of money can make a huge difference in how well a competitor does.
For Salt Lake's Karl Martin, however, that's not the case.
This year's three-time returning champion of the Street-Legal Series Sport Compact class at West Valley City's Rocky Mountain Raceway, Martin paid just $200 for his 1993 Ford Tempo four years ago.
Since then, he's spent little in parts, changing the oil once a year and buying his brakes and tires at local junkyards, while averaging 20,000 miles a year on Utah's roads.
"It's a grocery getter," Martin says. "I don't spend a lot of money on it."
Still averaging 32 miles per gallon on the highway, the car features all OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts on the Tempo, which has a 2.3 liter gasoline engine and automatic transmission.
At the track, the car's gear ratio is set so Martin only has to shift once during his trip down the quarter-mile straightaway — a feature that has helped him win four championships in a row in a tough sport.
In what's called "E.T. Racing," short for "Elapsed Time," Martin's car must not only have the top speed in a run, but not go over the time he has "dialed-in" with track personnel.
Should Martin go above, or "break-out" over his elapsed time, he is danger of losing the race even if the car he's competing against runs slower or goes under its own "dial-in" time. If both Martin and his competitor finish with both the same speed and dial-in time, then reaction time comes into play, with the driver with the quickest "react" from the starting line winning the race.
"It's an extremely consistent drag racing car," Martin says of his Tempo — a car he's bringing back this year to keep his string of championships going at RMR.
Before he was a champion, Martin was a street racer, beginning six years ago with a souped-up 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. But, after losing a race to a Mazda RX7, Martin decided to get an RX7 himself, a decision he is still happy with.
"I loved my car (the Camaro), but I got beat by an RX7 so I went out and bought one. You got to go with what's beating you," he added.
Thus far, Martin estimates he has spent around $29,000 on his 1993 Mazda RX7, including buying the car and setting it up for racing, and plans to run it in four out of 10 National Hot Rod Association events this year, starting in Denver on June 11.
When he's not racing, he works as a Subaru mechanic for the Larry H Miller Group, and is making plans to become a full-time professional drag racer in the near future.
"Most drag racers who are pro come up from the ranks," he says.
For now, though, he's content racing his Tempo at RMR on Friday nights.
"I mainly race the import side," Martin said. "This just keeps me in tune."