There’s also another Martin involved in what many are calling the “Dream Team” — Steve Martin, the general manager of Crop Production Services, the longtime sponsor of Landers’ racing operation.
Steve Martin was actually the mastermind behind wanting Davenport on the team, after sketching out what he would want in a team “in a perfect world,” according to Landers.
“Even when I had (son) Jared driving a couple years ago, Steve would ask me, ‘Hey, is there any way we could put something together with Jonathan?’” noted Landers. “He wanted to bring Jonathan in and get him involved for a while, even before we actually got everything done at the end of last year. Jonathan’s success made it really easy to want to help him push that forward even further.”
Getting Davenport as a driver also meant bringing on longtime Davenport engineer Kevin Rumley, who was part of “Superman’s” historic 2015 season — when he captured the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship and nearly every major dirt late model race in the country. Rumley also played a role in Davenport’s resurgence during the latter portion of last year, when the two reunited at G.R. Smith’s team and won the World 100 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.
That was something Davenport called “a difference-maker.”
“That was huge, when Kevin agreed to come on board for this deal,” said Davenport. “He’s my wingman. You saw it when we split up … we just work better as a pair than when we’re not. It’s been fun so far.”
Although it’s not been talked about often since the group came together, Mark Martin’s decades of racing wisdom and his passionate support has been special to the team.
“Mark’s done so much for racing and in racing over the years. He’s a really good friend,” said Landers of the NASCAR Hall of Famer. “We work well together and I’m grateful to have him as a part of this. He’ll say all the time that he doesn’t feel like he brings a whole lot to the table, but he does. He’s a vital part to what we do and a great partner.”
Just how much Martin has done for racing is difficult to quantify. He’s a veteran of 882 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts with 40 career victories at NASCAR’s top level, in addition to 261 starts between NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series over his three-decade career.
However, in recent years, it’s the short tracks where Martin has been most passionate about giving back. After all, that’s where his career began.
“Grassroots racing is where I started, man,” said Martin. “The short tracks of America are so important and I feel it’s vital to give back to that and keep it going. If we don’t keep grassroots racing strong, the sport as we know it loses its pipeline to the upper levels.
“When I was early in my career, I was laser-focused on what I was doing at that level and then when I moved to NASCAR with Jack Roush in the 80s … I kept that focus and had a lot of success along the way,” Martin noted. “Since I’ve gone back home and gone back to supporting grassroots racing, I’ve had that same laser focus on making sure these drivers at that level are taken care of and looked after. It’s where it all starts.”
Though much of Martin’s short-track career came on paved ovals, with 22 ASA National Tour wins and four championships to his credit, his very first racing start came on the red clay at Batesville Speedway.
It’s that tie-in, plus the decline of pavement short-track racing, that has led Martin back to the dirt.
“There are more dirt tracks than there are paved tracks, and there are no paved tracks in Arkansas, so it was a natural place for me to end up,” said Martin. “Dirt-track racing is grassroots. It’s where all stock car racing came from. I think grassroots racing is really on an upswing right now. I feel good about being a supporter of grassroots racing, and especially of dirt-track racing, because it’s the feeder and it’s where our future superstars are building the foundations for their racing futures.”
Martin’s support of grassroots racing goes beyond just his support of the Landers/Davenport’s team. He’s also in his second year of promoting the Race for Hope 74, a five-day IMCA modified spectacular at his home track in Batesville that pays $20,000 to win and boasts a purse of more than $200,000.
The Sept. 25-29 race benefits the Mark and Arlene Martin Foundation’s Hope for Arkansas initiative, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children and families across the state of Arkansas dealing with abuse, with an emphasis on Batesville and Independence counties.
It’s a cornerstone of Martin’s grassroots efforts and one of the biggest events of the year for dirt modified racers in the mid-south, as well as a way for the legendary driver to give back to his home track.
“Batesville (Motor) Speedway is where I got my very first start and ran my very first race back in 1974,” noted Martin. “That’s part of what makes it special for me to have an event like this and see how much it builds up short-track racing where I grew up racing.
“The race itself is 74 laps, with a fuel stop at halfway, and we had some tremendous racing on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday qualifying nights last year leading into Saturday’s main event,” Martin added. “It’s a pretty cool race. It pays $20,000 to win, but where it stands out is that it pays $10,000 to run seventh. That’s the big deal. It’s a huge purse, more than $200,000, but we didn’t want to put it all on top. We wanted racers to come from everywhere.
“We had 107 cars for last year’s inaugural event, and we’re looking to get 200 cars or better this time around. Last year, we had representation from 35 states and we’re bringing them all to the beautiful state of Arkansas and turning them loose to have a good time.”
As for his work with Davenport and Landers’ race team, Martin is simply eager for the future and believes big things may be ahead, just like during Davenport’s magical 2015 season.
“When you have someone like Jonathan behind the wheel, it’s not a question of if you’re going to run well,” Martin noted. “Lance knew Jonathan was capable of winning races a few years ago, when Jonathan was beating his cars left and right.
“He’s won with us already and he’s got some races coming up in the summer stretch where he’s been really strong in the past,” Martin added. “We’re all excited about what’s yet to come. This is a special group, for sure.”
