Eric Martin
NationalityAmerican
Born(1969-02-06)February 6, 1969
Hixson, Tennessee
DiedOctober 9, 2002(2002-10-09) (aged 33)
Concord, North Carolina
ARCA Racing Series
Years active2001–2002
TeamsHixson Motorsports
Starts40
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish17th in 2001

Eric Duane Martin (February 6, 1969 – October 9, 2002)[1] was an ARCA driver from Hixson, Tennessee, who was killed at the Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 9, 2002, during a practice session for the season-ending EasyCare 100.

He was not related to Mark Martin despite sharing a same last name.

Martin initially spun and backed into the fourth turn wall, coming to rest on the racing line entering the tri-oval. A fairly routine and innocuous accident, Martin radioed his crew that he was fine. However, 16 seconds after the initial crash, just as Martin was unbuckling his belts, Deborah Renshaw, going full speed along the racing line in the belief that the track was clear, careened directly into the driver's side door of Martin at about 160 mph[2] and killed him instantly.

Both ARCA and Renshaw were roundly criticized following the accident. ARCA received criticism because its regulations did not require spotters to be located on top of the grandstands. Renshaw's spotter was standing on top of the team trailer,[3] and thus could not see the wreck and communicate its location to his driver. Thus, in spite of the fact that 16 seconds, an eternity in racing, passed between the initial crash and the fatal second collision, not all the drivers were notified of the crash. Renshaw was herself criticized, because although several other cars with similarly situated spotters managed to see Martin in time and slow considerably before avoiding him, Renshaw did not see the car stopped on the racing line until it was much too late to avoid the fatal collision. In the aftermath of the accident, ARCA mandated that each car that went onto the track had to have an assigned spotter in the spotter's stand, and a yellow warning light was mandated for the car's dashboard that illuminated when a caution was declared on the race track. Eric left behind two sons, Brian and Matt Martin.

Martin had 40 starts in the ARCA Re/Max Series.[4]

Motorsports career results

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ARSC Pts
2001 Hixson Motorsports 56 Chevy DAY NSH WIN
30		 SLM
30		 GTY
35		 KEN
37		 CLT
36		 KAN
37		 MCH
39		 POC
33		 GLN
25		 KEN
35		 MCH
33		 POC
32		 ISF
33		 DSF
40		 TOL
30		 BLN
31		 CLT
36		 TAL
28		 ATL
40		 17th 2480
Bob Schacht Motorsports 75 Pontiac MEM
35
Martin Racing 91 Chevy CHI
38		 SLM
33
Hixson Motorsports 56 Ford NSH
16
2002 Chevy DAY
DNQ		 ATL
DNQ		 NSH
23		 SLM
30		 KEN
26		 CLT
40		 KAN
21		 POC
25		 MCH
31		 TOL
35		 SBO
26		 19th 2990
2 KEN
37		 BLN
28		 POC
33		 NSH
31		 ISF
23		 WIN
32		 DSF
14		 CHI
18		 SLM
27		 TAL
DNQ		 CLT
Wth

References

  1. ↑ "Motorsport Memorial - Eric Martin". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "No blame assigned in fatal ARCA crash". St. Petersburg Times. October 20, 2002. Archived from the original on October 23, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  3. ↑ "A brutal sport sometimes". Sports Illustrated. October 9, 2002. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Eric Martin fatally injured". The Auto Channel. October 9, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2017.


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